I just downloaded current version of Calibre and am going to start using. Any tips? How to get started? Does booklikes have a data export yet (if so, anyone have the URL since my menus still don't work)?
I've looked into Calibre before and halfheartedly tried (halfheartedly because had been really satisfied with Visual Bookshelf and then pre-2012 goodreads). I'm not satisfied with any book site currently.
Not to derail the Calibre tip request, but I'm summarizing my current thoughts about booksites I have been trying to use or get away from below this (under the " read more" on dashboard view).
Off topic for Calibre but under spoiler are comments about the other sites I've been tracking reads:
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Libib works great for what it is -- no social or review aspect. But, I don't think it has nearly the features of calibre even if a good "cloud" backup of my book data.
Fictfact works great for what it is. None better at series features. No social or reviewing (can star rate a book and can follow other members to see what they are shelving/rating) and is series only at this time. I still love it. And I do read a lot of series.
Booklikes works to blog things and somewhat to engage in the comments -- but that's it, no shelves, groups, imports, html edit to blog or anything else works for me. Because not a U.S. site with consumer rights, consumer fraud laws and copyright protections I'm familiar with -- always a little leery of booklikes and any non-U.S. site (and all the horror stories about libel cases and crap in non U.S. legal systems). I joined at a time they were talking about moving to New York.
I've stayed on booklikes because so many fellow goodreads refugees came here and I like the social/conversation side with them. (It's also, particularly now that goodreads is destroying their updates feeds, the most active reader-to-reader book discussions and reviews --even outside of some folk who echo their activity to all their book sites the action seems to be here for readers.
Reading Room has potential based on the features but so very little activity and low membership it's a ghost town that I've given up on but not deleted my account in case that ever changes.
Goodreads caused me to flee to booklikes and Leafmarks and has only gotten further along the how-dare-you-engage-with-other-readers-instead-of-seeing-what-we-want-you-to-see-and-churning-out-book-promotions-for-amazon path.
Leafmarks isn't something I've given up on but they've got a long way to go; in fact, with some current series and other librarian edit confusions -- I need to step back until I see more staff activity, updates, staff activity, new features, staff activity, things showing up on the home page marquee... I get the impression Jacquie is currently very busy and while there was never really an explanation of Emily's departure that could be one reason she's overwhelmed. Just stepping back for a while to see; the last thing I want to do is work my ass on the database only to have all those changes undone (or unnecessary if a new feature comes along and just handles). I know, I did that one to myself because I was determinedly working through edits I was told were needed in order to get the new series and group features I badly want...no desire to turn Leafmarks into goodreads, Shelfari, An Archive of Our Own, or any other community -- but hypocritically I would love it if they were a lot more like fictfact with the series.
I'll check Leafmarks out again in August; I had to step back when they were deadset against series, deadset against different type of series but not really sure so maybe publisher series as well as book series and maybe fanfic installments as series and maybe not and maybe and maybe not -- until they decided so I waded in on book series, ran smack dab into maybe series name in titles and maybe not, then smack dab into oh hell no we are never going to support multiple series (which made me back away completely), then yes multiple series but chapters/installments of a work do not a series make and only book series with publisher series to go in edition notes instead and more series features to come like "next in series" and series tracking ... so I dove into the only one series and only the smallest spinoff on a book (with an exception for franchsies like Star Wars that showed on book covers where the series could say "Star Wars: Whatever" like we did for subtitles) and immediately dove back out because seemed like a free for all with everyone doing strange things to try to bypass the "rules" ... and now they are back to the maybe or maybe nots and saying one thing in the groups and another thing responding to support emails so I'm stepping back again like I did until they made up their minds about title fields and enabled multi-series.
Honestly, with Leafmarks, I've no more patience with spending hours trying to manage database according to standards they set only to have that change. I know they're new. That's why I was patient because of course there's a learn as you go. I was hoping with the discussion groups there'd be more discussion before policies flipped around so much (or for crying out loud enough time between changes to let us get a handle on standardizing the data where future changes could possibly be some automated script handling or at the least so that members and librarians had a chance to get the message). Policies shouldn't change via email to individuals asking questions where now that person is doing one way and others are doing the old way -- need to post in the librarians group now, the manual, the marquee, ... sorry for the rant. Recent disappointments with Leafmarks obviously.
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