SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

Have I mentioned my teeny tiny OCD issue? Well, I LOVE lists, so it should be no surprise that I have several ways I track my series (read and TBR).

I have a list posted on RRR Group, my "Series Madness List" where I try to keep track of what books in a series I have left to read in order to catch up. Will I ever catch up? That's TBD. :)

I also have a OCD's life-saving program on my laptop called BookPedia which tracks every single book I have TBR and a large majority of the books I've read. It allows you to do MANY, many things like create mini custom libraries (ie: Challenge lists, Wish Lists, etc); mark books as "borrowed" (which I actually use to mark the beginning-end dates of challenges I'm participating in); search/view/organize by anything in the book data (author, title, subject, summary, cover image, ISBN fields, etc). I think I might actually shed tears if I ever lost that data. It's a pain setting it up initially (although adding books is pretty easy, it was the # of books to add that takes a while), but once you do, adding add'l books is a breeze.

I stumbled upon this site FictFact last year and added a few here too, just to see how it worked. I'm loving it so far! Their site says, "Why Register?

* Pick your favorite series to track and get notifications of updates and new additions
* Get a custom queue of the next book in each series to easily read books in the correct order
* Stay up to date with all the wonderful things coming soon to FictFact!

They do send me emails when new releases come out for a series I've added to my list.

Do you use a software program, GoodReads mainly or a good 'ole fashion notebook?

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Some Member Favorites

* http://www.fictfact.com/ - Online series tracker; free to join with email reminders for upcoming releases in series you're reading
* MS Excel/Personal Notebook - good ole spreadsheets and handwritten notes do the job well too
* http://www.bruji.com/bookpedia/ - BookPedia, a Mac only database (with iPod export option)
* http://www.collectorz.com/book/ - Book Collector, a Mac & Windows database (with iPod App available)
* Misc iApps offered by Apple (examples: Book Crawler and BooksApp)


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Some of our members are on FictFact, find them here:
Alisha ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/SchalaZeal
Anne ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/annebibl...
Awesomevegan (AKA JenReads) ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/awesomev...
Amanda (post 149) ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/scooterg...
Chucklesthescot ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/chuckles...
Creative Mind ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/Creative...
Debbie ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/G8rdebzz
Doreen ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/spuraway
Irene ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/irenehol...
JoAnne ~ http://www.fictfact.com/list/readerphan
Judithe ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/Judithe
Kerstin ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/Kerstin
Lisa M ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/lamessegee
Louise-Leslie (Elle) ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/DelorisPea
Mary ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/Msright
Mette ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/Mysterio...
Michelle aka Mishka84 ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/mishka84
Midu ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/Anomander
Monica ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/Nutz4harryp
Nichole ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/nrh1231
Nina ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/msralways
Regina ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/ReginaR
Sandra ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/Sandra
Shelleyrae ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/shelleyrae
Southpaw285 ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/southpaw285
StephB ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/StephB
Valerie ~ Val Hall ~ http://www.fictfact.com/user/precious

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

What a great find! I've listed mine up, and it's SO easy! I used to just put them in my Amazon cart when I found a release on Fantastic Fiction...but that didn't help me keep them in order. This does :) Did a little happy dance!

Yeah! I'm happy-dancin' with ya! I'm glad I was able to help. Thought that site offered an easy way to track series. Pretty cool. They will email you whenever a new release comes out for a series you've listed. They are adding more series all the time, some of mine weren't listed when I originally signed up, but may be out there by now. I'll have to pop back over to see. Don't know if you noticed, but in your profile you can print your list (if you needed to) and it'll show your progress with the series, which I like too.

Anyway, YEAH! ENJOY! :)

Eek! 123 series?! And the majority aren't showing me a pretty little "current" notice. :(

Gotta get to readin' - So many books, So little time!

LOL Judithe, I put new releases in my cart at Amazon too to try to keep up with them. I think there are 99 books in my "save for later" Amazon cart right now.

I made myself a simple data base on my computer but I'd love to have something like Book Pedia. The FictFact might be a good start for me. Thanks Steph!!!

I have a spreadsheet that I use to track my series as well as my library (what books I have, where they are, format, etc) It's gotten progressively more and more complex.

I'm going to have to check out FictFact though. If it will automatically update new releases for me I think it might just save me enough time to actually READ those new releases :D Thanks for the link

You guys+ are good, with all the techno stuff!

I'm kinda old fashion. Before I discovered GoodReads, I was tracking/logging my series read the good old fashion way. With a notebook and a pen. I would put notes/main characters/ which books I like best out of a series and so on. And ladies, this was as recently as March 2010. Then I started with the spreadsheet thing on MS office.

I see these website so often (like fictfact) but I'm nervous to put anything on these things. Because once you loose your log in info all your stuff is so unreachable. And I'm so not good with log ins. I don't even tie myself to GR listings either. To me everything is for a time, a moment. And to me, this too will wear it's time out.

FictFact sounds awesome. I've just signed up. Now, I need to find time to get my account organised--anyone discovered how to make 28 hour days? :)

LooLoo and Judithe, I used to do that too. In fact, I'm sure I still have a ton on my "Books 2 Buy" or "Books 2 Consider" wish lists on Amazon. That just got too large at some point and I moved onto an Excel spreadsheet. From there, BookPedia, then GR and FictFact too.

Cher, I have a notebook where I track my challenges. Mainly b/c I like to be able to mark off as I go (OCD list-marker, that's me!). I agree though, all things have their time and pass in the wind. But, I'm secure in that I have my "master list" on-going in BookPedia (desktop software with sync to my iTouch for quick on-the-go shopping reference). If that got lost I think I'd cry. But, I do back it up, so hopefully it'll be with me for many years to come. My GR shelves do not hold even 25% of what I have TBR and it's already overwhelming to look at. LOL!

Jenny, it's pretty quick/easy to update your series on FictFact, hopefully you'll breeze right through it and have plenty of time left to read. :)

It's just nice knowing I'm not alone in tracking and hope everyone finds/has a way that works well for them. I'll continue to post any new spots I find that might help with the daunting task and allow us more time to actually read. :)

I mostly do it thru GR and a notebook I carry around with me cuz you never know when you are going to be in a bookstore or library or something and there is no way I can remember all the series and books and order, etc!! but I think I might really like this FictFact site so def checking it out!!!

I quite like the sound of BookPedia, but I'm a Windows girl, so it's not an option for me.

I thought FictFact was intriguing though and have signed up and added a number of my favorite series.

Beyond that, I simply rely on GR. =/

I am fairly simple - I just use Goodreads. I also like Shelfari.com. It tell me which ones I haven't read in a series and lets me view books by cover on my "shelf". Pretty neat as well :)

DarkHeart, I had a PC first and used Book Collector. When I switched to Mac, Collectorz didn't offer a Mac version, so I had to hunt for a replacement. :( I love BookPedia, but Book Collector was just as good for me. It does everything (I think) that BookPedia can do and is just as user friendly. Have a look, maybe it'll work for you too. :)

Angi, I signed up for LibraryThing and Shelfari before GR, but never really stuck with either. I do like how Shelfari offers that view of your shelf, but have found GR's cover option ok to use as well.

Have been keeping a Word doc of series I've started, updated periodically w/ upcoming release titles and dates... such and such.

But omg Steph, THANK YOU for FictFact! This is exactly what I need...now I can ditch my previous method of keeping track of my series.

Cher, if you have a hard time remembering logins & passwords, I used to use a program called RoboForm. It saves all your logins & passwords and enters them for you when you go to a website. You can also use it to save your credit card info (it's safe, since the info is saved on your computer, not the internet) and you just click the little "fill forms" button and it fills in your CC# so you don't have to dig it out every time you buy something online. I think it's free for saving your logins & passwords at 10 different sites--after that you have to buy it to be able to save more sites.

www.roboform.com

I don't remember how much it costs, but if you don't want to pay for it, Firfox has a free add-on called LastPass that does the exact same thing. I highly recommend Firefox if you're still using Internet Explorer. I can't believe I held out so long before I switched browsers.

Steph, after I posted, I did some searching around for Windows alternative, and Book Collector kept coming up. So, I checked it out, bought a copy and spent most of Sunday scanning in my books (I tried exporting my GR list and importing it, but it didn't seem to be working very well and it was taking forever). Loving it so far - I haven't made a go at importing my ebook or audiobooks yet though. =)

Thank you fellow reading and list addicts, I've just checked out FictFact and am very happy!! Might have to check ot Book Collector too!

Other than Goodreads, I track my series in a notebook I always have with me and on a spreadsheet. I used Shefari before I discovered Goodreads.

Thanks Steph for the FictFact link--I've just spent the last 2 hours there. :)

I just used goodreads to keep track before, making a ton of shelves to keep things organized. And I have a creepy memory, so I usually know when all my faves have new books coming out and all that jazz.

And then I'm always on goodreads on my iphone when I'm in the bookstore. I can't just pick something random out anymore--I need to see reviews now. :)

@Alisha, You're welcome. :)

@Laura LuLu, very cool (software), I use Firefox and have it save my login/pswds for me (most times). I also use Passwords Plus software to save everything b/c I have early-onset Alzheimers and need something to help my feeble brain most days.

LOL on ck'ing the reviews before buying. I laugh b/c I can relate. I was checking GR against some library selections a bit ago and had to laugh. I can't remember what the book title was, but I remember reading bad reviews from GR peeps and thought, "Nah, maybe later" and put the poor baby back on the shelf. How bad! It's the library, for crap's sake! I could'a read it and ditched it if no good, but noooooo. So bad!

@Jen, glad you like FF. I'm sure you'd like BookCollector too.

The other day while I was updating my latest reads @ FF, I noticed that in their seller options (if you want to buy a book) they didn't have BookDepository listed. So, I sent a request to the site to add it and, no kidding, a day later, done! Next to each book it says "find at: Amazon | Others". Now, when you click Others, BD is there! Yeah! Very speedy service, LOVE it!

@DH, I'm glad you got it and hope you enjoy it. I know I did. I can't do without BP and BC was the same way. I don't know if I mentioned or not, but I can (and do) sync my library from BookPedia to my iTouch. That way I always have it with me while shopping or wandering the library. I can't remember if Book Collector had that option or not, but they may have added it. Something to check into.

Thanks! I've downloaded the Book Collector trial, Ive been wanting a mobile list that I can view offline- so I really like that there is an app so I can synch it with my ipod and I don't need to be connected.

Welcome, Shelleyrae! :)


I'm glad you found something that'll work for you. I think you'll like it. I know I couldn't live without it. And being able to sync my lists to my iTouch has been a WONDERFUL bonus! :)

DarkHeart, just wanted to let ya know I saw in my Mac|Life magazine that Collectorz.com is now offering iApps. So, if you have an iTouch or iPhone, you can add the app, which is (at the time of the article) $9.99 USD and sync your lists on either of those. :)

Can nayone make other suggestions of i apps they have found useful for keep track of their books?

Are you on Mac or Windows, Shelleyrae?

Hmm... $10 for app? That's pretty pricey considering the price of the software itself. I will have to look into it though.

Thanks for the fictfact idea. I have been getting emaails about new releases!! I love it.

Steph wrote: "Are you on Mac or Windows, Shelleyrae?"

I'm Windows Steph, but I have an ipod touch. Basically I want to be able to have my to-read goodreads list available on that when I go to the library etc. Wifi isn't available so I can't access my Goodreads list on their app, so I wanted an app that would work offline. I looked at the Book Collectorz but its a more than I need really and pricey esp when the app is another $10 on top.
I browsed the app store and found 2 that looked interesting - one is BookCrawler http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/book-c... and the other is http://www.books-app.com/contents/gal... I'm leaning toward BookCrawler but I'd like some opinions if anyone uses either :)

I am going to try Book Collector. If I get an iPod touch I will get an app for it to help me. :) Thanks for the suggestions everyone! :)

DarkHeart "Vehngeance" wrote: "Hmm... $10 for app? That's pretty pricey considering the price of the software itself. I will have to look into it though."

I know, I couldn't believe the price either. I know I didn't pay that much for my iApp (BookPedia). Although mine's not supported/updated any longer b/c of Amazon not wanting their info available on it. Don't really understand their problem with it though b/c they most likely got a lot of business from people shopping there for the books they wanted. Whatever, I'm not deleting mine, so it still works, just no updates. Keep an eye on it, maybe they'll reduce the price eventually.

Regina wrote: "Thanks for the fictfact idea. I have been getting emaails about new releases!! I love it. "

You're welcome. Don't cha just love that?! Like a little "hey, have you bought this yet" reminder. :)

Shelleyrae wrote: "I browsed the app store and found 2 that looked interesting - one is BookCrawler http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/book-craw... and the other is http://www.books-app.com/contents/galler... I'm leaning toward BookCrawler but I'd like some opinions if anyone uses either "

Wow! I like both of those actually. I would try both free apps and give them a test run, see which one works best for you. Then, you can buy the winner. :) Lemme know which you choose and how you're liking it, I might switch.

Awesomevegan wrote: "I am going to try Book Collector."

Hope you like it. :)

I just started a spreadsheet for my challenges... Lets see how it goes. If anyone wants to see how I set it up the link is here. I will be adding more to it but you will get the idea.

I used the strike through for books I have read and highlighted in yellow for books I am currently reading. :)

Cool, looks good. Hope it works well for you.

I create a "library" within my BookPedia program for each challenge I'm in, move my challenge books there and remove them as I've read them. That's been working pretty well for me so far. Plus, I have lists scattered all over GR reminding me what I'm reading for which ... LOL What a mess, but SO much fun!

Ok, Shelleyrae, I downloaded both free apps (the ones you mentioned) and gave them a test run last night. Here are my thoughts on both.

Book Crawler
PROS: You can ...
* name the series, including # of the book in the series
* enter books manually, by search, ISBN or bar scanner
* list the format you have for that book
* list comments and create a "custom" field
* create collections (ie: TBR, challenge list, etc)
* sort by genre, collection, rating, format, etc.
* view full book info (incl # of pgs, offered by Google Books)

CONS: You can't ...
* ?? didn't find any 'can't's, but only added 3 books for test-drive
* the look of it is just so-so

BooksApp
PROS: You can ...
* at quick glance, v "looking up", see # of pages & book description
* create collections to sort books
* enter books manually, by search, ISBN or bar scanner
* + for appearance, it looks nice :)

CONS: You can't ...
* sort by anything other than author or collection
* list any comments (very limited info can be entered)

So, my choice would be for BOOK CRAWLER, out of those two choices. :)

Thanks Steph - Its only a couple of dollars so I think I will download Book Crawler today. It's going to take me a while to get my collection in there though LOL.

I like to paste the blurb in for each book so a comment section is important.

i'll let you know how it goes :)

You're welcome. I had fun testing them out. Yeah, that's a major down side for me, the posting every book using those micro keys. But, if you don't have constant WiFi options it's a good alternative.

I had the same problem initially, no constant WiFi, but the app I use to sync with my desktop database stores it locally, so no WiFi needed to view what's in my library.

I thought I'd come back and let you know that in the end I purchased BookApps.
I played with both all week but even though BookCrawler offered more options the interface was just too clumsy for me to use comfortably. I couldn't really see the information I wanted at a glance and it was all a bit fiddly.

In BookApps the blurb is entered automatically so that worked for me and the sort options are fine since really the most important for my purposes is To Read, Read and I Own. I also really like that you can import all the books from a single author at once rather than one at a time :)
I used a work around for series by using the Subtitle field to add in the series and # and then when you search they all show up :)
Now I have to get these books entered.

Good choice, Shelleyrae. I liked the look of that one a lot better. Glad you found one that works for you. :) And great idea on the subtitle field for series info, I wouldn't be able to do without that bit.

You might need some carpal tunnel surgery after your done entering all your bks with that small keypad. Take breaks :)

Right, so I caved and spent the $10 on the collectorz app for my iPhone. ;) It forced me to update my database to ensure all of the covers were in there and go in and add the series data, which strangely wasn't present on any of my 500+ books. I would like to be able to push one bulk update back to their database to help out others, but I don't see any way to do that. However, I love that I've got access to all of my physical books on my phone. I've relied on GR in the past, but I don't have access to it while in the States (I'm not paying the ridiculous roaming fees) or in poor reception areas, so it's nice to know that I can depend on accurate information and avoid buying the same book twice (which I've done on numerous occasions). =D

:) Cool! I never used that one on my iPhone b/c it wasn't available for Mac when I bought mine. That's why I switched to BookPedia. Hated leaving collectorz, but enjoy Bruji (makers of BP) just as much now.

Shelleyrae wrote: "I thought I'd come back and let you know that in the end I purchased BookApps.
I played with both all week but even though BookCrawler offered more options the interface was just too clumsy for me ..."

You convinced me to try BookApps on my Touch. It seems pretty neat but good grief it is going to take me forever to get everything entered. I need a cuecat to let me enter by barcode.

Wish there was some way to do it on the computer and then transfer it to my Touch.

LooLoo wrote: "Wish there was some way to do it on the computer and then transfer it to my Touch..."

Yeah, that's a huge downside for me on those "stand alone" book catalog iApps. Have you checked out Collectorz (for Windows & Mac) or BookPedia (for Mac)? You can enter your library data on your computer, then buy the iApp for either and sync to your Touch.

Steph wrote: "LooLoo wrote: "Wish there was some way to do it on the computer and then transfer it to my Touch..."

Yeah, that's a huge downside for me on those "stand alone" book catalog iApps. Have you checke..."

I think I will have to break down sometime soon and try Collectorz so I can do that.

Might be worth the extra $ just so you don't have to input all your books with the tiny keyboard.

Steph wrote: "LooLoo wrote: "Wish there was some way to do it on the computer and then transfer it to my Touch..."

Yeah, that's a huge downside for me on those "stand alone" book catalog iApps. Have you checke..."

I agree it's going to to take me ages but I started last night while I was watching TV - it doesnt take a lot of concentration and I found if you choose search by title - put in the authors name instead of a title, and when it searches google books you can then check multiple books by the same author and import them all at once. Much quicker and easier than one at a time with the ISBN entry or by single title.

Collectorz was just out of price range or I would have gone with that.

That's cool, I hadn't thought about trying to input that way (author search). Nice!

I was entering by multiple books by author too but even that way it will still take quite a while to organize by "have read" or "to read" since you can't designate which one as you pick them. Looks like you have to lump them all under one collection or another when you pick and then go to edit later if it isn't under the correct collection. If I haven't read any by that author or if I've read them all it does make it a lot quicker.

LOL, that took a lot of words to get to my point.

Nah :) I don't envy ya'll, that's for sure.

I just have a word document with three columns on each page. I have the authors name and then all their books under it. I then highlight what I have read. I print it out and carry it with me when I go to the store. Sometimes I end up giving it to someone .

No matter what you use, it's great when it's in a format that allows you to have it on hand when out shopping or wandering around the library. :)

I popped over to FictFact to update my series and I see they've made some new updates to the site. YAY! I'm so happy it's growing and didn't flop.

I know many of you have signed up over there and wanted to mention that you can now "follow" other users. I'm not sure what you will see when you choose to do that, but I'm guessing you can check out what series they've read/are reading.

I'm happy to share my account over there with anyone interested. You can view my FictFact profile by clicking here. If you have one too and would like to share, post a link to your acct so others can follow you. Looks like you just "find profile" and then click on "add contact" to follow someone's lists. I'm guessing here, so please correct me if you find out this is wrong. :)

You can also create lists (new feature). Ah, how I love lists .... hehe Remember, if you plan on "sharing" your lists you must first change your list(s) default setting from private to public. Otherwise, when someone follows your list(s) they won't see that you have any. **NOTE: Seems like any new lists you create are currently unable to be edited. I got an error message that said "We have been notified and will fix it as soon as possible. Please try again later." And, since the mods of the site are so good and quite speedy at updating the site, I'm sure it'll be fixed soon.

Freak Factor: Sounds like I'm promoting stalking, but seeing what others who share your love for a certain genre have read will often lead to some great new reads for you. Hopefully everyone understands that's my reason for posting this and it doesn't freak anyone out. LOL :)

I added you Steph
My profile is here - http://www.fictfact.com/user/shelleyrae haven't finished cleaning up my lists yet but feel free to add me