LibraryThing
I know there are more than a few on my flist who are as addicted to collecting and reading books as I am. Some time back I had thought to compile a list of all the books I own, using the home inventory - book collection worksheet that is part of Microsoft Works (which also has templates for video/DVD collections, collectables, etc.).
But that task proved to be time consuming, and the worsening of the bursitis in my right shoulder has severely limited the amount of time I can spend at the keyboard (not to mention the increasing workload the boss has given me - the standing joke with several of our clients is that it must be my company, since I seem to be the one running it more and more often). What time I am able spend typing (on the PC or the laptop) I would much rather devote to writing.
Then I read about LibraryThing (read more about it here). I can't get over how easy it is to use. In just a few minutes I was able to catalogue several books simply by entering the ISBN number. But to make it even easier, I've also ordered a CueCat Barcode Scanner, which will read the ISBN barcode, eliminating the need to type anything - and eliminates the need to put on my glasses to read the (too often) small print. :p
I have no doubt that I'll exceed the limit of 200 books for free libraries, but the $25 fee (for life; more sensible IMO than shelling out $10 per year) is a small price for have an accurate list of the books in my library; such mundane things as insurance and replacement costs come to mind, should the unthinkable ever happen - or happen again, in my case. :(
But for now the video/DVD and collectable catalogues (and other household inventories) will have to be compiled with the MS-Works templates - not quite the old-fashioned way. ;)
But that task proved to be time consuming, and the worsening of the bursitis in my right shoulder has severely limited the amount of time I can spend at the keyboard (not to mention the increasing workload the boss has given me - the standing joke with several of our clients is that it must be my company, since I seem to be the one running it more and more often). What time I am able spend typing (on the PC or the laptop) I would much rather devote to writing.
Then I read about LibraryThing (read more about it here). I can't get over how easy it is to use. In just a few minutes I was able to catalogue several books simply by entering the ISBN number. But to make it even easier, I've also ordered a CueCat Barcode Scanner, which will read the ISBN barcode, eliminating the need to type anything - and eliminates the need to put on my glasses to read the (too often) small print. :p
I have no doubt that I'll exceed the limit of 200 books for free libraries, but the $25 fee (for life; more sensible IMO than shelling out $10 per year) is a small price for have an accurate list of the books in my library; such mundane things as insurance and replacement costs come to mind, should the unthinkable ever happen - or happen again, in my case. :(
But for now the video/DVD and collectable catalogues (and other household inventories) will have to be compiled with the MS-Works templates - not quite the old-fashioned way. ;)