Why LT is great (or not so great) if you don't use Talk a lot

Just posting an opening for discussion for any who would like it (and now I'll shut up for at least five minutes)...

I adore librarything with a passion, since I do not have much much money it is a very good hobby. I must admit I probably don't use all the features to their tue potential but to be honest I really haven't tried. I also don't understand tags and all the other stuff so to be perfectly honest I have been lazy to not try to find out.

I do use Talk a lot, I just don't post a lot! :-)

I'd like to ask this - what other features of LT do you use? How many hours per day/week are you here? Is most of your time spent contributing (cataloguing/combining/other activities) or receiving (looking up books, reading recommendations, collecting information)?

As for myself, I spend maybe five to seven hours a week (more this week) on LT. I read posts in my groups, look at other interesting libraries, and find interesting books to wishlist here or put on my bookmooch wishlist. I get more than I contribute, since I am not involved in any activities like combiners. I don't even know what combiners are.

I love Early Reviewers and have also written some reviews of other books I've read. Writing reviews is really fun, and I'm not even a writer!

Anyone else? What have you done on LT lately?

I read over talk, that is about it. I also very much enjoy the ER/MG program.

Hello all!
LT is one of the websites I visit on a daily basis, probably the best website I have discovered this year. I'm usually on here at least half an hour a day, to write reviews of books I have read and read reviews by other people. Then I have a look through 'Talk' for interesting discussions.

I just wish Early Reviewers had more coverage worldwide - most books are not available in the UK. I would definitely make use of this feature if they were.

I would never have expected to be interested in the cataloguing side, but I do like contributing to CK, which is also a good source of quiz questions if you're into that sort of thing!

This is a great idea for a group, thanks Caffron for the invite

I come to LT several times a day. I joined originally to catalogue my books; I'm not a fan of social networking online but I fairly soon began to look at Talk and before I knew it I had joined some groups. I'm naturally non-confrontational so i avoided the groups which discussed politics, religion and other controversial subjects but I have found some groups which hold discussions without 'arguing' and I'm interested in the technical side of LT as well - I do some quiet combining on the side! - and I like to contribute to CK.

I was quite surprised to see, when Tim added the Started By You tab that I have actually started some threads!

I come to read the threads in the groups I follow every day, and I use the cataloging feature, but I have no idea what combining even means, and I admit that I'm a little intimidated by all of that. I like the idea of the ER program for the sake of others - I know how much many people here do love it - but it's not really for me (I love reading, of course, but very much don't love writing detailed reviews).

I am horrible at writing reviews but I still love doing it. You don't have to perfect the ER program isn't meant for perfection but rather getting thoughts on every day common people and what they think about a book so it sales more.

ladylenneth: I think the problem for me is that if I *have* to do something, I automatically don't want to do it. I humbly recognize it as a silly stubborn fault on my part, but there it is. :) I do still love the idea of it - both book lovers and editors/writers/publishers benefit!

We all have our little quirks. Like I can't borrow a book, I have to own it to read it and it drives my husband up a wall. Lol

scaifea, I fight the same demon. Don't tell me what to do!! *stomp foot and stalk away* I have an ER book right now that I'm putting off reading because I'm afraid I won't like it and then I'll have to write a not so stellar review.

But here's my real reading quirk - I hate mass market paperbacks. Can't stand them, they are small, they don't stay open, the print is tiny and often smudged, and sometimes the ink comes off on my fingers like newsprint. Ick. Give me a nice comfy hardback! :-)

I love the feel of any new book, especially how it smells.

ladylenneth: I'm the same way - must own the book, and can't get rid of it once I own it - I still have all my old textbooks from college even!

mlnelson01: Again, same way here - books need to be hardback for me.

I have all my books too. I can't reread things often but I still love to look at them and grin. After I read a long series I always get depressed and my husband hates it but when I finish a book its like losing a precious good friend.

I also keep all my books. You go on holiday and keep a photo, you go on a journey with a book and keep it as a momento.

As for the site, I only frequent a few times a week. Recently I have had a lot to do with university so haven't visited in a while. There are a lot of features I have no idea about and some of the discussions in the Talk section are just overwhelming and uninviting. I love being able to catalogue my books and post rarely but I am aiming to be more active.

When I read Msg.7, I thought, "Hey, that's me", because I haven't a clue about combining nor many of the other cataloguing/librarian terminology. I also don't participate in the ER/MG programs because I couldn't write a book review to save my life.

Where I differ from most of the other posters so far is that, generally, I am not a keeper of books: I read them and then I pass them along. I probably have fewer than 300 books in my house and about 2/3 of those are my TBR mountain. I have kept some books with sentimental value as well as some signed first editions although I probably have fewer than half as many as I had this time last year.

A couple of years ago, I started keeping a list of books I had read and I continue to do that mostly to keep from re-reading which I also don't do anymore -- there are so many books and I feel like I'm running out of time!

When I joined LT it was mainly just to catalog my books. I started to buy duplicates of my books so that is the real reason I joined. I don't know what combining is but I have a feeling it is about combining duplicate works or authors. I have tried to figure it out but I am afraid that some of the information I enter would be wrong. I now just follow the group.

I now use LT to also keep track of the books I own, the books I have read and the books I have borrowed. I realized that I was reading books more then once and I have so many books I would like to read that I just need to read those books.

I have been known to be a hoarder of books but recently I have let some books go. Any that I had duplicates of and also some of my children's books. I just don't have the room for all those books.

I agree with Crazy......I joined mainly to catalog my books. I found I had 3 copies of one and I tried on my own with a spreadsheet, but it didn't have the things I needed.

I'm going to stay because you all have inspired me!

Combining just means that all the different editions are 'combined' into (what LibraryThing calls) one work. In other words if you have a hardback and I have a mass market paperback (boo!, I hear some of you cry out - lol), they may have different ISBNs, be published by different publishers, or translated into a different language etc; and when listed will show as a different book.
But the words inside are exactly the same (even if in a different language) ...so they are combined, or linked together here, as they are ostensibly, one work.

When this goes awry they need to be 'combined' properly. I have had the all the books in one series incorrectly combined and had to separate them all out and then recombine them into each book correctly...lots of things like that can happen here as anyone can separate and combine editions.

However... no one ever needs to as the Combiners! group will always help you. If, for example, you suddenly find in your statistics, that you have two copies (duplicate) of one book and this is not true, it may be because it has been combined incorrectly. Or, if you are listed as the only person owning a popular book then yours has not combined with everyone else's. This can happen for a variety of reasons and is usually not anyone's fault - but it is nice to bring it into the flock - so to speak.
That's all...

ETA: I joined to catalogue my books and to stop myself from buying duplicates, as I could buy books from US and UK publishers and they use different titles *Aaarggghhh* and found this wonderful community and far too many other books I want to read.
And so many nice members... and groups. heh.

>19 Lman: Lman, thanks for explaining combiners! I think the idea of having one "work" that can include all versions, translations and editions of a (there's no other word for it) "work" is really key to a community like this one, where part of the goal is to find others who share your reading tastes. I wish physical libraries could do this better in their automated systems.

I recently came across an author page on LT where I wondered whether multiple authors with the same name might all be showing up under the page, or whether this one author wrote all the books listed. The author page was for Margaret Atwood. Is there a similar capability for combining and separating authors who share the same or similar names?

>20 mlnelson01:
Is there a similar capability for combining and separating authors who share the same or similar names?

Not exactly but we have the concept of "Distinct" Authors - which allows the books for two authors with the same name to appear separated on the author page -- even if they are on the same page. We all patiently expect to see this finished one day (total separation that is). See http://www.librarything.com/author/jameshenry for example.