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The problem of cataloging novels
I wouldn't say I'm a prolific reader, but over the years I've read a lot of novels. I never used to have a problem identifying the next-in-the-series, or a new novel by an author I followed.
However, now I generally only read on a Kindle I don't visit Waterstones (or your bookstore of choice) and I don't get that instant recognition of author/style/jacket that I used to (there are times when I don't even remember who the author is of the current novel I'm reading). A Kindle problem or an age problem, could be both.
So, to cataloging novels. I've used Wish Lists categorised by authors on Amazon for quite a while but is is seriously deficient in so many ways. I can track what I've read (to a degree) and what I want to read (I have an "about to be purchased" list).
What I can't do is capture when an author has a new novel out, when a novel becomes available on Kindle, when a new edition is NOT new but a revision of an old edition, and so on.
I've also tried using eReaderIQ, but this only tells me about price changes, which isn't really what I'm after.
How do others manage to keep track of what they've read and what they want to read?
However, now I generally only read on a Kindle I don't visit Waterstones (or your bookstore of choice) and I don't get that instant recognition of author/style/jacket that I used to (there are times when I don't even remember who the author is of the current novel I'm reading). A Kindle problem or an age problem, could be both.
So, to cataloging novels. I've used Wish Lists categorised by authors on Amazon for quite a while but is is seriously deficient in so many ways. I can track what I've read (to a degree) and what I want to read (I have an "about to be purchased" list).
What I can't do is capture when an author has a new novel out, when a novel becomes available on Kindle, when a new edition is NOT new but a revision of an old edition, and so on.
I've also tried using eReaderIQ, but this only tells me about price changes, which isn't really what I'm after.
How do others manage to keep track of what they've read and what they want to read?
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Comments
https://www.librarything.com/home#
I wish you'd said that it costs to have more than 200 books catalogued before I started
And another database of books on my wantlist.
I've been doing that, but find I miss new releases, or have to trawl through Amazon to identify anything not on my list for each author.
As an SF fan I use the forthcoming books lists published in Locus magazine. That saves a load of time though they miss some small press or print-on-demand editions.
As I visit the websites of my favourite authors regularly I'm usually aware of what's due in the coming months.
That website is really useful - thank you for posting the link!
and it brings up pages of info on publication dates of the series
I have asked for. I have never had a problem cataloging my own
ebooks!
I used to have a list of all the books I has read since 1984 - I created it into a database and threw out the original hand written list - a couple of years later my computer crashed and I lost it - I was devastated as you can imagine!
Now I just have a hand written list but it's only since 2005
I had my database on a floppy which got corrupted.
Fortunately I had my original paper lists but it took me ages to re-do all that I had lost.
It's a database of all books in your preferred genre(s) - Mystery (including true crime, thrillers, romantic suspense, suspense, etc.), SF (including horror and fantasy), and/or Romance (incl. every sub-genre you could think of). In the database, it lists all possible books and short stories by each author. Almost every entry has a synopsis (already supplied with the database), publishing details, major character names and the like. In my preferred module, it lists books dating back to the 1920s. If a book entry is missing a synopsis, you can write it up yourself.
They send you an update once or twice per year, which allows you to see forthcoming books by your favourite authors in your database.
To be honest, the best thing about this program is that it allows you to search for a book (whether you own it or not) by certain keywords, era, sub-genre, location, character's name, publisher, year of publishing or any other filter you like. Incredibly useful when you struggle to recall a book or when you're in the mood for a certain type of stories.
You can easily add books if they aren't in the database. You also can add notes to any book, author or publisher. Add characters' names to any book entry. You can also check for the list order of a book series, which is useful for a long-running book series. Incredibly flexible. Frankly, it's a wet dream for a genre bibliophile.
The downside to that fantastic program? The cost. It's a bit ouch when comparing with other programs, but it does offer a lot more than other programs.
You don't have to buy an annual subscription ($30/£18) as you can buy an one-off update ($10/£6) any time you want after purchasing the core database ($120 / £79). I bought three updates - via email/online or on CD - in ten years and my database didn't suffer in process.
Also, I think each genre module - Romance, Mystery and Science Fiction - are quite similar for major book releases. For example, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code can be found in Mystery and Romance because the book contains both elements. So you don't have to worry that much about choosing a genre module.
However, lesser-known books fall under each genre module rather strictly. If it's a pure mystery novel, it's likely to be found in Mystery only. Nothing to stop you from adding this or non-genre books to your database, though. Or buying more than one module.
I recommend this to anyone who's really into reading a specific genre.
I'd keep using it if it wasn't for Calibre (freeware) http://calibre-ebook.com, which does require effort in updating digital books and the like. Plus, I don't read as much as I used to.