With more than one eReader how do you manage your books

[speakingtohe]

I have several Sony T3s and a Kobo Aura HD (don't actually use the kobo).

I go through stages where I read every book from cover to cover and others where I switch often. Not the books fault, it is me. I was the same with paper.

Now I may have enough eReaders to emulate the stack of half finished paperbacks in my night stand drawer in the days of paper.

As of yesterday I have
1 for mystery
1 for fantasy
1 for nonfiction and those books that require some mental effort.
1 mixed for use on the bus and waiting for appointments etc.

What do you find effective and why?

Helen

[Apache]

Calibre
Apache

[speakingtohe]

I use calibre and have donated more than once as it is excellent.

I am looking for suggestions/ideas as to how to put my books on several readers so that if I can't find it on one instantly I can find it on another without having to leave my comfortable position to find it in calibre or use wifi to download it from calibre content server.

60+% of my recreational reading is done in bed and it is a tad cold at night lately, so I just want to pick up the right reader and open a book.

Helen

[DrNefario]

I can't really claim to have a good answer. I have a kindle with about 80% of my ebooks on it, bought from Amazon and never going anywhere near my PC. Then I have calibre for the rest, which all go on both of my other readers, and I use whichever one is to hand. I haven't used the nook for ages. It's probably due a run out, soon.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I can't really claim to have a good answer. I have a kindle with about 80% of my ebooks on it, bought from Amazon and never going anywhere near my PC. Then I have calibre for the rest, which all go on both of my other readers, and I use whichever one is to hand. I haven't used the nook for ages. It's probably due a run out, soon.

This is a good answer. This has usually been my approach so far.

I am hoping for suggestions of a better way of doing things, but pretty well equally interested in what others do and why.

Helen

[ATDrake]

I manually organize my books, separating them into Paid Purchases/Promo Freebies/Other folders and then into Author/Imprint subfolders, and then I set up any collections I feel like having within the device (I also re-title the filenames with author/series/year info because the Sony has a sort-by-filename function which makes it easier to skim over un-collectioned stuff).

This is because I don't really overlap the contents of my readers, except to put a selection of my favourite "keeper" re-reads on both devices so that I'll have something guaranteed to be appealing to look at if I'm bored and unengaged enough that none of the current unfinished/unread books will do.

I have a Kindle and a Sony (and a recently-acquired BlackBerry tablet, but I don't really use that for reading on at the moment), and my compartmentalization of their functions is ridiculously simple:

1. The Kindle gets the Mobi/AZW/Topaz-format books I've obtained from Amazon that I can't be bothered to convert, which is basically all of them, since I'm lazy.
   
   Sometimes it gets converted ePubs, but only really only as backup for my very favourite authors/titles or occasionally for a newly-added one that I think I might want to get started on while I'm in the middle of a Mobi-only title.
   
   Also, it gets notes and lists like my comic book collection when it's discount shopping season in the local stores, since the Search function is considerably better than the Sony's.
2. The Sony gets the ePubs, which are pretty much the bulk of my paid purchases, and PDFs, which it handles considerably better than the Kindle.

Which reader I read upon depends on what I'm reading at the time. Also, sometimes weather, since the K2's non-touch buttons-only interface works better when wrapped in a plastic baggie against the rain while waiting for the bus.

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I am looking for suggestions/ideas as to how to put my books on several readers so that if I can't find it on one instantly I can find it on another without having to leave my comfortable position to find it in calibre or use wifi to download it from calibre content server.

Since you seem to have a bunch of different devices already sort-of-dedicated to assorted genres, perhaps assign them further specialized archival functions so that you'll have a good general idea of what got put where?

If the Kobo Mini is nice and light to read in bed for non-taxing entertainment stuff, perhaps the bulk of the easy genre fiction can be stored on it, along with whichever other titles which are your current interests which you may delete after finishing?

And then the tablet could contain the image-intensive or I-want-to-look-up-a-reference stuff like non-fiction where you'd want to easily be able to open up a separate browser to check things/do further research if an interesting topic gets introduced and not have to switch back and forth between exclusively having the book open or the browser open as happens on my K2 and Sony when I use the web on them.

And whichever reader seemed to be the best mix of portability and useful features while away from home could have the backup library of your "essential" reads which you keep referring back to time and again.

[Purple Lady]

I have all of my books on both my Nexus 7 and my T62. I have only a few books on my Nexus 5, but I have Calibre Companion on all three devices. With CC, I can download to my Nexus 5 if I'm out and need something to read. I also use CC to sync my read status to Calibre so all devices have read status available. CC gives me all of my Calibre tags and data, so I don't need different readers for different things.

Edit: I use Moon+ on all to read, so my reading position is synced.

[jehane]

My books are organised on my computer and I only store books on the readers that I am currently reading. I used to load everything to my reader but found that it was really slow in opening. This may have changed in more recent models but I'm happy with my system. It helps to have multiple readers since I read a lot of library books so if I haven't quite finished one when it comes due, as long as I keep it open I can continue to read it. But I usually have at least a few books on the go at once, depending on mood, so I can open other books on other readers in the meantime.

[booklover6]

With kobo readers, and calibre, very easy. First, my two Glo's are divided...each has books from 3 different calibre libraries. Second, each has a radically different colored cover. So I know exactly which calibre libraries are represented on which Glo at a glance. Third, calibre sets the collections on the kobos, so I have collections that tell me which books are next in series. Fourth, searching is very effective.

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I am looking for suggestions/ideas as to how to put my books on several readers so that if I can't find it on one instantly I can find it on another without having to leave my comfortable position to find it in calibre

Helen

[Laine]

The Kindle has the books from Amazon and the Kobo has the books from Mills & Boon, Sourcebooks, Baen etc.

[sakura-panda]

I picked "An option not listed in the poll."

When I had one ebook reader, I put as many Next To Be Read books on it as the memory could hold. It was not wi-fi enabled, so that I had to connect it to the computer whenever I wanted to add a book.

Every ebook reader I have gotten since then has wi-fi enabled on it, so each reader has only one book on it. (Except for my Sony; when the Reader store closed I downloaded all of my Not Yet Read library onto the T1. I am deleting as I read since I have computer backups.)

My ebook readers are based on usage, rather than content. I have a lengthy book on my NOOK HD+ that I read at home when I'm having a cup of coffee in the morning, before the kids get up. (Currently First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough using Kobo.) My Sony T1 is kept in the bedroom for when I'm reading there. (Currently Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.) I alternate this reader with my Kindle K3 Keyboard that is filled with freebies. (No book currently.) I take my iPad to work where I read a light fiction novel at lunch. (Currently Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown, using Marvin.) Finally, I have book on my smartphone for when I want a book and none of my other readers are handy. (Not very often since I'm currently addicted to three games on my phone that I play with first. LOL Currently reading Back to the Moon by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.)

Sometimes I'll put the same book on another device, if I want to read it and it is one that syncs last read position across multiple devices. While I do archive all of my books with Calibre, the books I actually read are always downloaded (and synced) to the site where I bought them or where they were transferred to when a store closed.

[icallaci]

I have fiction on one reader, non-fiction on the other. My current read is in a hard, zippered case that I carry around with me. The one I'm not currently using is in a neoprene soft case that stays on my desk until I'm ready for it.

[Sydney's Mom]

My PW gets my books. Once in awhile, I will download something to my Fire (I know, not an ereader). My Tab or my ipad get all my magazines.

[Matth79]

To begin with, Mum had the Kobo Touch, and I got the Nook on special offer as a spare / get round to rooting it.

The Kobo died so mum got the Nook for a while, then it was a toss up between another Kobo, or a Kindle - went Kindle this time, not being too happy about how long the Kobo lasted.

Will probably use calibre (and Alf if required) to put books where they are needed, sometime freebies are only available in one format, and while "always free" books are generally not DRMed, the free offer ones usually are.

Unless they put multiple accounts ON the ereader, it's difficult to share one without losing your place, or at least the "reading now"

[NickyWithNook]

I voted "whatever the mood hits me" but really I just am not organized at all. I have had some problems with B&N's customer service, so I'm largely getting them from Amazon now, so generally the older books are from B&N and the newer ones are from Amazon.