I find hierarchical tagging to be very useful
My basic tagging system
fiction/nonfiction,
genres (using many hierarchical tags such as science.physics or sf.alternative history),
length [also hierarchical ex. length.short],
region.country (if important),
time period covered if the book has historical significance (ex History.Modern.20th Century.1900-1920.WWI -note the five levels of hierarchy ),
status of copyright (public domain or open access)
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