Tuesday, September 22, 2009

When You Wish Upon A...Library Thing!

Once again, it is Tuesday and I am very excited!! Why am I excited you, my dear reader, may ask. Well, two reasons. First of all, this weeks Tuesday Thinger suggested question, from Wendi's Book Corner, came from me! Ok, as I readily admit, I stole it from this She Is Too Fond of Books post. But still, I was the conduit, so to speak.
Second, I have three very cute pictures of wee Bandit, that I admit I stole from his blog. Hmmmm....I am seeing a pattern here

Questions: Have you explored/used the Wishlist collection on Library Thing yet? If so, have you found it helpful?


I made this suggestion as a question because it is just another of the many ways that you can use Library Thing that I did not realize. Now, you might remember when LT introduced The Collections. OK, unless you are a bit obsessed with Library Thing, like some unnamed people, you may not. But take my word for it, it is a feature that many people were clamoring for for a very long time. Personally, I did not quite understand the excitement, how it would be a plus for me to use.
Until I read She is Too Fond's post. Because one of the preset 'collections' is a wishlist and I need a wishlist.

I can't say that prior to blogging that I had a wishlist. Which might explain why now, after starting to read so many of my fellow bloggers, that my TBR pile has exploded in size. You know how it is. You are out there in blogland, reading all the reviews, the blog tours, the giveaways and you think, "I must have that book!". Now if you are me, and rather impatient, you will go to BookMooch and see if it is available (it will not be, but that is another story) or you will go to Amazon or BookFinder.com and see if there is a used copy available. Of course, if it is a new book, that will not work. So then the question is, are you going to buy a new copy? Between the cost and the size of my TBR pile, that gives even me pause. So I need a wishlist, a place to store the info and come back to it at another time, when cooler heads can prevail.

I tried an actual paper list....forget it. I just lose it. And I never have it on hand when I needed it.
I tried an excel spreadsheet....I have too many spreadsheets already about various stuff, and I can only access it on my computer, unless I save it to a flash drive and then where did I put that?
I tried the 'wishlist' feature on Amazon....the most successful of my attempts but still had issues. Well, like I forgot it was there.

So I am happy to see I can use Library Thing once again for my one stop book needs.
I am already familiar with how to find and enter books there on Library Thing, so a small learning curve. That is always good. I just needed to added a "private comment" column to "My Books" page, so I can note where I heard about it or any other bit of info I want to save. And then I had to figure out how to have it on my wishlist but not in my library, since I don't actually own it yet...which is easy once I realized I just need to select the "wishlist" collection and unselect "my library" collection from the book in question. And there is the wonderful option of sharing your list, for possible gift ideas maybe. :-)

I have also just realized that you have the options of making a "private comment", that those who link to your page will not see, or just a regular "comment" column, which others can see..I guess you might have things to say about the book that you don't wish to share.

No neat, so tidy. And I have found if I keep it simple, with just one site to go to for my book related needs, there is a much better chance that I will actually use it. That, after all, is the point!

Now, on the Bandit portion of my Tuesday...better know as Bandit Day...post. For non-readers of Bandit's Blog (and really, why are you not reading it??), you might not know that it is the one year anniversary of Bandit's Coming Home, as just a wee puppy, so in honor of this date, a trio of wee Puppy Pics. Awwww....

click pics for a bigger view



13 comments:

  1. First and most important Happy Homecoming Anniversary Bandit! No wonder you are so cute, look at you as a pup, just darling! I wouldn't have been able to leave his side, he's so cute!

    Caite, The Library Thing should pay you a salary you sell them so well! I have a list of things to check out when I have the time to spend on Library Thing and it grows by the week!
    Of course, you know, that if I spend some time on Library Things and end up not liking it at all the first thing I'm gonna do is find you....

    =o)

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  2. lol...ok, but since that will never happen, I am safe!

    he is cute, isn't he...awww

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  3. Don't let the fact that you came up with this question go to your head!!

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  4. I really am excited about this feature. Now let's just hope I use it...hehehe.

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  5. no Kathy, I think we are safe on that one. Now, if I can come up with another one...lol

    Lenore, I really think I can be better about using this wishlist since I already use LT for other things.

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  6. caite....I love the wishlist feature, and just set up the librarything mobile application on my blackberry. While LT doesn't yet show collections on the mobile app, it does let you sort by tags, so I just added the tag "M" to all the books on my wish list. Now when I'm at the library, or in a book store, I can pull up my list, and look to see if this is the one I want (or I can add more to the wishlist!) I love the feature, like everything on LT. Thanks for a great meme...

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  7. Oh no, now do I have to get some sort of mobile device....? :-)

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  8. awww hugs Bandit, what a cutie!

    I use the Library Thing wishlist for something else, I use it for books that I need to take out on an interlibrary loan as they don't have it at my library, it's a lot of books which doesn't say very good things about my library (ie: lacking in the GOOD STUFF). Oh well. I'm glad it's there for me to use.

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  9. Are you a stockholder in LibraryThing? Just wondering!

    And I didn't know about this but I can see that I need this feature. : )

    And Bandit as a wee pup is even cuter than Bandit as a grown pup!

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  10. okbolover, see there is the beauty of LT. you can use it as YOU want to!

    Jenners, do not read the previous answer. It will just verify what you said..lol
    I do not own stock...but I would if they went public!

    Bandit...do not read Jenners' comments. It will just upset you. You have never been cuter! ;-)

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  11. what lovely comments. you're all very kind! had the best year of my life so far!! (only year of my life...)

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  12. Bandit, I must say it has been wonderful knowing you this last year as well.

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  13. Thanks again for the help on this Thinger! I learned from it, and will hopefully get a better handle on my wishlists :)

    Bandit is adorable as usual.

    Thanks for stopping by and participating in Thingers last week! I've got the post up for this week in honor of Banned Books Week. ~ Wendi

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