Welcome aboard - - Introduce yourself!

If you're new to LibraryThing, don't be shy. You've discovered a very special website with much to offer about books and reading.

We'd like to get to know you better, so please take few moments to tell us a little bit about how you found us, who you are, what your interests are, and what you hope to get out of LibraryThing.

We're delighted you have chosen to visit us and hope you decide to stay for a long, long time.

P.S. An FYI to authors new to LibraryThing (to avoid having your posts flagged): This thread is only for posts about you, not promotional posts about your work (against LibraryThing Terms of Service). To discuss your work with others here on LibraryThing, either join the Writer's Brag and Rag Bag, become a LibraryThing Author, or (better yet!) join the new group Hobnob with Authors.

P.P.S. This thread is CLOSED to new posts due to its length (causing problems with load time to some computer users). However, PLEASE GO TO THIS THREAD (or any other continuation of that thread) to post your message. We *do* want to hear from you. Thanks!

i'm not new, but i wanted to get the ball rolling.

HI! i'm Leah. i've been on LT for about 1 1/2 years and LOVE it. the cataloging part is what drew me in, but the community is what made me love it.

myself and several other "experienced members" (like the wonderful SqueakyChu above) are more than happy to help out new members and answer any question. this group is something we've been eagerly anticipating for quite a while, so let's make it awesome!

to all the new members, WELCOME! can't wait to see you all diving in!

I'm also not new but am quite happy to help out.

Hello, I go by Veta on this site and I've been a part of LT for about 8 months and am quite obsessed :D

I actually found this site when i was working on an English assignment. I was looking for a book that contained allegory and this site came up because of the tagmash.

I am the new member who inspired the creation of this group because I didn't quite know who the site worked. Leah was one of the first ppl to befriend me when i stirred up a slightly heated discussion.

Welcome! Feel free to leave a comment on my profile :)

Well I am new... (almost)

Hi, I'm Lynn from Cleveland Ohio. I actually joined this past fall and cataloged a few of my library. With the extra time off this holiday season I stumbled again across this site, and have been enjoying it immensely. I even dared to join the 75 Book Challenge... and post! I'm married with 3 kids; 2 in college and the youngest on his way there next year. I work for a medical software company and enjoy reading and yoga in my spare time. I'm glad to see this Standing Group start as I had a bit of a time figuring things out. But people are quite friendly and willing to help. Thanks all.

I'm Madeline, age 62, resident of Rockville, Maryland. I joined LibraryThing in April, 2006 (obviously not a new member, but just wanted to say hi). I'm married with three grown children, only one still living at home. I'm a registered nurse who's hoping to soon pass the home care medical coding exam. I originally found LibraryThing through a post on Bookcrossing. I'm an avid Bookcrosser, editor for my CSA newsletter, bibliophile, and amateur vegetable gardener. My favorite activities on LibraryThing are the challenges, the Early Reviewers program, and assisting with new features. To all: enjoy your stay at LibraryThing!

Well, 2nd attempt to post this! So an abbreviated version this time around :-)

Been keeping a list of books read since 2000, I read about 26 a year. List used to be on spreadsheets, guess where it is now?

Loving librarything, but a touch overwhelmed by the level of geekdom here ;-)

As for me, amongst other things I am a financialstoryteller, my websites should help the curious, i.e. www.financialstoryteller.com www.rightantler.com and www.ourbirdfeeder.com.

I suspect I will add a librarything widget to www.rightantler.com in due course.

Thanks everyone and Happy New Year!

Welcome to Librarything rightantler! We do tend to be enthusiastic about our reading but we have a lot of fun.

To introduce myself: A real oldie, having joined in September 2005. The half of hailelib seen on Talk is Tricia, age 63, and I work part-time as a librarian (untrained) at a Montessori school. The other half is the author! We first joined because we wanted an easy way to catalogue our books but I've come to really enjoy participating in some of the more social aspects of LT.

Welcome rightantler ... you're right, there is a wonderful level of geekdom here ;-)

hi

i am pam, from glasgow, scotland and am totally new. I found this website in a magazine my husband was reading and decided to check it out. I thought i would start by recording all the books l read this year - it's only 1 so far but is early days!!

I am also going to try the 75 books challenge.

anyway thanks and bye for now

p

>9

Pam, which magazine did LT get a mention in? Tim (the site owner) might be interested if he doesn't already know about it.

Also, you don't need to worry about about moving words such as 'A' and 'The' at the start of book titles to the back of the title, because those words are ignored for sorting purposes: your 'Other Hand, the' can be safely entered as The Other Hand.

Hey Pammie, I found LT in a magazine a long, long time ago and I just never left ... it's a dangerous, dangerous place!

WELCOME rightantler and pammie!

>11 - it's a dangerous, dangerous place!

... I second that !

My husband keeps looking over my shoulder at what can possibly be taking up so much of my time besides 'reading'. :)

>13 Mine calls you all my 'imaginary friends online' ... hasn't made a dent on the amount of time I spend here though ;-)

klarusu - didn't you just get some very physical proof to show him that we are not imaginary friends online ;-)

LT is a great place!

I so did ... I stuck my tongue out at him (because I'm *that* grown up).

Hello,

my name is Lisa. I am from Germany and I joined LT in July. I tried different ways of keeping track of my books and I found LT the very best solution. There is just one BIG flaw - you get addicted to it - it is so interesting to read the reviews, the talks, get impulses ... and so on and on.

Mine calls you all my 'imaginary friends online'

Sheesh. We send you cards. We send you moleskins. We send you stickers. What does snuffaluffagus need to do to prove he's real? ;)

I am from Germany and I joined LT in July.

Welcome!

84charingcross - love the username!

>>What does snuffaluffagus need to do to prove he's real? ;)

Host an LTCon. Seriously. With panels, readings, and talks by staff members and others.

Sheesh. We send you cards. We send you moleskins. We send you stickers.
Yeah, he's just a philistine fighting a losing battle ... I'm sure if there wasn't an American stamp on the package, he'd have fallen back on the assumption that I'd just crept down to the post office and sent them to myself. But he reads, so I forgive him.

I'm quite new here. Just into my second week, but this is my third post, AND I got two badges already! And help from paulhuntley was very quick when I asked about separating book works.

Found a reference to LT in the January 2010 edition of 'The Official Magazine Windows' p.9.

It is still difficult to find concise technical information about how to do things. For example, there are several references to John Lunn as an author. There appear to be at least three separate people with same name. How can that be made clear?

>22 Sorry that should have been paulhurtley.

Welcome beverslie! Badges already? That's it, you'll just never leave now! I'm impressed ;-)

22: If you look at any author's page, the right-hand column has a section called disambiguation notice. For authors with the same name, I recommend posting any specific bio/genre info to distinguish them in that notice, and also split the author so the right works are grouped together.

welcome charing and beavers!

>22 there are talks of updating the author pages to fix that problem, but it will probably be a while before it comes about.

one of the best things about LT is that the developers and programmers are part of our community (like Tim up there, he's the founder and head honcho) and they really do listen to what we say about making LT function perfectly.

of course, that also means that sometimes things take longer than we think they should because they are getting input from everyone, and everyone wants something different (you'll see a lot of talk about ponies) and new ideas come up that get worked on before other projects are finished... it makes LT spectacular for those of us who enjoy having input and a nightmare for anyone who's obsessed with scheduling.

>>they really do listen to what we say about making LT function perfectly

Often they ignore us. Then we get to sulk. Very satisfying! :)

>27 Nah, I'd rather they just listened all the time so I didn't have to sulk :)

:(

>27, yeah and sometimes we throw our toys about too ...

Or send me cider machines.

...but none of these things have any influence...

The man himself! Thank you thank you thank you. We owe you, if not a cider--sending cider through the mail is probably illegal--a photo of LT employees drinking it down! :)

Sending cider through the post can also be messy. Mind you, so can drinking it down.

And a colon right parenthesis to you too!

There's badges?

>34

There are indeed: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Helper_badges

No badges for drinking cider though (as yet).

>34 And this is where you will see the details of yours although they also appear on your Profile page.

Thanks, seems like a good feature!

I joined LibraryThing in 2008 but didn't really start using it last days of 2009. I tried other sites to tag what I have read, but found that they don't provide what I am looking for, which is to recommend new books and authors based on my reading habits. I came back and seriously started exploring this site. The amount of work that was done since 2008 is amazing and most of it seems because of the huge community of book lovers. Looking forward to participating.

I joined in early 2009. Great place to catalog books I've read and am very addicted to the wishlist and early reviewing. I keep my wishlist updated on my cell phone along with my amazon list so I can hunt down books when at the bookstores. Love the community although I don't get involved much.

Clint Flatt

Welcome, edjane! I find that the more you participate and use the site, the more you discover. Happy exploring! (And good luck on your 1010 Challenge)

Edited to say: And welcome to you, Clint, as well!

Clint, how can we get you more involved?

>40 How do you keep you wishlist on your cell phone? I have been looking for an easy way to export this to my iPod touch. Is there an app for that?

>43 I go to www.librarything.com/m from my iPhone to access my catalog.

>44 thanks for the link... I then found this in the FAQ - http://www.librarything.com/topic/70251 and posted about progress of wishlist (collection) as a feature of mobileLT.

I just joined LT this week and have spent almost all of my free time transferring books from spreadsheets to LT and re-organizing my book shelves. Wow, what a site! I've added most of my books, joined some groups, won 2 badges, posted a few times, and scanned a dozen covers.

I stumbled upon LT when googling certain titles attempting to find their LOC numbers. The site was down when I clicked the link, but I kept it in my mind for later. I am so glad I did!

When I've finished with my library, I might do my mother a favor and catalog hers as well. My ultimate goal is to put the family estate library on here. Considering I calculated it would take a year of full-time entering to put it into spread sheets, this might be over-ambitious. It would be so much more useful than Excel, though.

I'm not quite sure what to do about those quasi-books I have - booklets, guides, directories, etc, that I and a few universities own, but are not on here. Should I add something like the American's Horse Council's '2009 Horse Industry Directory' or leave it off, since it's not technically a book?

Another question (please forgive me if there is a better place for these): While I understand disambiguation, is there a way to condense what is listed as 3 separate authors into 1 if you absolutely, positively know they are one and the same? One such example is Patricia McConnell the dog trainer.

And for my introduction, I'm Emilie, I have a lot of critters, I read a lot, and I spend too much time online. My profile is updated, so if someone is really curious, they could check that out as well. I look forward to interacting with the oldies and learning as much as I can.

Hiya Emilie & Welcome! I'm sure you've found a good home if you stumbled upon LT whilst googling LOC numbers ... there are many kindred spirits here! If you're interested in LOC numbers, there's always this little group to keep you busy ;-)

Should I add something like the American's Horse Council's '2009 Horse Industry Directory' or leave it off, since it's not technically a book?

I think it's partially your own preference. There are a lot of people that do enter periodicals here. I don't enter my scientific ones but that's because they're quite transient in my possession and also I don't like LT reminding me of work. I'd suggest checking around the site a bit and seeing what others have done.

is there a way to condense what is listed as 3 separate authors into 1 if you absolutely, positively know they are one and the same?

Yes, you can combine authors. It would probably be worth checking out the Combiners! group for help and advice on that:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/combiners

It's a one stop shop for all things combination and very active so hopefully people will reply to any questions quite fast.

I too have lots of critters!

Welcome Emilie! Welcome home! I love this place, and I fully understand the fascination of cataloging. That may be why I keep buying new books - I love to catalog.

I just have one critter: the infamous KittyMonster. I love her dearly but my policy is that the animals in my house will not outnumber the people.

welcome welcome Emilie! glad you found us and are settling in so well (2 badges already! wonderful!).

Considering I calculated it would take a year of full-time entering to put it into spread sheets, this might be over-ambitious. It would be so much more useful than Excel, though.

you need a CueCat. typically i don't really recommend these as you loose a little of the fun of enter each book by hand, but it sounds like you have a TON of books to enter.

Should I add something like the American's Horse Council's '2009 Horse Industry Directory' or leave it off, since it's not technically a book?

i would, but that's because LT has created in me a great NEED to know what readable material is in my house... you can enter them manually if LT doesn't recognize them

good luck!

hi! I've been a member since this summer I think. I just love doing reviews and getting books and getting my books organized. My tags are probably pretty wacky! But they mean stuff to me! We have books everywhere, this summer I said to my DH "Isn't there some gizmo that I could use to scan the codes on the books and put them in a database?" He did some google and found the cue cat and here I am! I thought we had about a 1000 books. Now I realize I have barely started, we have so many books, eventually I want to give some away. Maybe!

Now I don't actually use the cue cat much because (1) it can be a little cranky (2) a lot of my books so far don't have the scan codes OR the evil bookstore put their store stickers over the code (3) it is easier for me to just type the number! (4) of course some of my books don't even have the number and I'm finding the book via title/name.

I've been too shy to try the Groups and talk too much, just a little bit, but I'm going to do more now. And I had no idea about the badges and medals and the whole community effort! I had no idea! What good people are here!!!

I have a fulltime job and a cranky 11 year old son by the way. Who won't read unless I make him.

Anyway! Howdy!

Rae of RaeBear (the Bear is my husband who has logged in the reference books and talked a little video game stuff)

I printed my wish list to my PDF printer then saved the PDF to my phone

Thanks so much for the suggestion of a CueCat! I'll definitely get one before tackling any more! Even though most of the books are pre-ISBN, it will still shave so much time off. I'm watching the combiners group now, and will get to work on combining when I've finished entering my library (another few days should do it).

#45, lynn: I answered you in the LT mobile thread (use of "wishlist" tag as a workaround).

hey all...stumbled across this site and gotta say I think I'm gonna love it.

intro here is just pasted form my profile...shortcuts in life are sometimes a blessing..less typing means back to reading. Name's Cheryl and here's the rest.

Happily married mother of 8. 4 of which are mine, 2 are step, one sadly is now an angel, and heaven forbid I forget my dog. Beyond my family, which at times does consume me, I read, read some more, then after taking a break what do I do but read more.

I feel I need to explain my name as I have no desire to offened anyone and if I do let me know. In 2008 I landed in the E.R. Finding out I had a brain tumor and would have to have surgery, was very terrifying. But I did and I survived. The nickname comes from the aftermath of the trauma. My mind just goes blank..dead..pauses..burps..from time to time no matter what I'm doing from driving to talking to even walking and everything in between and my kids just say don't worry mom your just having a blonde moment. :)

Hi Cheryl. Welcome to LT. I admire the courage that I see in your jocular acceptance of the consequences of your trauma. You should have no trouble finding other obsessive readers here although some of us find the site eating into our reading time.

hey all, I _do_ have a question! What exactly does public library/private library here on library thing mean? I'm fairly confused.

thanks,
Rae

If a library is private, we all can't see what books you enter, browse your catalog, read your reviews, see what tags you use, etc. For example, this library is private whereas my library is public.

This is timely, so is there any way to indicate a collection, tag, book is not private. For instance I may not want everyone to know every book I own or the tags I use. I can think of plenty of examples as I suspect, many others can.
It would be nice if there was a flag on each entry in my library or something?

>58 It's been requested several times. Most recent request is here. However, no, there currently is no option to have a part-private/part-public library.

I'm brand new and can't quite figure this thing out yet. But I joined because I want to keep a list of the books I've read and obtain recommendations for new books. I like all kinds of lliterature. Anything historical, biographies, period novels, fiction, non-fiction. Among my favorite authors are Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, James Michener, Fanny Flagg, just to name a few. I will see if I can start my list of books that I have read in the last year tomorrow.

I'm really looking forward to trying this out. From the posts that I have read, everyone seems very helpful and nice.

gallegos49

>60 Welcome, gallegos49! It takes a bit of time to figure out all the tricks, but, in my opinion, it's definitely worth it.

welcome gallegos!

it can be a little overwhelming when you first get started, but that's because there are so many great things!

once you get some books entered, you will start seeing connections you have with other libraries (so you can see what people who have your books also have) and you'll start getting recommendations too.

there are groups for just about ANYTHING you can think of bookwise, so just jump into any of those. you will find lots of very knowledgeable, helpful people in Groups and Talk.

have fun!

(57) Yikes! So the reviews I've written can't be seen by other people until I set things "Public"? {{sad face}}???? I 'll have to do that!

thanks for info and examples.

I can see your reviews!! Thanks for sharing them with us.

ETA: Nice profile pic, too! You'll find that "going" public" will be worthwhile in increasing your enjoyment of LibraryThing, making it more like an online book club rather than just a website in which to catalog your books.

Nice reviews, RaeBear. Your review of Simply an Inspired Life had a great ending!

Hi to everyone. I am new here. I stumble across this site accidentally when I was looking up an author. I have only been here a couple of days, and I loving this site. I love to read, but never had a source for good recommendations for the topics I enjoy.

I am looking for people I can converse, debate, and expand my knowledge with, so add me if you are interested.

Hi heart. Welcome. One suggestion I would make is to lurk in some of the groups that look interesting to you. You can also click on the "Groups" tag up top and search for groups that sound interesting to you and look at their past threads. You'll be chatting up a storm before you know it.

Hey all. I am new to LT, I joined in December. A friend told me about LT a couple of years ago as he knew that I wanted to catalog my books. I waited until I could get at all my books that were paced away awaiting the completion of my library. My library was finally finished in August. Then, over the winter break, I had time to start cataloging so I dug out the cue cat he had lent to me and began. I also got myself a pen scanner to read bar does, LC numbers, or even titles when there are no bar codes.

Wow! This is highly addictive. At the moment, I am concentrating mostly on getting all of my books in. I get sidetracked frequently checking out the various aspects of the site that I run into.

I have already had a couple of instances of great and prompt help from older members here so I think you are all great.

Sorry, this has come out much longer than I intended. So, to finish. I am a university lecturer, love to read and cook.

I have discovered that what I hope to get out of LT will change as I discover more. I started just to catalog, I am excited about the recommendations. For instance, I have tried many times to find authors similar to Wodehouse but have not been successful. I think I will be now.

Welcome, tlmiller! A library is great, isn't it? I love how I am now able to get to all my books without first having to move the "front row"! (I moved into a flat double the size of my old one, so the first thing I ordered were bookshelves!)

>65 Thank you Countrylife! {{grins}}

>68 tlmiller, there's no one quite like Wodehouse. :) But I hope you get some good recommendations!

I agree, but it would be nice to find something similar. He is just so good that he can't be matched.

>69 It is great to have a library or any way to get at all books without moving another pile. It is like finding old friends again.

Funny, I feel so at home here that I don't think myself as "new" even though compared to you oldies I technically am -- I've been here only since last July!

Hi, I'm Talvikki from Finland, 40, married with three children the oldest of which is just about to turn 10.

I'm here for the cataloguing, not socializing -- not because I don't love to discuss books (I do!!) but because I and a friend of mine "own" a literature-site of our own (Austen All-In-One, or "AustenAIO" -- the austen-part meaning the One and Only: Jane Austen :)). Therefore, I reserve my book-related writings for my own site, in my own language.
However, I'm absolutely stuck on Site Talk, New Features, Recommended Site Improvements and lately I found the Pedant's Corner so I'm not keeping quite here ;) I really appreciate the active social environment you have succeeded in creating here!

My husband reads quite a lot, bless him... I guess I couldn't have married someone who wouldn't touch a book! I am the compulsive book-arranger, book-buyer, book-toucher and book-cataloguer -- he just rolls his eyes and accepts the fact that he promised to love me for better and for worse :D

Oh, and about how I found out about LT: that was from our literature-site. We were having a discussion about reading diaries and one of our members mentioned this place. Then one lazy day I was surfing with nothing better to do, decided to take a quick look and....
well. The quick look turned out to something not-so-quick after all. I'm here to stay ;)

50> On your profile, it says when you signed up - you joined in July 09. In Statistics/Memes, you can find when you entered books (aggregate numbers - I entered 731 books in March 07, the first month I entered books), what and where your first post was, when you did reviews...stuff like that. Stats/Memes is a lot of fun!

I hope I am doing this right. Message boards and I are not friends.

My name is Charlie. I am new (hence why I don't know if I'm even posting right.) I joined about an hour ago. I am currently waiting for 6 books to arrive that I just ordered off amazon. I ordered them because I found a blog review about a past book I read, and then read her reviews on other books. Also on her blog she listed this site and that's how I found myself here.

I took me two days before I actually signed up. I'm not one for commitment. And free? That's too good to be true. But awesome!

I am an assistant manager, who spends to much time hiding in corners of the store scaring my poor coworkers. When I'm not doing that I have my nose in a book. I love to read anything and everything.

I also talk to much, so I'm going to shut up and cross my fingers that this is submitted correctly! *haha

Cheers!

It worked so you must have done it right. (-:,

You don't talk too much at all. you sound like an interesting person. (The "scaring my poor coworkers" part sounds like fun.) Welcome.

Edited to close my parentheses.

I also talk to much

Mwa-ha-ha! Don't worry Charlie, you're in good company. Since I joined LT, I've posted 162,030 words in Talk (you can find that out on your statistics page ... I didn't actually count them). Welcome!

Ha ha, beat you. Word count: 215,738

Charlie, you have little to worry about!

Then I should have no problems! ;-)

That's nice that you can see your word count. I thought you were just making up a random number, not that you had actually counted your words, but thanks for clearing that up, because I learned something new!

Also, MerryMary. I should have put I did scare my coworkers...they now call out to me and won't enter any room without knowing where I am. sigh I need to work out a new angle.

Just found this site today, as it was mentioned to me by by publisher-Xlibris- to connect with other readers and authors. So far, so good. I am a poet, chef, mom, and lifelong student...

Ack.

Word count: 476,754

Mine's only 462,874.

*smiles at Zoe*

welcome b! since you are an author, check out the Writer-Readers group to connect with other authors. you can also become a LibraryThing author (i don't know how you go about that, but i'm sure someone else can advise you if you are interested).

i'm sure someone else can advise you if you are interested

I gave b that information already!

Oh, I'm glad you're close!

Not that close! :D

hi everyone! new arrival from Athens, Greece.

LT was recommended to me during a training session at work. Since i love reading books and sharing comments, here i am joining what seems to be a quite interesting ride!

best from Athens,

Vassilis

welcome Vassilis! ohhhhh, Greeeeece.... hm, let's see, you don't happen to have thousands of books that you will just never get entered all by yourself, do you? cause i'm sure several of us would gladly volunteer to come over and have a Flash-Mob for you!

*lol*, atlarge, the group you linked to has a flash-mob in Athens as it top message right now! (Athens, Georgia, USA, that is).

Welcome, Vassilis, from a fellow European --this place has become so labyrinthine that I hadn't even heard of the Flashmob group, and I have been around for 4 years. So, lots of things for you to explore!

Hi. I'm a New Orleans expatriate living in the San Francisco Bay area. I joined LT in July 2008, but all I did was catalog a handful of books and then wander off. I logged in today and joined a few groups. Flashmob sounds intriguing! A muffuletta, by the way, is a New Orleans Italian sandwich.

Hi all,

I'm Evangeline, a long-transplanted Scot living in Chicago. I stumbled across LT while researching book cataloguing systems for a blog post (I run www.bookliciousblog.com) and was utterly intrigued. So I created a username and I'm back. :)

I have some trepidation about cataloguing my collection - when I moved to the U.S. nearly 12 years ago, my library was around the 2,000-book mark and had to be drastically reduced for the move. I still mourn for my lost books, so I'm not sure how it'll feel to list my current collection - I still think of them as my library of second-best books.

Anyway, personal book issues aside, I'm excited to have found this place and a community of similarly book-loving people. It's lovely.

There's no reason just to catalog the books that you still own. You can also catalog the books that you remember having read; there's even a default collection for it, Read But Unowned.

Welcome, muffuletta and whatsweetmadness! those are both great usernames. hope you enjoy yourself here!

You can also create any collection you want (like, say, Read), or use the Your Library collection to list the books you've read rather than the books you own.

Hi, I'm Teresa and new to LT. I really love it so far. I'm taking online courses in a MLIS program and exploring this site is my first assignment. I also have to write a short essay about my experience. This is a fascinating web site but I'm still learning my way around.

I'm sure people would be interested in your essay, whether good or bad (!). :)

(I think infiniteletters means whether you find the site good or bad, not if your essay is good or bad :0 ).

k

?
;-) at keegopatrick.

Note: I just saw on keegopatrick's profile that he entered an airport code for his location. With the new improved LT Local system, you can call up all events and forum groups pertaining to your location, providing you have followed standard spelling. Also, add additional info, if the town has "twins" in other parts of the world (otherwise "Berlin" will probably default to Germany, rather than a town in the USA, and you will get *their* events).

You can of course give as little or as much info as you like. "USA" is fine, as is naming the exact town or leaving the field blank.

Actually, the LT Local has it's own location and it is private, so you can put in your actual address if you want and no one else can see it. The one on the profile might be used as a back up.

My husband was introduced to LibraryThing by a friend at our New Year's party. My question is what is the best way for my husband and I to share a library? I have his account information, but I'd like to be able to do reviews and use talk with my own account information, rather than having both of us use the same account.

Mrs. Comissar,

If I were you, I'd get my own account. It's more fun to be able to post your own reviews and be yourself in talk.

As for your library on your own account, why not just import the books from your husband's account that you want to count as part of your library. If you buy a $25 lifetime membership here, you won't have to worry about any further yearly fee, and you'll have the freedom to use this site as you'd like.

--> 103

Alternatively, if you both want to speak in one voice (!), you can subdivide your library into separate collections ("his" and 'hers"). How sweet! :)

My name is Patrick and I live in Phoenix Arizona but I am originally from suburbs of Detroit Michigan and plan on returning home in the next couple of months. I found LT by googling "book lovers". After years of discussing books that I have read and wish to read in different groups on myspace and facebook I finally started looking for a social networking sites that is exclusively for readers and here I am. I look forward to logging my books as I read them and having good, insightful conversation with fellow book lovers! I look forward to interacting with everyone!

Hi I don't know if this is how you add to this discussion or not but here goes.
I'm new here(obviously) and live in a little village south of Glasgow in Scotland. There seem to be a few Scots here already so I feel at home already. I love reading as I find it relaxes me after a hectic working day and gives me space before and after dealing with the family. I have an eclectic taste and will give most things a go except horror - too vivid an imagination. Really looking forward to reading reviews, bbeing introduced to new books, and chatting to like minded people.
I am on my third book since the turn of the year and have loved them all.

Welcome to both Patrick and weemags! I know you'll love LT as much as I do.

I saw LibraryThing mentioned in a magazine - can't remember which, I'm a school librarian & skim so much in a day. I've been amazed at what I've found here. The cataloguing bit was what caught my attention initially but I'm really enjoying browsing the site & getting a flavour of the groups.
I usually hate posting but everyone here seems so friendly, perhaps I'll get used to it ...

Hello everyone
I just joined today and am trying to figure this out. Is this a site to keep track of all the books we have read and are reading? (or one of the features of the site?)
I am an avid reader, and would love to find the name and author of a book I read in college which I can describe but can't anyone who remembers having read it....
I live in the north east, spend time in Florida, work, garden, sew and craft (jewelry) and read, read, read.

purdie, welcome :) We do not bite... most of the time:)

kathyceo,
Welcome :)

The site is for cataloging books - your choice if you want to catalog what you have or what you read. Or both :)

We have a special group - http://www.librarything.com/groups/namethatbook - where people try to help other people find out what the title and the author of a book is. Look at the group description for some tips on how to post and someone will probably remember which book it is :)

I'm sort of new and still a little confused how to navigate. Help! I'm an author (my last novel Girls in Trouble, was a Booksense selection, and my new novel Pictures of You will be published this August by Algonguin.) I read everything I can get my hands on (I'm a book critic for People and the Boston Globe) and I'm always open to new reading suggestions. So looking forward to knowing everyone!

Caroline Leavitt
http://www.carolineleavitt.com

CarolineLeavitt/112 - I think the world of LibraryThing IS a little harder to navigate for authors. So many thou shalts and thou shalt nots. I understand that Sonya (one of the staff) is soon to unveil a new group to make it easier and friendlier for authors and publishers to hook up with members who are interested in their work. I hope you stick around and keep an eye out for that feature.

Ahah! A Mystery Is Solved!

I wondered how I showed up with a posting to the welcome aboard thread when I hadn't posted anything yet. Now I know it's my lovely bibliophile wife.

I think her question is more about separating posts and reviews, not separating libraries. We wouldn't do that, we're working too hard to combine them. I'm guessing we have 50-100 duplicate books out of maybe 3000 since we merged our collections and our lives about three years ago, and we need the shelf space!

The good news there is that we have highly compatible reading tastes (among other things).

BTW, since we joined at New Years, we ordered a CueCat, and have entered over 800 books out of a collection of perhaps 3000 total.

I've even written an app that automatically converts scanned UPCs to ISBNs, since about a quarter of our books have a UPC barcode but not an ISBN barcode. Our entry rate is running about 100 books an hour. But we're a family of geeks.

Mr. Comissar

i would suggest getting separate accounts, as posting and reviewing will be a lot more rewarding that way. you can always just duplicate the library list of one into the other- you'd end up with 2 identical catalogs but you'd gain the ability to have your own LT persona.

Or you could make two collections: "His reviews, Her reviews"; add two copies of the book in question; and proceed to rate and review to your heart's content.

Hi, I'm new.

My name is Scott. I am the Reference & Interlibrary Loan Librarian in a small public library in Vermont.

I love books and reading, music, the Boston Red Sox, animation and the skeptic views of the paranormal.

I am married and have two kids : David is nearly seven, and Maria is four.

Hi Scott. Welcome aboard. You'll find a home here - there is even the odd Red Sox fan here and there. (Did I say odd? Surely I couldn't have meant that.)

My grandkids are 6 and 3, so I'm a beat behind you in the Fabulous Children stories.

What's wrong with being odd? ;-)

I've been a member of LT for awhile now, but this is my first post! I'm a Middle School Librarian in Pennsylvania and I love to use this site to catalog the books that I've read.

I'm hoping to post more and stick around! :)

Yay! We've sucked in another lurker!!

Hi all,

I joined Librarything an hour ago and I have already learned to work my way around chat rooms and libraries, so I guess I have picked up the ropes fairly swiftly.

I am a Wodehouse-loving grad student residing in India. My other favourite writers are Nabokov, Orwell, Joyce and, more recently, Haruki Murakami. I am currently on a Thomas Hardy-spree, and am half way through Far from the madding crowd.

That pretty much sums it up. I look forward to interacting with the 900,000 odd book-lovers here.

Only joined last Sept 2009 - found this site by chance when poking about on the net. Initial purpose was to on-line catalog my modest collection but then found to my surprise that reading books is not only for geeks & nerds but a pastime enjoyed by many more than I realized.
Pleasing to discover that others have eclectic tastes.
Your site should have a warning - danger -can be as addictive as book-collecting itself.

ok thanks

>122 I am currently on a Thomas Hardy-spree, and am half way through Far from the madding crowd.

Then come join us in Monthly Author Reads where we're focusing on Hardy in January! :)

I wanted to propose the use of the Group feature (in Talk) for Mr. and Mrs. Comissar, but after having a look, I found that the book search for the group that used to be there is gone. So I don't think you can use a private group (without a forum, can be specified in the setup process). It used to be the perfect solution for this kind of problem.
Where did the book search and book view for groups go? Am I too blind to find them?

I think it was one of those features that was disabled for being too computationally expensive and was never restored.

You're right Girl/126: A lot of folks used to utilize a 'family group' for the purpose of being able to see other family member's libraries, in order to keep tabs on potential gifts, etc. I used to use it that way, as well. Some where along the way, the feature disappeared. Would love to see it come back!

Hi. I'm glad that I discovered this site. It's great to be able to talk to those with the same interests. I'm new to the blogging world and tried FB and Twitter and no one was interested in talking about food, books and gardening. I'm finding out that there's a group for everyone! The last book that I read and really enjoyed was Tess Gerritsen's "The Bone Garden". I'm going to read it the second time because I liked the way that she switched back into the 18th century. I've started on a couple of other books and could not stay with them. It's hard for me to finish a book if it's not interesting. I guess my love for reading has a limit. Hopefully, I can learn of some really good books that are "hard to put down". Thank you for the opportunity to join the group and I look forward to chatting with you all.

Welcome to LT, millssf! You've already found some great groups to join. There's also quite a few cookery and cookbook groups. And here's another you might like:

Readers Against Struggling Through Books We Hate
http://www.librarything.com/groups/readersagainststrugg

:-)

Hi, my name is Lisa. I am a stay at home mom who loves to read. I sub and volunteer at local school libraries and I am a student at the Palmer School @ Liu. Am about 1/4 of the way to my MSLIS. Am a bit overwhelmed by the site, but am taking a children's lit course this semester and want to use LT to profile the books I read.

welcome ldbruno and millssf!

Hi I'm Anna I LOVE reading. I'm new 2 this website. I'm glad there's someone that wants to make us newbies feel welcome.

Hi, all. Just joined today and have completed my book list. I had resolved that I'd keep a list of what I read this year, so this is a good way to keep track.

I live in Nevada and our library has downloadable audio books. I've been downloading them to my PC and listening while I'm online, but now have an MP3 player and am in heaven. I'm a bit of an insomniac, so this with the sleep-timer is perfect for me.

I'm 57, married 34 years, and my husband is a reader as well.

Welcome, Anna and Shaz!

Hi atchase and ShazInNV, welcome to LT.

Hi, I'm a new member who has decided to be more active, and would like to join some groups.

I live in the Hudson Valley of New York, I'm married with a 13 year old daughter, 4 cats, one big turtle and a goldfish...and a lot of books, both read and unread. I'm an attorney, and as I do lots of non-fiction reading for work (although sometimes it seems like fiction), I read primarily fiction for pleasure. I also used to be an occupational therapist, and stilll use my medical background for my work.

I think I found this site through Bookcrossings, and wanted to read book reviews and join book discussions.

I look forward to listing my books, and getting recommendations!

Welcome, Apple!

The more books you list, the more recommendations you will get. And of course, looking at those leads you to further recommendations - its scarily addictive!

My pleasure in life is sitting down with a steaming mug of hot cocoa and reading a good book after a long day of hard work! I think I've listed about 8 or 9 books on my home page so far. I love online chats and all that stuff. This site was reccomended 2 me by my BFF, and now I'm HOOKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. Thanks again for making me feel welcome! :D

I'm new to libarything it's awesome I love the catalog but i'm interested in traveling,history and chapter books I love libary thing it rocks

Hello,
I have just joined LibraryThing with hopes of finding others with my interest and to find new books.
I came across LT while doing an book search on Google.
Any tips as to how I should proceed?

141 > well finding new books is EASY. one way is to find a book you liked here on LT and look at the recommendations for that book. Another is to add your library/read list to your catalog and see what the recommendations page will generate for you.

Welcome, atchase. I need to warn you though - once you start hanging here, you won't be able to stop doing it... or stop buying/borrowing books. To the point that now we are challenging ourselves to try to read these poor books that had been staying on the shelves for a while... :)

Bookzrule88, welcome on board. We have a few groups for history around here so if you want you can join there:)

welcome Dave10,
Start adding your books and looking around in the groups - that's the fastest way to see how it works. Had you taken the tour?

dave10, maybe check out this thread where some of us experienced members talk about how we use the site. it might give you some good ideas for moving forward or at least give you a jumping off point to asking questions.

good luck and welcome!

I know! I'm so X-cited 2 be on this blog! I check my messages almost everyday and try to read the books at the library that have dust on them from nobody checking them out in, like, 100 years. Seriously, I do! (or try to without falling asleep).......... :

Hi, I'm Frayda.
I'm fairly new and I have only done a few things on Libthing like: list some books I've read and signed up as an Early Reviewer.

I certainly would like to be introduced to some other useful features. Right now I'm stumped on how to find friends here. I've gotten as far as listing my email address, but then I don't know how to proceed. There doesn't seem to be any follow-up after Step 3 in that process, or I've missed it.

Thanks for any guidance you can offer in this and other areas.

Hi Frayda,

Do you mean real friends or just people here in LT? The easiest way to make friends (or at least talk with interesting people) is just to participate in talk - find the groups you are interested in and start participating. If you mean inviting your real life friends here - unfortunately that particular feature is a bit broken but if you know their LT names, you can just go to their profiles.

Welcome to LT and have fun!

147> Actually the feature that you're talking about that's broken is for inviting friends that aren't already on LT not for finding friends that are on LT. To find friends on LT, go to the search pad and search users for their e-mail address. Of course if they haven't entered their e-mail address then your out of luck.

>148

Need to Proofread before posting... oops... edited above to be what I meant. :)

LT is amazing and a bit overwhelming. I am enjoying the all the info but do not quite understand how to communicate with individual members. Can someone give me a basic course? I think I'm just suffering from brain freeze (6 degrees here this morning).

Well, you've found talk. The other method is through profile page comments (you can choose between public or private for each message). Some users have disabled this feature though.

For profile page comments to a particular member, go to that member's profile page and scroll down to the box that says 'Leave a comment'. Unlike messages in Talk, these comments cannot be edited after hitting 'Post comment.'

Many thanks to both BarkingMatt & MarthaJeanne. I've got that one down, but I'm sure I'll be back with many more questions.

Hello,
I'm Linda and I live in Brussels. I discovered the site while I was looking for information about Saul Bellow.
The site looks great. I look forward to discovering and discussing new works through members' recommendations.

I'm Caitlin and I'm new I have a blog for book reviews and love to read..I like Urban Fantasy/Historical Fiction/YA/ and Christian Fiction. I'm a giveaway junkie.

Welcome on board Linda and Caitlin :)

Linda, be prepared to see your "I want these books" list hit the roof before you can count to 10. When it happens, you might want to join us here so that you can read the ones that are staying forgotten at home: http://www.librarything.com/groups/booksofftheshelfchal :)

Hi Folks

I am very new to computing and over 60, living in UK. A lot of you seem to be in America and very highbrow.
Am I in the wrong place?
I am reading Anita Shreve at the moment and am curious as to what others think of her books.
Any replies?

oldstick.

>157
There are quite a lot of people that are not in their 20s or 30s:) And there are a lot of us that are not in the States. And there are definitely a lot of people that know how to use a computer but have no idea how it works :)

You might want to add some books in your library so people can see what you have and/or read :)

If you like books, you are in the right place.

Welcome on board.

LT was founded by Americans. Also, lets face it, there simply are more Americans than British in the world. But the site attracts people from all over the world and from all walks of life.

Welcome

(I'm Dutch by the way)

157> If you add your Anita Shreve books to your library, you'll be able to (easily)* see how others have rated or reviewed them, and will be able to give your own opinions so others can see them. The books in your library don't necessarily have to be ones you own - I have a good many I own and many more I read from the library or borrowed from someone. You can put them in separate 'collections' if you like, so that you can distinguish between what you own and what you've read or borrowed to read - use the default collections or create your own.

* You can search for the books in other people's libraries and see the reviews and ratings, but it's a lot easier to access them if they're in your own library.

Welcome, oldstick. Love your user name! Here is a group that you might be interested in:

Readers over sixty: http://www.librarything.com/groups/readersoversixty

Also, I noticed that you are a self-published author. Here's a group where authors can feel free to talk about their books, without fear of its being labeled as spamming:

Writers Brag and Rag Bag: http://www.librarything.com/groups/writersbragandragbag

About Anita Shreve, if you go to her author page - http://www.librarything.com/author/shreveanita - then click on the book that you're reading, you'll get to the page for that Work. In the left column there, you'll find Conversations, where members are talking about that book. Just jump right in where ever you feel comfortable. LT members are a great bunch of folks!

Hello to All,

I am Connie! And the '53' at the end of my nick is the year of my birth, so i'm turning 57 this year. I am a Dutch women, married. Two kids and a son in law. I'm working at a school, for childeren between 12 and 19, as a secretary to the studycounselors.

I have been reading for as long as I can remember. I'm really happy that i found LT. I like to catalogue and archive (since that it part of my work) and now I found a place to archive all my books. And meet people who share the love for books with me.

I like to read fantasy and thrillers, an ocassional romantic novel is fine too!

Hey everybody, I am Chris, twenty-two years old. Live in the midwest, Ohio.

I've always been a reader. I can't remember a time in my life where I didn't read. My father was a pretty avid reader so I'm sure I got it from him. I've never really built a library but I have gone to the library for as long as I can remember. Lately, though, I have been buying books as opposed to getting everything from the library. Still not in a position where I can splurge on hardcover, but I tend to haunt the bargain bins of online sites and try to find good copies on Ebay.

One question I have.. Is there an easy way to keep track of threads you post in? Kind of interested if I would start posting in quite a few threads I know I will forget which ones and not check back for replies...

happy reading everybody

Welcome on board Connie and Chris :)

Chris,

Look at the left part of the page when a post is open. There are a few links there. One of them is "Your Posts". When you press it, the list of threads get filtered and you see only the ones where you had posted :)

You can mark threads as favorites by clicking on the star. Also, have you tried the Talk tab? If you Join or Watch some groups then you can use the Your Groups selection on the left side of the Talk page to see the threads from just your groups. Then you can see threads that have been added to since the last time you read them highlighted.

Or you could use the Your Starred selection to just see the threads that you've starred and you can quickly see which ones have responses.

Oh! I'm sure I scanned over those suggestions and just forgot about them. There is so much on this site I tend to get overwhelmed :)

Thanks for the help Annie and Wilson

Hi everybody!

Sam, 33, residing in beautiful Portland, OR.

For the first time in my life, my group of closest friends are mostly non-readers.
I have NO IDEA how this happened. :)

At any rate, I figured it would be great to get on here and set up my collection so I could get recommendations, and have an outlet in case I feel the need to talk to someone about how great The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is...lol.

When reading novels, I tend to read mostly fantasy these days, supplemented with sci-fi, and what I consider quality humorous literature such as the works of Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Robbins, and Christopher Moore...

I also spend a great portion of my free time reading graphic novels and comic books, mostly from the DC/Vertigo line, and from indie publishing houses like Fantagraphics.

So, looking forward to sticking around here a while, see y'all around!

~sam

Welcome Sam! I'm sure you'll find plenty of new friends here :)

Found this site about a year ago but never joined till yesterday and am already addicted. Have found new authors and joined a couple of groups. I had a few questions answered just by reading the other posts, but do have one question. I do not understand the read and unread by postings. How does a post go from read to unread? Just curious. Thanks,

If you open a thread (topic) and then close it (go back a page, click on the group name at the top, click somewhere else), when you next go back to the group list or your Talk page the topic will be read up to the last post that was there when you opened it. So it will be read (unbolded), unless someone has posted between when you opened it and when you looked at it again. Does that help? Note that the read/unread is just for you, though it will work on different computers if you log in to the same account - someone else will have a different set of topics read.

Just to make sure that was clear, LibraryThing assumes that when you open a thread that you will read every post in that thread and marks the time so that the next time you see the thread on the group page it will tell you if any messages had been added since the last time you read that thread.

It's such a simple, obvious thing - and boy is it hard to express!

I guess that's why we're readers and not (published) writers, fellow jjs.

Hi, just joined, fantastic site and the action of cataloging my books has proved to me that I dont know what is in my collection (all those duplicates - yuk.) I dont mind reading books twice but draw the line at buying them twice!
Must go - more books to add.

Welcome jltott. You're right, you only need one copy of a book to read it twice (or more) but owning two copies just means that's another book you could have bought, and didn't. LT will go a long way towards fixing that problem. Hopefully* some new features which may* be in the pipeline might* make it even easier to not buy that book a second time.

Again, welcome. Try not to get too addicted!

*I know. Three 'weasel words' in one statement. Fingers crossed though.

Addicted already, wife started calling me sad, really ought to log off and go and do something (shes running a half marathon, I'm listing my books!!)

Thanks for the quick explanation to my question. Makes complete sense now that I look at it.

I was reminded recently of a nice quote: 'When I get the urge to exercise I lie down until it passes.' But I don't lie down, I enter books on LT. Works a treat! And I never end up running.

I have checked out the LT mobile and it works! I can see a list of my books on my partners blackberry type phone. No more duplicates unless it is to have copies on one or more of our kindles. I have found a dozen dupes so far in my cataloging.

Hey i'm Divya. My english teacher loves this website, and showed our class. Frankly, I love it, although I am confused about some of the groups. Does anyone have any recomendations of groups, which are welcome to us newbies ? :) If so, please tell! thanks all!

The 75 Book Challenge for 2010. Even though we claim to be reading 75 books this year, we really don't care about the numbers. But we do enjoy seeing what others are reading and discussing books. Come join us!

#180 -- Divya, welcome to LibraryThing! You might try out the "Read YA Lit" group, since I see that you have some YA lit in your library.

Hi Everyone...I go by Eric Quill on this site and am attempting to familiarize myself with the site, so I will take any and all helpful hints. I love to read and many times am involved with several books at a time. I also write short stories for a hobby and am involved with the writer's club in my home town. I like many different genre's, but Sci-Fi got me started reading many years ago. I happened upon this site while "googling" different books and authors and am intrigued by the ability to catalogue a personal library...now, I just have to figure this out...LOL

Just joined LT last night, which severly messed with my plans to catch up on some much needed sleep.
I found the site through a link on a blog. Decided to join in order to organize what books I'm reading/want to read. The resources on this site are amazing!
A little bit about me...
I live in Connecticut, am a SECOND SEMESTER SENIOR (which is the reason I have TIME to waste on sites like this, finally) and am applying to colleges. I'm taking two English courses right now back to back which has been incredible. I take AP Literatue 1st period which exposes me to a lot of classic literature in the western cannon, and 2nd period I'm taking Contemporary Global Literature which deals with postmodern works from the Carribean, South America, Asia, etc.
Basically my life is comprised of reading, writing, studying (yay?), hiking, running, hanging out with friends and family, playing badminton, cooking, playing raquetball, etc. In the summer I like to swim, fish, and go boating. I also like to play baseball with my brothers. I'm not much into winter sports but I do enjoy ice skating.

welcome Eric and Sandy!

Sandy- you are so lucky that your HS offers a course in contemporary literature, especially global lit. i would have given ANYTHING to have an option like that in HS. ahh, the joys of progressive education!

Thanks!

And yes, I feel very fortunate to have a contemporary global lit course offered at my school. It is only a semester course now but my teacher is fighting to have it changed to a full year course.

Just discovered this site and concept for my grad school class. We watched a video of the founder presenting to a group of librarians at an ALA conference on benefits of user tagging vs. Library of Congress cataloging. We were asked to start our own catalog here and review the experience. Just getting started and find it fascinating and can see how it can be addictive. How long does it take most people to get their "complete" collection up. Do most use it for books they own or books they have read (include library and borrowed books)

I'm not sure about "most" - I don't have any percentages, but if I had to guess I would say 50/50. The site can be used for both approaches, and both are fine.

Hello everyone!

I'm Alexandra, from Connecticut, and I was introduced to LibraryThing by my cousin (bymerechance) this winter. I'm a recent college graduate currently teaching at a high school, and I discovered with glee this fall that the school's library is both beautiful and well stocked.

I was an English major in college, so have a great appreciation for classic English (and American, though I know less about it) literature. I enjoy most fiction, as well as essays, some histories and biographies, and travel writing, and I love reading cookbooks! Most of my favorite books hail from the Young Adult fantasty section, and those are the ones I'll pick up and revisit over and over.

I'm always looking for recommendations for new reading, particularly from those who share my interests or tastes, and am glad to have become a part of a community whose very purpose is sharing literature!

Welcome, Alexandra from Connecticut! I see you have found one group--the 75 Challenge--already. Your reading seems to cover a broad range of styles, like many of the interesting people here on LibraryThing.

I discovered with glee this fall that the school's library is both beautiful and well stocked.

Now I'm jealous - well, almost... (Begrudging other people isn't really my style.)

187> It took me over a year to get all my books in - about a month to get my SF in, then gradually worked on the rest. If you go to people's Statistics/Memes page, you can see when they entered books. I'm still entering, but gradually - books I buy or borrow.

I started out entering only the books I owned, but then I started a reading challenge and some of what I read (and wanted to review) were library books. And then I wanted to track books I read and decided I didn't want to keep (especially to review them, so I could remember that I didn't really like them!). My library is about 3/4 owned books and 1/4 unowned - mix of borrowed and previously owned. I put the books I actually, currently own in Your Library and have various other collections for the others - Borrowed, Discarded, Gifts & Passthroughs...

Each person uses LT just a little differently. It's neat seeing how someone else does it, and I keep getting new ideas, but you'll find your own way to use it.

>187 In my own library I have only books I own basically because I can't remember all the books I've read and am too lazy to try,lol . But I know that most of my friends here have a mixture of both owned and borrowed books in their libraries

ark76, I've been here for a couple of years. I cataloged everything from my car, my back porch, and my kitchen (except the cookbooks) in a couple of months. Since then I've been entering new acquisitions. I still have the dining room, living room, hallways, bathrooms, and three bedrooms to catalog. Maybe someday.

Mostly I started here because I wanted to catalog the books I have. Then I found that there are bonuses.

Welcome, have fun,

Robert

I have a question regarding LT policy. Would LT share information with government agencies willingly as far as catalogs and dialogues? I was just going through my catalog and realized that in a different time I would have been singled out as a "communist" or maybe a "terrorist" ect. Many of my books could be considered "subversive" and I was just curious to how all of that works. I am sure if any of the alphabet agencies wanted this information they could get it without any of us knowing but still I think it is important that a site like this to take a strong stand against things of this nature.

Well, unless you make your library private, anyone can take a look!

*walks behind keegopatrick, carrying sign saying "terrorist" with a big arrow* ;-)**

Re: your question: I don't think so... --also, LT doesn't have any of your personal info, unless you decide to give it to them. You don't need to give an e-mail address (it's just helpful in case of lost password).
You don't need to give your address (unless you want to take part in Early Reviewers).

** a photo of such a scene actually made the papers here about 20 years ago, after a demonstration

From the about page:

"LibraryThing will not cooperate with US law enforcement unless compelled to do so. If you are using LibraryThing from a foreign country with an oppressive government, LibraryThing urges you not to put yourself at risk."

I take a strong stand, and I'd be making the decision.

In the past, people have said that we should do this or that to not run afoul of European law. I've said that, if this came up, we'd close down our European domains and open them up as subdomains—French, after all, is not just spoken in France. It'd be fun having an open subpoena in some European country. I'm politically a free-speech absolutist, as members of Pro and Con can attest, and I hate it when my company is under attack :)

>197

The request would probably come as a server-log inspection. We don't have people's emails, but web requests can (often) by traced to their end-point if you ask the ISP and the website.

If necessary—and I don't think it would be—I think we'd have a strong case. US law tends to give book-related queries the benefit of the doubt more than some others. So, for example, bookstores have successfully not turned over customer records.

The more I learn about LT the more I like it.

> 198: European law is stricter in this respect than US law? I'm surprised.

>200

Hate-speech and libel are the obvious examples. I really hope that doesn't come up, but there it is.

> 201: Ah yes, but then you would have to be the party actually producing hate-speech and/or libel (the user in short, not LT). Mind you, I'm not a lawyer myself! (p.s.: But if it ever would come to it, I do have some excellent contacts with lawyers specialized in Media & copyright law over here, and I would be glad to put you in touch).

No, but I'm surprised because the biggest incursions into our private lives over the last few years were explained to us as being forced upon us because of US regulations. I guess politicians / administrators both sides of the Atlantic simply blame the other side.

I'v been a member since november last year. And I think I'v cataloged 1/4 of my books. Probably less, because I'm just thinking about the books that are not in boxes but on shelffs in different rooms in the house. I like to cataloge and give all kind of information about a book.
So I try to add a copple of books every day, just for fun.

Welcome to LibraryThing Chris. Please note that what you have just done though is not considered the 'right thing to do' in most areas of LT.

Try the Authors' Brag group for your promotional needs.

Of course, if you have any 'new member' type questions feel free to ask them here.

There is also the LibraryThing Member Giveaways programme: http://www.librarything.com/er/giveaway/list .

-j

Thank you very much, Tim! It is very encouraging to hear those words that I suspected you would say but I felt the urge to ask. This is a great site and I look forward to being an active member for a long time. We must always stand up for ALL of our freedoms and rights and most educated readers if not all would agree so I am pretty sure that I have found a perfect site for myself.

Hey Everyone! I've been a member about 10 minutes so I'm still learning my way around. Any advice you can give me would be welcome.

I'm looking forward to the site. It looks as though everyone is friendly and helpful - just my kind of place.

Kat Lady

Welcome broncofan! I hope you'll think about making your catalog public. Most of us do. Its a great way of sharing information about books, and also makes helping people a lot easier. Your choice, of course. Any way you look at it, LT is a GREAT place. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Hi. I'm Janet. I've just joined, read all the suggestions for how to use the site, and am STILL confused! Well, I guess I'll learn as I go. I joined the 75 book challenge group, because that's around how many books I read last year. I read lots of the threads in there and starred a few where the person's tastes seem similar to my own, or especially interesting. I will post my own thread with what I am reading this year when I have time. And I added a bunch of things to my Library. Does this seem the right way to get started?

Anyway, about me. I am 54, born in New York, grew up in New Jersey, went to college in Boston and have lived in London for 30 years. Married with two teenage daughters. Currently not working, due to ill health, but hey, that gives me more time to read.

I add to my list based on book reviews and recommendations (so I suspect my list is going to get a lot longer soon!) and I read according to what I can find in my local library or second hand shops, so it's pretty random. My main aim this year is to shorten rather than lengthen the "to read" list!

#210: "My main aim this year is to shorten rather than lengthen the "to read" list!"
Are you sure you have come to the right place? ;-D

Welcome, Janet! Sounds like you're off to a good LT start!

>210 My main aim this year is to shorten rather than lengthen the "to read" list!

And you came in LT? I need to check these flying elephants out :) (because if you can reduce your TBR here, then elephants should be able to fly)

Welcome on board and have fun, Janet. When you stop counting your TBR books, you will feel so much better (that's because a number in the high hundreds is bad for your spirit) :)

ok, this thread is quite long now, so i'm going to start a new one!

it's been such a success!!

eta: new thread

Which would mean this thread is now CLOSED. Please don't post here any more.

Hello! My name is Samantha and I am the head of childrens' services at a small library in Southern Alberta. I just heard about Library Thing at the Southern Alberta Library Conference and am excited about the site, but do not know alot on how to use it! If you have any suggestions, or want to point out your favorite elements of the site, it would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, Samantha - you might want to repost in the other thread (linked in message 214) - most people are now looking at that. There's some info in the other threads in this group - like 'How do you use LibraryThing?'. And welcome to LT!

I had heard of librarything over the last couple of years during library studies & decided to give it a whirl. I am a library technician & studying to become a librarian, and want to expand my network & share my love of printed matter.

Welcome to LT, Samantha and libgirl!

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but it continued here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/84821#1793524

Hello, I'm new here and overwhelmed--so much available. I joined LT and the very next morning found a magazine on a counter in work (we sell marine engine parts here in Maine) that had a story about LT--a sure sign I was in the right place at LT given the founder is a Mainer. So, one of the reasons I want to include my library here is that I love to share my books so I loan to family/friends, but I can't find a way to list a book as out on loan, name/date. And is there a way to create a list of all those books out on loan so I can track them down later (I've lost so very many books by having loaner lists in too many places). I'm hoping LT will give me one place to keep track--just haven't been able to find out how to do this. Also, how do I mark a book as owned or only just read? Thanks in advance! Noreen

PS: How do I make the most current posts on top, rather than scrolling to the bottom for current msgs? Thanks! Noreen

collections are the answer to a couple of your problems. (go here for help with collections) that's where you can specify owned, read but not owned, wishlist, etc. you can add the loaned books to a special collection named Loaned Out or something like that so that you can see all of them at a quick glance. you can then add the name/date information into the comments section, public or private. you can set Your Books view to show those comments by clicking on the little cog/wheel button next to A B C D E.

i don't think you can change the order of posts, but i could be wrong. once you've read a thread (or opened it, really), the next time just click on the blue "# unread" link and it will take you to the first unread message so you don't have to scroll.

welcome!

Great--thanks so much! Noreen

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Please do NOT post here. New thread is http://www.librarything.com/topic/84821

Ain't nuttin' to see round these parts. Ya'll move along now, ye hear?

New post is Here!!!!

Hehe, Jim! Very, very friendly pic... ;)

P.S. This was *my* thread so I can post here.

P.P.S. Now I and my "new member friends" will move right along to this thread, leaving you and your "shotgun friend" alone. :)

Hi, my name is Angie. I am 27 years old and live (for the moment) in Northern Cali. I love to read (hence why I am here) and love all different types of genres. My favorite being fantasy and YA novels. I know I know, too kiddie but they're fun and most of the time not as serious and sad as fiction novels. But I do enjoy my share of those as well. I also have other hobbies. I love horseback riding, crafting (I'm into decoupage), shopping, outdoors stuff...

I stumbled across this site through goodreads.com and decided to give it a try. It's a bit confusing but I am sure I'll get the hang of it. Can't wait to join some interesting groups and get some good recommendations for new books.

Well thanks for reading, can't wait to meet fellow book lovers :)

Angie - please read at least a couple posts above your message. This thread has moved on.

ETA: Sorry, that was a bit snippy. Look at rsterling's post instead, please.

Welcome Angie!

The conversation is continuing here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/84821

My username is Eley. I'm a female. I've always wanted to connect with other people through literature. My sister is a big reader and so am I. I am pretty young, though I won't tell you how young. I am trying to write two books, though I haven't had any titles for them. Travis Thrasher inspired me. I really like mysteries and thrillers. I recently read Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People". I love to golf and am pretty shy about giving out my advice. If you have any questions, you can reply to my topic "If you love mysteries and golf...". Thanks a bunch for making it so easy to join.

Eley, this topic has been closed because it is getting too long.

The conversation is continuing here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/84821

Welcome on board Eley :)

Can you please continue in the new thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/84821

This one gets too long to be loaded and we like saying hi to the new members - so we like to have enough space for it :)

Hi, Eley. It's good to have you here.

This thread is now closed. The thread picking up the topic is:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/84821

Robert

Hi I just joined 2 days ago . I found LT. on the computer when I was trying to find some information on Pearl S Buck,
having just read The Good Earth and Library Thing just popped up with information and so much more ! I am especially
enjoying the reviews by all you talented readers out there.

Welcome to our wonderful world of books :)

Hello to the book readers of the world. I stumbled across LibraryThing yesterday quite by accident while googling fiction books about Yosemite (not many). I enjoy flying (owned my own plane, but sold it after 20 years) and hiking/backpacking in the mountains of Northern California. Hiking is a lot like flying, if you get high enough, the views are great. Am somewhat daunted by the enormous volume of choices offered by LT. I'm a published author and have applied for "that yellow button". I've got a lot of years behind me and a lot of reading. My interests are far and wide, from history, biography, adventure fiction, religion. Two favorite authors, but not the only ones, are Patrick O'Brien Master and Commander etc. I've read them all; and David McCullough Mornings on Horseback, Truman, The Path Between the Seas. I guess I'll get started by adding books to my library page.

Welcome to LT, earlrogers. I just did a quick tagmash and found 24 books cataloged on LT that have both the tags 'fiction' and 'yosemite'. You're right! Not a lot. But if you want to see the list, click the Search tab, go to the Tags box, and enter your search words, separated by a comma. Hmm... Actually, some of those look interesting!

Thanks countrylife. I learned that google gives up just one book with the tags fiction and yosemite, and surprisingly it brings up librarything to find that one book, however as you so obligingly point out, a librarything search coughs up 24. Conclusion, librarything has a better search engine than google, at least for books.

Hi, My name is Lorie and I found out about the site from paperbackswap.com and liked the idea of having a log of all the books that i've read. Let's face it I read so many books I can never remember what the are. Very excited about the site and look forward to making new friends. Oh and this is my first day looking at the site.

Welcome to LT! Note that LT is more aimed at cataloging and slightly less as a reading log - I find it very useful for both, but you do have to enter the book into your catalog first and then put the date(s) you've read it, and any rating or review you want to give it. You may find the various Challenge groups interesting, though it doesn't sound like you need any encouragement to read! Enjoy, and see you around LT!

Hi Lorie! You're new and I'm new too. I was doing a search in Talk for paperbackswap and your message appeared. What I'm trying to do is import my TBR list from PBS into my librarything list of books, so I'm trying to figure out how to do that.

Are you from the south? I'm originally from Louisiana and there were a lot of folks with your last name there.

There's so much to learn about how to use this site; I'm doing it a little at a time. But I wanted to say hi and welcome you here.

Hi im new. im bridgette cooke. i live in england. i am only 17 years old. i love to read books. i am studying my A-Levels.
well if you can suggest any crime books then fine by me.
bridgette

Hi there im kylee From New Zealand in the south island
im 35 and love to read books think this library thing a great cool thing thanks

Welcome to LT, bmcooke and mycutiecats. You'll get more responses if you go to the current thread - this one is too long and is closed.

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Please post HERE instead.

Hi All,

I have been introduced to LBT, is that the right abbreviation I wonder? by a colleague of mine as I am trying to track down a book I read many years ago when I returned from travelling in India, which was a life changing experience BTW. The only problem I have is that don’t know the author or title and I am a bit sketchy on the plot, no chance I hear you all say, I know its going to be pretty difficult, but my colleague said if anyone cold help it would be you guys.

So here goes, it is about a girl/young woman, English I think but defiantly white European/American, its set in modern times 80/90's and I think she may be a student/just left college and she has to embark on a trip across India by train to reach a job/relative and it is all about her travels. I know all pretty vague, however if this rings a bell with anyone or anyone cold make any suggestion I would really appreciate it.

The main reason I want to find the book is because I was describing the wonders of travel in India to some one who was very sceptical and when I read this book it really summed up the beauty/madness of it all and I would like to give it to them for Christmas.

Now I have found the site I am sure I will use it more as I am avid if slightly sporadic reader and love to recommendations.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Welcome, AndrewClough! There is an entire group dedicated to finding forgotten titles -- the Name That Book group. You might re-post your summary there in its own thread, using a title like "Woman travels through India by train" -- it's likely that someone in that group will be able to help.

Also, there is a new thread for introductions here, since this thread is rather long and has been (more or less) closed.

Hi all, I am just traveling around this exciting site to find my bearings. While I read a variety of genres, I am hung up on women mystery novels, preferably set in the Pacific Northwest. That being said, historical fiction will snag my attention just as easily. Thanks for paving the way and shining the light on the shelves.

Welcome Terri, good to have you on board.

Note, however that we've moved on from this thread. Three times in fact! Sometimes threads (that's a string of posts, or individual messages) get too long so someone will start a new one with a slightly different title.

Come say "Hi" on Welcome aboard - - Introduce yourself! Rd. 4

I'm Lin and I joined yesterday and hope to put my library in order this new year. I've just put my books into two categories - read and unread.
Now I want to list them and start with one genre in the unread category as last year my reading was eclectic. I'm interested in the mystery genre and would like to find a likeminded group. I'm not sure how to find a group - can you help? Thanks

Hi, Lin - this thread is pretty old, go to the one in the link in Message 250 for the current thread.

To find a group - go to the tab labeled Groups. Look at the active groups and so on; try searching for Mystery or Mysteries in the search box at the top right. You may have something in the Group Suggestions box just below that, too - it suggests groups by similar books (the members of this group have many of the same books you do...you won't get much if anything there until you enter more books, though). On the left is Explore - try By tags and see what people have labeled groups (another place to check out Mystery/Mysteries). Lots of ways.

You might also enjoy some of the Challenge groups - one set of challenges is reading books in different set categories. 999, 666, 11 in 2011...

I'm Chris and I'm trying to negotiate my around this site. I don't know how to join groups yet. I write SF, fantasy, YA distopian and fantasy, thriller, horror and paranormal romance. I currently have seven books and two shorts published, plus about 1,500 non-fiction automotive articles. I hail from Sylvania, Alabama.

Welcome, Chris. Go to the Groups page and click on any that sound good to you. The click will take you to the group's main page, where you can read what they're all about and see who else is in the group. If you want to join, look in the upper right hand corner. Click on the "Join" link. You're in!

Hello! My name is T.K.Trayle. I live in the Toronto area of Canada with my husband and three children (all under 4 years old...yikes!) They keep me very busy! Reading and writing my novels have kept me sane (when I have a quiet moment)...usually after midnight, while my hair is drying from taking a shower.
I love these forums that have allowed for groups of people with the same interests to get together and discuss things they enjoy. Thank you for providing a great website : )
Cheers!

Welcome T.K.

good then you can maybe help me get started leahbird??

Hello,

I just registered half an hour ago. That's something I have been wanting to do for at least one year. So, one good thing done, that makes me very proud of myself, no more proscratination !
I am Melisende, French, female, live in Paris and I love books, needless to say. Literature at large but I am especially found of American literature.
I am very excited to join the community to share thoughts and feelings about books we love. Can't wait to add my favorite books on the site.
Oh ! One more thing, my mother tongue is not English and since I am writing on the spur of the moment, with no dictionnary at hand, I am afraid that I made mistakes. Anyway, I am very happy to be a part of the Library thing.


See you later

Welcome, Melisende - yes, I see a couple mistakes, but nothing that interferes with understanding you. Which is a heck of a lot better than I could do in French.

Personally - I joined in December 2006, as soon as I heard about LT somewhere-or-other - and then ignored it for 3 months! I started entering books in March 2007, and very quickly got hooked on the site. Something here will be absolutely perfect for you...

This isn't the most recent Welcome thread, though. See the line at top and bottom that says This topic was continued by... - that means a new thread was started because this one was getting too big. Not a problem with your posting, it's just the way LT Talk works...if you want to post again in the newest thread, though, that would be nice.