How many books in your library?

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Mr_H_Poirot

so am assuming there's a lot of standard ebooks and Gutenberg in there

Fanfiction

[maddz]

7693 with more to add. Note that many are empty records for PDFs which I keep in iCloud not my Kobo. Also, I have split most omnibuses into the individual volumes.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Mr_H_Poirot

Interesting

I don't want books in my library just for the sake of it though. I only want books I might want to read at some point. So I don't bother with the Amazon or kobo freebies unless I actually get a recommendation that someone thinks they are a good read. I've increased my library by about 40 books in recent days by adding from standard Ebooks but these are all books I'm hoping I will read at some point

No one makes you download a book just because it is 'free' (or cheap).
I cherry pick from what is on offer.
Every once in awhile I get surprised when a maybe really appeals to my reading mood. (and when they really disappoint, I simply mark them 'Abandoned'. I keep track, so I know to possibly avoid others in the future.)

[Readirect]

Originally Posted by Mr_H_Poirot

I'm guessing you guys with 5000+ can't buy all your books (unless you're seriously rich); so am assuming there's a lot of standard ebooks and Gutenberg in there

I like standard ebooks. Haven't really explored Gutenberg yet

I found an e-reader @ a thrift store with 20+GB of side-loaded thrillers/mysteries/scifi/classics/general fiction; well over 10,000 books. It was quite a find & -- likely (and somewhat sadly) -- I'd finish my life without exhausting its content, were I to have kept that content.

As a good digital citizen of this 1984-like world, whadda ya think I did?

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by theducks

No one makes you download a book just because it is 'free' (or cheap).
I cherry pick from what is on offer.
Every once in awhile I get surprised when a maybe really appeals to my reading mood. (and when they really disappoint, I simply mark them 'Abandoned'. I keep track, so I know to possibly avoid others in the future.)

I cherry pick as well. It just happens that I have a wide interest in various genres.

I only pick up books I honestly want to read. Can/will I read them all? Heck no. But I def have those I've purchased on my list, and will look forward to finding something surprising and new.

And as much as I plan on my next book, (or, next series) I tend to start the first shiny thing that I see when picking them out. So I never actually know what I'm going to read next.

I know there are some great gems in that TBR pile. Just gotta stumble across 'em.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by Readirect

I found an e-reader @ a thrift store with 20+GB of side-loaded thrillers/mysteries/scifi/classics/general fiction; well over 10,000 books. It was quite a find & -- likely (and somewhat sadly) -- I'd finish my life without exhausting its content, were I to have kept that content.

As a good digital citizen of this 1984-like world, whadda ya think I did?

Likely the person who donated it filled it with books for the next purchaser. Some people would have loved that especially if they were not able to purchase books. For the older ereaders, you can link your Amazon account and retain those sideloaded books to read.

[theducks]

Except for Public domain books, most are not transferable (to the devices new owner) per the license contained in each book.
There are some exceptions (and the license will specify the rules that must be followed. Baen Free Library is one example. Those ARE licensed for sharing)

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by theducks

Except for Public domain books, most are not transferable (to the devices new owner) per the license contained in each book.
There are some exceptions (and the license will specify the rules that must be followed. Baen Free Library is one example. Those ARE licensed for sharing)

Yes, it's illegal to share copyrighted material. People still do it en masse. That's not going to change, ever.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by Mr_H_Poirot

I'm guessing you guys with 5000+ can't buy all your books (unless you're seriously rich); so am assuming there's a lot of standard ebooks and Gutenberg in there

I like standard ebooks. Haven't really explored Gutenberg yet

Half of my library (over 10/-) is fanfiction. Copied onto word documents, I then create ebooks. I have been collecting ebooks since 2009.

[BetterRed]

Almost two-thirds of the 3500 items in my "Books" library have no format files. They are a record of books I've read over the years… predominately in print. The vast majority of which I no longer have, they've been donated to schools, dropped into nearby street side 'libraries', taken to a two-for-one secondhand bookshops, left on a bus or park bench etc.

[Mr_H_Poirot]

Yes. I use storygraph to record the physical books I've read, or Libby books I've borrowed, rather than calibre.

[Sirtel]

I don't record paper books at all, as I read very few of them these days. I did it once, about 30 years ago, but I never bothered to import the list to calibre. Just not something I'm interested in.

I don't have any empty book entries in calibre.

[GuruKast]

Originally Posted by theducks

Except for Public domain books, most are not transferable (to the devices new owner) per the license contained in each book.
There are some exceptions (and the license will specify the rules that must be followed. Baen Free Library is one example. Those ARE licensed for sharing)

Hmmm. What's the legality surrounding the device tho?
Setting a hypothetical stage.
I have a Nook with a number of classic titles on it, like Mack Bolan, The Destroyer, etc that I have acquired over the years. I find myself not using the device and not going back to those stories, so I lend my Nook to a young person for them to use, with no fixed date of return. I don't get a new device, I don't re-download those books onto my phone/PC. The device is still registered to me, tho i no longer have it in my possession.
Is this acceptable, or is there some clause I should be aware of?

To the Original Question, just a few hundred, but split across multiple Libraries I quick switch between as needed. Main, Old school, Comics/Graphic Novels and er.. "Spicey Ramen"

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by GuruKast

Hmmm. What's the legality surrounding the device tho?
Setting a hypothetical stage.
I have a Nook with a number of classic titles on it, like Mack Bolan, The Destroyer, etc that I have acquired over the years. I find myself not using the device and not going back to those stories, so I lend my Nook to a young person for them to use, with no fixed date of return. I don't get a new device, I don't re-download those books onto my phone/PC. The device is still registered to me, tho i no longer have it in my possession.
Is this acceptable, or is there some clause I should be aware of?

Unless the books are public domain, I don't think it's legal to do that.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I don't record paper books at all, as I read very few of them these days. I did it once, about 30 years ago, but I never bothered to import the list to calibre. Just not something I'm interested in.

I don't have any empty book entries in calibre.

I started adding those because it was fairly easy.
Calibre had Add from ISBN
I had a Keyboard wedge version of a barcode scanner. By then more than 5o% had barcodes, another 15% had ISBN (the rest had other numbering or none)
For covers, if I did not like what Calibre found back in 2010, I slapped the book or books (I could fit up to 4 on my HP 4C) . An hour or so a day and a year latter, I had my entries (calibre did a lookup at 6the time) and now it only took time to cull and normalize the data.