How do _you_ add copies of ebook and audiobook of the same book to your libraries?

I sometimes have the same book in multiple formats (paperback, ebook, audiobook etc.).
They're usually not reprints/different versions, but the same text just in different formats. This happens often when I use Amazon's whispersync feature to go between reading text and listening to audio.

How do you add books you own in multiple formats to your libraries?

I originally was thinking of adding a separate entry for each copy of the same book in my library. But that made rating books or tracking reading dates complicated.
I'm currently using tags to state what formats I have of each book (paperback, kindle, audible).
As for the "Media" field in the book listing, I have an order of preference: paperback > ebook > audiobook - if I have a book in paperback and audiobook format I choose paperback. Ebooks come next and audiobook format is selected if that's the only version I have. This is because more and more of my books are now audiobooks, which makes tracking my physical books more important.

There's two ways you can record multiple copies. You can add the book twice, and thus record different editions with different data (such as number of pages versus file size). Or you can edit the number of copies you have in the data for one book (if you go to the main page for the book and click the edit pencil copies is one of the editable fields).

The number of copies field doesn't really do anything. It certainly does not allow you to differentiate between those copies.

>2 Aquila: I didn't notice the number of copies field before, thanks for pointing that out.

I always add the two books separately. If I read them each on separate occasions then I add the reading information (review, rating, reading dates) to the one I read on that occasion.

However, I do sometimes read different books on the same read-through, for example if I am switching between audio and paper. In that case I'll rate them both (sometimes the narrator or audiobook production will change my rating), and add the review and reading dates to the one I think I read the majority of. (Sometimes if I have something to say about the narrator but am attaching my review to the paper copy, I'll say "I listened to this partly as an audiobook narrated by X. My thoughts on the audiobook are ....")

Another situation where I sometimes read two different books on the same read-through are if I am reading a book I've borrowed from the library or a friend and decide halfway through that I want my own copy. Once I even lost my copy of a book mid-read and had to buy a new one. In those cases I attach my reading information to the copy I bought since it's a more permanent part of my collection.

In essence,you have to choose between adding multiple editions or just one and noting the multiple media in some other way, most often by tag/s

I add them separately and make sure they are combined. That way reading dates are separate. I attach a review to the one I read.

I just make a note in the private comments field if I have a duplicate audio copy. I don't bother to distinguish which I've "read" in the reading dates, I'd rather have a consolidated list attached to the book.

>8 SF_fan_mae: , tags are another option here.

James

When I have multiple editions of a work (occasionally it's by mistake, but usually it's because different editors/translators/etc. and sometimes because I found a nice hard cover after already having a paperback), I add each one separately

FWIW, I simply don't add ebook editions of works I've also got in paper.

The original purpose of my LT collection was to have an electronic list of what I have. Obviously, I don't need LT to have that of my electronic books. Eventually I started adding ebooks anyway, so that they'd be considered for recommendations and so that I could write LT reviews of them, but if I already have a paper version catalogue neither reasons applies.

I'm often just lazy; I'll load the entry for the Kindle version, and put in Kindle and Audible collections.

My catalog is for physical books I own. That said, I have many books in PDF that I have gathered or made. I am thinking about adding a tag to my existing entries called "PDF" to help me trace the ones I do or do not have in that format. I do have some books only in PDF but I am unlikely to add them to the catalog for the first reason given.

As noted before, you can make an additional entry for each of your formats in which you have a given title. If you needed to duplicate an entry and modify it for the new format, there are nonstandard ways to achieve that. It involves installing a browser plugin and a script into it. It is not for everyone but sometimes it is just what you need to get a certain task done.

Of course in my real books collections there are several titles where we have many editions. An example of this is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. Often there are different translations and illustrators and the variety is interesting. Here are some copies of this specific story and stories directly inspired by it.



James

I add individual entries for all formats that I own. The only exception is with multiple formats for the same electronic media: if I buy an EPUB and then convert it to AZW3 for my Kindle, I only list it once on LT, even if I retain both versions on my computer. Or having an audiobook on CD and ripping it to MP3, etc.

I use collections to notate if a book is a Kindle or an ebook from a Humble Bundle collection. I am also collecting Signet Classics and have a collection for that since the editions are not always in LibraryThing.

--Juliana

My library here is* a list of what I own (or had owned or had read without owning) so if I have multiple versions (in different formats or not), I just record them separately. That way I can add relevant notes for each of them...

* Supposed to be anyway - I am not making much progress with the "own" part of it.