15 August 2016

Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: Organizing My Reading List

Organizin My Reading ListIt's the Olympics! What does that have to do with reading? It means that instead of reading I've been watching sports. On the other hand, it doesn't mean that books aren't top-most on my mind.

I've been taking advantage of Olympics coverage to take a journey through my bookshelves. I've talked about culling books a couple of times before (the pain, the hows), and I've also talked about book database apps (check this out).

Here's what I did last week and what I'll be doing this coming week: Culling books and changing my book database to Libib.

For several years, my dream has been to have my unread print books, eBooks, and audiobooks in a single, searchable place. (I'm not concerned about the books I've read because I have a record here on Beth Fish Reads, over on Litsy, and via various freelance reviewing gigs.) My trouble has always been that when it comes time to pick my next book, I have to check too many places to see my available choices.

Although it sounds incredibly painful, I've decided to give up on LibaryThing and GoodReads and commit to Libib. Yes, I'm going to rescan all my unread print books and enter all my unread eBooks and unlistened to audiobooks into a single private database.

Why do I like Libib? Two things: I can see the publisher's summary without a zillion mouse clicks and I can perform easy searches. It's all in the custom tags, which I can create based on the way I choose my next read: genre, audience, and medium (as well as publishing date and diversity issues). I love that Libib allows me to easily search my entire TBR based on my current mood, whether that's a contemporary YA audiobook, a middle grade fantasy print book, or an adult thriller eBook.

I plan to be done entering all my print books by the end of the Olympics. It'll take me another couple of weeks to add my eBooks to Libib, and by the end of September I should be done with my audiobooks. I hope all my book stack dreams will come true just as the weather changes, the nights become longer, and I'm ready to tackle my TBR with a vengeance.

Wish me luck.

13 comments:

rhapsodyinbooks 8/15/16, 6:33 AM  

I have also spent more time watching the Olympics than reading. But it's worth it, I think!

Literate Housewife 8/15/16, 6:54 AM  

What a great way to take advantage of the Olympics! I've used my time to organize and add all of my stamping crafts into a Google sheet. It's something I wouldn't have done without the Olympics, so it feels like an Olympic event to me. 🙂

Sarah (Sarah's Book Shelves) 8/15/16, 7:40 AM  

Haven't the Olympics been amazing?! I didn't read much last week for the same reason, so I posted an Olympic swimming recap today instead of my usual Monday reading update. Glad you're getting your bookshelves done during this time!

bermudaonion 8/15/16, 9:06 AM  

I like the looks of Libib but don't think I can take on adding all my books to it. Too bad there's not an import feature. Good luck!

Katherine P 8/15/16, 10:14 AM  

I love the concept of having all my unread books on one searchable database but the thought of it is so intimidating! I like your plan to use your time watching the Olympics and having the goal of having the print books scanned in. And also I think it's smart to go down to really one main database. I always tend to go too big which means it gets over complicated and I end up letting it go. Good luck!

SuziQoregon 8/15/16, 10:46 AM  

That's an adventurous project but you will be SO HAPPY when it's done. One of these day's I'll clean up my LibraryThing files.

Kailana 8/15/16, 10:53 AM  

I am doing the same! I have made it through one bookcase... Now that I have figured out, thanks to Libid, to scan the inside cover of fantasy books it is going much quicker!

Tina 8/15/16, 11:18 AM  

That sounds appealing, one database. I started with libraryThing and then someone told me about Goodreads. So I post reviews on both, a simple matter of copy and paste the same review. But I only use Goodreads to catalog books I want to read.

Then someone mentioned Litsy. Off I go and sign up and now I have those three places. There was actually a 4th book site where I started cataloging books, a new startup, but I couldn't keep up with so many places. I think if I had to choose, I would just stick with Goodreads. But your new place (I just checked it out) has appeal. Yikes.

Tasha B. 8/16/16, 1:15 AM  

So Libib worked out for you, then! I still haven't tried it. And the Olympics are sucking all my reading time up, too.

Daryl 8/16/16, 11:50 AM  

oy and vey .. i am so happy to remain disorganized ...

Tina's Blog 8/16/16, 12:46 PM  

That sounds like a time consuming job! I always think someday I will do something like that, but it just seems overwhelming. This week we are painting in various rooms and even moving all the books is quite a job!

Buried In Print 8/16/16, 4:15 PM  

That's funny: now you're always going to associate the Olympics with your personal Olympian effort to catalogue! Good luck with the project!

Iliana 8/16/16, 5:05 PM  

Good luck with your bookish effort! I catalogued my books several years ago in a program called Bookpedia. Unfortunately I haven't kept up with it and now I probably need to go through it all over again.

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