Free and bargain romances in January 2013

[Blue2u]

Childady and AnemicOak, I think sometimes 1 library may be easiest, but that's why I'm asking for advice! How do you tag then? You must have quite an organized system to make that work!?

Originally Posted by booklover6

I have libraries by genre...erotica (the biggest), paranormal romance/UF, historical romance, contemporary/suspense romance, m/m romance, SF/F/YA, and a kids books library. I don't really find it a problem managing all of them. I have custom columns, one for Device (so I know what it's on, if anything), and another showing formats. The erotica one has a genre column, too. I also tend to use different libraries with different devices.

Oh I forgot I made another library called 2013 TBR with about 100 books in it. Why? I don't know LOL. But those are all on the Kindle paperwhite. The red Sony gets historical/contemp/suspense romance. The kindle keyboard has all m/m. The black sony has paranormal romance and erotica.

The problem with this system is, I only want to read on the paperwhite. It's so much better than the others! I guess that's why I made the 2013 library, as it has some from every genre.

*sigh* maybe I should trade them all in for multiple paperwhites! LOL! Then I could have a different case for each one, to differentiate...I'll have to think on that! The paperwhite can't match the way Sony does series, though.

Ok, well I bow to you! You have multiple libraries AND mutiple readers, I think I'd lose my mind! LOL
I had to chuckle at your '100 TBR' library, I have so many different TBR tags that I've lost track and I think that's the crux of my problem!

The more I'm reading all of your replies I think it's my tags I'm losing control of, not so much the libraries themselves per se.

So, maybe it's tagging advice I need more than anything.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Blue2u

I never thought to keep track of store/format. I convert mine all to epub anyways, so I guess that's a moot point for me.

So, when you are looking to purchase or download something new, do you reference your libraries first to see if you already have it? I'm curious how many tagging systems you use.

My tagging system has evolved into a mess and maybe that's what's causing my confusion. I need to stop buying/downloading and start reading! lol

I don't use tags like most. I put the genre\theme in the tag field so I can find what I am looking for. So for me I use it as a category field. In Mantano this is quite useful.

I do a search before buying but not in Calibre. I use a Catalog program which searches all libraries at once.

[booklover6]

My tags are not numerous, they are pretty simple. Most of them are made for my Sony. Oh I did make another column for extra tags that I can use and not mess up the Sony collections. In the extra column I put things like Amazon, library, or anything else I want. In the official "tags" column I have things like:
1 - 1st in series
2 - next in series
Anderson. Evangeline
3 - SFR
4 - 1st in series MM
....etc. I have a few author collection tags, most are series or genre. Then the Sony takes and makes collections using the tags as collection names. I put the numbers in so they will show up on the first page or two.

I've got to look into making my tags better for Mantano on the Fire. I haven't really explored using them that way. As long as it doesn't mess up my Sony tags

[koland]

Originally Posted by Blue2u

I think I'm losing control over my library. I use Calibre so that's helped me so much already. I currently have 3 libraries, 1 for my main library [500+], 1 for freebies [1000+], and I manage one for my Mom's Kobo. I recently added a 4th library for books I know I won't read again, but want to keep for reference so I don't mistakenly buy/download those again.

How do you guys manage your libraries? How do you sort/keep your current and past books?

[and this is thread-related because it's this forums' fault that I have so many books to keep track of! ]

I only keep track of two - freebies and "books" (which has some freebies in it). I send all freebies to a particular Kindle and just copy them into the freebie calibre library now and then (it doesn't matter that they have drm, as far as managing them; in fact, trying a conversion to mobi on the drm'd ones will tell you which ones are naturally drm-free, if you actually care).

I use tags in both to track those I've read, genre, "must-read authors", "paid", etc (I have a tag for "freebie", as well -- I can combine the two libraries after making sure that freebie tag is on all the books in the "freebie" library - that sticks the tag on any that are also in "books"; I export all the freebie books then to a single subdirectory (in case any were hiding in books that were not in "freebies") and then delete the freebies from the main library (this gets rid of the pesky duplicates between the two; it's easier to search for a book if you don't do this step, so sometimes I don't delete the freebies from the main library). Then import that saved batch of books back to freebies again (duplicates get ignored on import, so just let it run overnight and all your free books are then in that secondary library).

Then, I cheat, actually - I generate a catalog of the books to a csv file and search it in excel (it's faster than using calibre on very large libraries, plus I can combine the csv from the two libraries together and search at the same time).

[koland]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I have to do multiple I have nearly 10,000 books or more. Calibre would choke on me.

I have nearly 12,000 in my main calibre library - it really handles it pretty well (searches are slower than with a small library, of course, but not unusable).

Originally Posted by Blossom

I do a search before buying but not in Calibre. I use a Catalog program which searches all libraries at once.

Which one?

[library addict]

Originally Posted by chilady1

I don't track where I purchased the book from or whether it was free or not.

Me either.

Originally Posted by Blue2u

How do you guys manage your libraries? How do you sort/keep your current and past books?

[and this is thread-related because it's this forums' fault that I have so many books to keep track of! ]

I just have two libraries: my main library and one I titled "Vault"

I put books I want to keep, but that I don't want to keep on my Sony in the Vault.

I like being able to sort the books by author, series, title, etc so I don't mind that my main library is over 1500. If I kept my freebies or something in a different library I would have a harder time managing I think.

I am a stickler about my metadata (so very thankful that Calibre exists). I tag all of my books as contemporay, historical, futuristic, or time travel. Then I have additional tags for category books (Silhouette Intimate Moments, Harlequin Intrique, Loveswept, etc) as well as paranormal, fantasy, anthology, novella, Christmas/Hanukkah.

I love that my Sony uses both tags and series to create collections. Makes it so easy to find books multiple ways.

For books I really will never read again I simply delete them.

I also keep a TBR list of both my print and digital books in Word. I print page 1 out once a month and put it on my bulletin board. Sadly it's now a 4 page document because I added all the rereads I want to do back when Harlequin had their huge 5¢ sale and my book buying/freebie downloading has been out of control of late

And I have separate documents for all of my favorite authors I started back in the days before digital books. It lists all of their books I own in publication order, with notations about series, if I have it in hardcover, paperback, and/or digital. And I have a list of upcoming releases for the year broken down by month. And a list of prior releases I want in digital. This makes it easier to find a book I really want when those handy Sony and Kobo coupon codes come around.

Since I do buy books from multiple places, I have been known to buy a book more than once . But that's only happened to me twice. And both times it was because they were on sale or in a bundle for a really good deal and I clicked without checking to see if I already owned it.

[chilady1]

I have about 14,000 books in my library and by using tags, it makes it easier to find what I am looking for quickly.

Here's a sample of my tags:

- Bibles (I have few in electronic form)
- Anthologies
- Business
- Chick Lit
- Cookbooks
- Inspirational
- Humorous
- Self-Help
- Fantasy
- Science Fiction
- Suspense & Thrillers
- Mystery
- Romance (this is the only category I break out)
- Romance - Contemporary
- Romance - Adult (Erotica)
- Romance - Historical

You get the idea. Like booklover6, I also created a custom column called On Device so once I put the books on my Kindle, I check this column off. This prevents me from always having to plug the Kindle in to know what is on the device. Other custom columns include Date Read and once I input the date I completed the book, it changes the entire line to the color RED so visually I can see all the books I have completed.

The last custom column I created is called Author-Series. This one is mostly used so that when I use Calibre to make my Collections, it pulls from this column only. My Collections then appear with Series Name - Author Name (# of books) in the Collection. The metadata plugboard handles the rest.

Home Screen shows:

Raines of Wind Canyon - Martin, Kit (5). Inside the Collection, all the books are listed from 1-5 which is great - no more looking up what is the next book.

I can relate to those struggling with a large library and the time it takes to do a search. One trick I learned in the Calibre forum is to change your search preferences and narrow down the criteria that Calibre searches on. For me, when I search, I am either searching on author or title - that's it. It has dramatically increased the search speed in Calibre, because it is using less variables to search on, and with 14K books, it makes a big difference.

Like Blue2u, I keep a mobi and epub version of all books that are in my Calibre library so I don't have the need for an ADE library but I like the idea.

The last reason for one library is that I would get to confused with multiple libraries and I don't have the time to maintain more than one. Just some helpful hints.

[Tattncat]

I have approx. 8k in one library. I tag for source (i.e. Sony Library, sl; Barnes and Noble, BN; Discover a new Love, DANL; Smashwords, SL; Amazon, Kindle and Misc. Downloads) and genre. It seems pretty effecttive in my Calibre library.

I forgot. I also use a tag for each reader and reader card.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by koland

I have nearly 12,000 in my main calibre library - it really handles it pretty well (searches are slower than with a small library, of course, but not unusable).



Which one?

Advanced File Organizer. I got it from Giveaway Of The Day for free a long time ago.

My old PC doesn't handle Calibre pretty well so multiple libraries keep it happy.

OT: I have the flu Tonight's been horrible!

[Britomart]

I use a single Calibre library for my about 4000 ebooks. When I enter them, I tag them immediately with my own tags and usually delete all the tags that came with them. Examples of tags are:
-regency romance
-1920s
-young adult paranormal
-spies
-Austen variation

In addition to the Calibre library, I keep a Word document that lists all my ebooks. I have all my printed books in a Word document, too, so when I want to see whether I already own a book, I need to search those two documents only.

In the Word document, the books get moved through several categories. First, when I buy them, I enter them by format in a first list. The second list (now with information on the format attached to each book) contains all the books that I have entered into Calibre. Then I collect addional bibliographical information like original publication date, publisher etc., I tag them, and then I put most of them on the Opus. (Those which don't go on the Opus get a special placeholder in the list). Once this is done, the books go on the final list. This document is fairly long, but by keeping all the books in a single document I can find out really quickly whether I've already bought an ebook or not, or in which format.

So I only open Calibre (which is a bit slow in my old PC) when I want to find out details about a book or do something else with it like split it. The Word document is available very quickly and easily.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Britomart

So I only open Calibre (which is a bit slow in my old PC) when I want to find out details about a book or do something else with it like split it. The Word document is available very quickly and easily.

If I were to do something like this I would use a spreadsheet. Easier to sort and you have multiple worksheets in one workbook.

I really keep telling myself I need to catalog my paperbacks and hardbacks but....I never get around to it.

I'm currently reading a PB. Nightrider by Sandra Dubay. After finishing the Lydia Dare werewolf book it's nice to see I do still like historical romance. I was afraid after a year it would be hard to get back into reading one specially after werewolf regency book I just finish that was so cookie cutter. I am really enjoying Nightrider and only have a couple more chapters to go!

[Britomart]

I hope you'll be better soon, Blossom!

[koland]

Originally Posted by chilady1

I have about 14,000 books in my library and by using tags, it makes it easier to find what I am looking for quickly.
...
I can relate to those struggling with a large library and the time it takes to do a search. One trick I learned in the Calibre forum is to change your search preferences and narrow down the criteria that Calibre searches on. For me, when I search, I am either searching on author or title - that's it. It has dramatically increased the search speed in Calibre, because it is using less variables to search on, and with 14K books, it makes a big difference..

You know, one other thing I did was replace my main windows drive with an SSD drive (although not for this specific reason). It speeds up the searches substantially, along with Calibre load times -- that may be one reason I don't bother with narrowing down the search (usually) and find the search times reasonable on a large library.

For those with a large enough Dropbox storage, you can move your library into a DB folder and then access your library from multiple computers (but be very careful not to have two open at the same time, as Calibre isn't written to check for multi-user access to it's files and the database can become corrupted).

Originally Posted by Blossom

My old PC doesn't handle Calibre pretty well so multiple libraries keep it happy.

OT: I have the flu Tonight's been horrible!

Just stay on your side of the room and practice safe PC'ing until it's gone!

I cataloged nearly all my paper books using a combination of LibraryThing and their cuecat scanner. Makes it a lot easier to do (although still a bit tedious - and you really need a portable notebook computer, so you can do it at the shelves and not have to carry books around). It's one reason I keep the excel spreadsheet, as it also has info on the paper books (which I should enter into Calibre, but have been to lazy to do except for a few). I do try to remember to put audiobooks into Calibre (manually), so that I don't have to search for those, as they are too large to keep on my main computer.

One tip - if you keep your library on dropbox, make sure it isn't in a publicly accessible folder. I've seen reports of people who've had their DB accounts closed, presumably after receiving a takedown notice from someone after finding a file in a google search (most of them were, no doubt, serving files to many people, but it's safer to keep your book files private, just in case).

[Blue2u]

You have all been so helpful. I'm going to take some time going through each of your suggestions and see what I can change in my tags to make my library more organized. I knew you'd all be able to help, so again, thank you.


Blossom, the flu has hit our house too, son last week, this week myself and my daughter. It refuses to leave, we're going over a week now being sick, it's horrible so I hope yours doesn't linger like ours and you feel better soon.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by koland

Just stay on your side of the room and practice safe PC'ing until it's gone!

I cataloged nearly all my paper books using a combination of LibraryThing and their cuecat scanner. Makes it a lot easier to do (although still a bit tedious - and you really need a portable notebook computer, so you can do it at the shelves and not have to carry books around). It's one reason I keep the excel spreadsheet, as it also has info on the paper books (which I should enter into Calibre, but have been to lazy to do except for a few). I do try to remember to put audiobooks into Calibre (manually), so that I don't have to search for those, as they are too large to keep on my main computer.

One tip - if you keep your library on dropbox, make sure it isn't in a publicly accessible folder. I've seen reports of people who've had their DB accounts closed, presumably after receiving a takedown notice from someone after finding a file in a google search (most of them were, no doubt, serving files to many people, but it's safer to keep your book files private, just in case).

Goodreads has something like that on their android app. I keep my audiobooks separate on a external because they are so big! Audibles aren't backed up because of DRM but I'm not too worry.

I keep a backup on DB of my Calibre library but it's not the original one. I use a sync program to to keep it all up to date and sync about once a week. I also keep another backup on a external drive.

Good news It turns out it's not the flu but a nasty cold! I am so relieved. I know, I know I am still contagious for 3 days so I will stay right over here but after seeing hubby have the flu two weeks ago I rather have the cold! Now I have to buy a hair dryer. I never use one but going to bed with damp hair made me catch cold.

On even better news I won $50 today on a scratchie. This is the second time in a two week period bringing my book budget to $100. I never win anything so this is a nice change. Now I just need some sales! Hubby is home today. We had a ice storm so the factory is closed. I'm gonna lay back and start a new book on my PW.