So, this Library Thing?
I finally succumbed (Library Thing profile), and signed up yesterday, and have been cataloguing for a bit. I sort of gave up tagging after the first book, but it’s rather cool. I found
You’re allowed 200 books on a free account, and I’m at over 150 already, and I’m nowhere near finished with the books I actually like/use. I like the recommendations features, there’s a pile of books on that list I’ve been meaning to get for ages anyway. And the Unsuggester can be fun as well; type in your favourite book, see what book you’re least likely to like/own. Except, from the sidebar, I’m actually quite likely to get Kissinger’s book, and Thud! remains a favourite from the year.
Question for those using it? Any easy way to select a different edition of the same book? For some reason it keeps giving me French or German prints (and, in one case, Serbian), and while I’ve no real objection to appearing my of a linguist than I am, it is a little daft, and I can’t figure out an easy way. Also, apart from Groups, is there a ‘networking’ aspect I’m missing? Regardless, a cool site.
Yup, that’s me. I actually used to be Bopeepsheep on there too, but I changed it. I can’t remember why.
and , if you’re feeling particularly drawn in…
Note
one of us! one of us!
Comment by bopeepsheep | November 27, 2006
As to your question about editions, that’s a big set of different issues with different answers depending on how you’re seeing those editions. Are you adding books by ISBN from Add Books? If so, check your selected source (libraries are better than Amazon, generally). If you’re adding from other people’s records, LT is a bit quirky on this and the best way to make sure you get the right edition is to grab the ISBN from the record and enter it separately, IME. Adding from work information pages has a tendency to be a bit random. Finally, if a title in your library view is correct but it switches to another language in work view, that’s not necessarily an error. It’s an unwelcome side-effect of work combining, which LT staff are trying to fix, along with the many other things still in beta.
It’s one of the most addictive sites I’ve encountered in the last 18m, and much of how it currently works is due to user input. The staff (initially just, now half a dozen of them) have been very responsive and are always open to questions.
Comment by bopeepsheep | November 27, 2006
BTW, your page on it appears to be broken, or isn’t displaying properly to me anyway, it’s just giving a few lines of error.
Comment by draxar | November 27, 2006
Yeah, no, it’s doing that for all the profiles I’ve clicked on this morning (I wanted to look at it on a never-logged-in machine).
Looks like their SQL database is broken for a bit.
Comment by matgb | November 27, 2006
Joined the comm and added the feeds last night; you’d posted them to the LJers group on there.
After posting, I did figure out how to edit the cover displaying, which is better, and I’m just changing the display name back; I started entering by author searching Amazon UK, but then switched to X owns this style things until I’d got through most of my favourites, then just grabbed books from the shelf. Probably ought to put them back ont he shelf but there y’go.
That’s the thing I like/hate about “web 2.0″, everything is in perpetual beta. Gmail’s still in beta FFS, I’ve been using it for two years now…
I’ll start finding out the bug reporting thing at some point as well.
Comment by matgb | November 27, 2006
Ooh, this looks fun. Is it easy? *considers joining*
Comment by el_staplador | November 27, 2006
Very, I got started and had half my books in in half an hour or so.
When you do an author search and want more than one book, open each link into a new tab/windo and you’re fine. You’ll also need to add a UK based database, like Amazon.co.uk or a decent library.
Comment by matgb | November 27, 2006
you are a fundamentally bad person. as i hold you directly responsible, i am going to bill you for the hours i spent trying to remember every book i own, seeing how they’re in a seperate county.
maybe not ‘fundamentally bad’. maybe just, uh, ‘person with links and stuff’.
Comment by jantshira | November 28, 2006
So where’s your profile then?
I haven’t done all my books, just the ones I could remember and/or find in this room. If I searched the other room, my parents or various friends houses I’d be onto a paid account already. Which I’m tempted by.
Which reminds me actually…
*goes to add Steph Swainston to LibraryThing*
Comment by matgb | November 28, 2006