Day: June 21, 2007

So while I’m happily using both LibraryThing and Goodreads to keep track of the books that I’ve read, or that I’m currently reading, I still want to keep a separate list of the books that I intend to read for my own personal use. I had been using Amazon.com’s wishlist feature to keep track of these books, but it’s a feature that leaves a great deal to be desired. A lot of the problems with it are expressed here more succinctly than I could, but the real issue I’ve always had with it personally is that that you can’t export the contents of the list into anything like a usable format. In fact, as far as Amazon is concerned, apparently, you can’t export the contents of the list into any other format.

You can print the contents, but if it’s a long list (and mine is) then you’re looking at far too many pages, a cumbersome and environmentally unfriendly solution. I want a list that I can do something with, that I can sort however I like, and that I print off in smaller sections if that’s what I need. What I want, essentially, is an Excel spreadsheet. Something simple and easy to deal with.

So I went online to look for better solutions, or tricks, that would let me do just that. I found a few suggestions — like using Amazon’s Web Services as a work-around, or copying and pasting directly from the wishlist, or even installing a Firefox extension to pull the information (kicking and screaming) from the list in question — but none of them worked exactly the way I wanted.

And I really didn’t want to re-input all those book titles one by one myself.

But then it occurred to me that I could import the list into LibraryThing. They offer what they call “the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of file imports,” which will rip ISBNs from any website or file that you give it and plug those books into your LibraryThing catalog. No muss, no fuss — and they offer tools that will then allow you to export the catalog into MS Excel.

True, you can only list 200 titles altogether with a free account, but a lifetime membership with unlimited titles is only $25. And these LibraryThing people seem like good folk, don’t they? They provide a nice service, so why not throw a little money their way? So now I’ve got myself another book list, with which I can do all the things I couldn’t do with Amazon.com. It was a nice little eureka moment when I realized how simple this solution was going to be. I’ll definitely be using this list, rather than Amazon, to keep track of books I plan to read from now on.

I should add that I don’t plan to import these titles to my Goodreads shelves anytime soon — at least, not until I’m reading, or have read, them. Unless I’m missing something, there doesn’t seem to be any way to import titles directly to a specific shelf. Instead, these 275 (and counting) titles would end up on my “already read” list, and I’d need to change each one of them individually. That’s a little more work than I’m willing to invest in this.

However, I am going to continue using Goodreads to keep track of the books I am reading. It’s been brought to my attention recently that I might be difficult to find, if you’re trying to friend me. So if you are — and please do — this is me here.

Now I should probably go read something…

I was lighting the barbecue tonight, when there was this whoosh, and then I thought I was going to have to start telling the story about how I used to have a beard (or eyebrows). Luckily, the heat only singed some of the hair on the top of my right arm, but that propane sure does light up pretty quick.