Meadowlark Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I must confess, I'm a little bit addicted to books. So, I'm in trouble because I'm losing control of how to organize them and how to be sure I don't keep buying books I already own. We started off using HOD, so I have neat little tubs of those books. But we are going a different route, and now I have about 8 other tubs of books (history, read alouds, leveled reading). I just bought 26 more from better World books (huge flash sale today only!) and I have no idea where to put them when they come. How do you organize your books? Do you have a master list you check? Do you label your books so you know reading level, curriculum, etc.? I usually order books that I find on a book list, but the problem is, often they are found in 2-3 places if they're classics...at one reading level for one curriculum, but a read aloud for another curriculum. It's all starting to get blurry in my head. Advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Library Thing (online) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I've done this quite a few times. I don't buy all my books from amazon, but often I will check my past orders to make sure I haven't bought before. It's saved me a few times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I admit to buying Book Collector less than a year ago for the same reason. Now, it would be more helpful if I had some sort of i-dodad that had a portable app on it when I'm at the library's used book sale, but it works for when a friend call & asks if I have a book they'd like to borrow or if I see a book online I'd like to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyz Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I don't think you're an official homeschooler until you've done this. :) ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 You had me at "huge flash sale - today only"....I couldn't read past that. (I have three copies of some books because I forgot we already owned it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyontheFarm Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I don't think you're an official homeschooler until you've done this. :) ;) and your a veteran homeschooler if you've done it more than once! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Thanks a lot...now I'm at the huge flash sale...sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I put all of mine into an Excel file. It took a while to set up, but I can now easily check to see if I have them. I have another file for 'books I want'. I'm sure there's an app for that if you have a smarter phone than I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Wow. Best.flash.sale.ever. I will kiss you on the mouth if we ever meet in person. I have found most of my remaining history and lit books for next year at great prices at the sale. So glad you cannot stop buying books. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 We have a master booklist and I know where they are because I pull them all off for a deep dusting twice a year. Some day (hopefully soon), I will expand my booklist to include the shelf location. If you make one make sure to include a place to write who it's loaned out to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I keep buying Paddington Helps Out and Black Beauty. I have three copies of each. (What's that about?) I have taken to scribbling down lists of what I own, or what I want, and taking it to book sales. I have a Library Thing account but I have trouble keeping it updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I use Readerware software and have for years. I don't think it matters what you use, but get it and use it. Most software now will have an app to go on your phone as well, so you can check your library when you're about. Congrats on the sale! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin'sMom Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Just think of it as being true to your own taste in literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 That's better than buying a book you don't actually like or want. At least if you buy several copies of a book you love, it makes a good gift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 What was it, it would be funny if it was one that some of us here have bought twice!! We could make a fun new thread--list all the books you have bought twice, see how many are in common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I have a Mac so I use Bookpedia to track both our library and the things I still need to buy. There's an iPad app to go with it (Pocketpedia) so I have access to my lists offline. Even with this set-up I've still bought a book or two we already own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The only system I have for keeping track of the books I have is an 11 year old with a photographic memory. If he is not with me, I am so messed up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The only system I have for keeping track of the books I have is an 11 year old with a photographic memory. If he is not with me, I am so messed up... My daughter tells my people's names. My son and I had seen sisters at his tennis practice about 6 times, she met them once. We couldn't remember the older girl's name. My daughter knew it! (The tennis instructor says their names frequently, too, LOL.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The only book I have two copies of on my shelf is Carry On Mr. Bowditch, not because it's the only one I bought twice but it's the only one I couldn't bear to give away even the extra copy of... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 My first thought when I saw this thread title: "what? Only one?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I have a few double ups from buying sonlight... It was still cheaper to buy the package though. I also have two copies of a life of Fred as I bought an individual book then found the whole set on sale. Also have bought only to have my sis hand me down copy offered... But the best thing I did was order cusenaire rods through a sale site that takes a while to send stuff then totally forgot about it. So we ended up with two sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThursdayNext Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 LibraryThing. We have all our books cataloged on there, except for picture books. Our dining room is lined with bookshelves. Fiction is alphabetized, but non-fiction is still haphazard. We could not agree on Dewey decimal or Library of Congress. The only trouble is entering the new books and deleting the books we get rid of. We do have 2 dedicated shelves, books to be cataloged and shelved, and unread books on probation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I keep buying Paddington Helps Out and Black Beauty. I have three copies of each. (What's that about?) that cracked me up!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 Well, I started library thing today and I'm so excited! I already have 2 tubs in there. I also found about 2-3 more that I have two of...I really hope to get this under control,lol. My next question is, how do you all organize your books on the shelves? Right now, mine are in bins but someday soon I hope to get a lot of them out and out on shelves. Is there a smart way to do that? Also, do you out your curriculum living books on shelves? For example, if we're studying american history, should I leave the ancient books packed up until we get there or just leave them all out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 My next question is, how do you all organize your books on the shelves? Right now, mine are in bins but someday soon I hope to get a lot of them out and out on shelves. Is there a smart way to do that? Also, do you out your curriculum living books on shelves? For example, if we're studying american history, should I leave the ancient books packed up until we get there or just leave them all out? Mine are currently hopelessly unorganized. This will be remedied in 2014. I leave all of my books out because I love them so much. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I admit to buying Book Collector less than a year ago for the same reason. Now, it would be more helpful if I had some sort of i-dodad that had a portable app on it when I'm at the library's used book sale, but it works for when a friend call & asks if I have a book they'd like to borrow or if I see a book online I'd like to buy. I have book collector also. I have not tried it, but they do have an app so you can see what is on your computer. It is read only I believe and it is not free...but there is one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Just when I get the books organized, it is time to move again... The worst was when my dad organized them. I was glad he helped with the move, but it was not how I would have organized them at all, I could not even find anything by the end of the move. My husband is a bit better because he knows which books are "his" and which are mine and most of the homeschooling ones he can figure out. But, I have started letting my husband set up the kitchen while I set up the books. He is surprising good at logically setting up the kitchen for a guy. I might try for a better system if we didn't move so much, I just have general categories. I do try to keep everything we might use for the year on two shelves, a most likely will use shelf and a might use shelf. If I want something else, I will look through shelves with that category. For instance, my husband has a bunch of military and history books that are his, if I need "The Landmark Thucydides" or a history of military weapons (yes, we own several different ones!) for some reason, I look there. The main categories are sci-fi, my fiction, general history, poly sci, economics, military history, reference books, college textbooks, homeschool future general, homeschool math not current year, reading research, phonics and spelling (2 shelfs full for my remedial students), old textbooks (mainly 1800s, a few early 1900s), homeschool helps and educational theory books (norms and nobility, etc.) christian fiction, Bible reference, christian books, comparative religion, childrens classics, poetry, etc. There is a shelf of random books that my husband bought and I also have a random shelf. We have left wing and right wing stuff and things from all religions, people are always surprised by the variety of our library. The local librarians also frequently comment on my eclectic book selections, especially at the beginning of a move when they are not used to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I have book collector also. I have not tried it, but they do have an app so you can see what is on your computer. It is read only I believe and it is not free...but there is one. Yep. They do have an app. I just don't have anything to put an app on. I have a DumbPhone & no i-thingy. (And I'm ok with that, being the Neo-Luddite that I am.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCEmom Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I use the good reads app, but am now curious about Library thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I just bought 26 more from better World books (huge flash sale today only!) and I have no idea where to put them when they come. Totally off-topic, but for those of you who bought books in this flash sale, have you received them all? I got the ones that weren't coming from BWB, but haven't received the small pile :blush: of ones that were supposed to ship directly from them. (A shipping notice for "all" of them, but no tracking numbers.) Or am I just jumping the gun since it has only been a week? (I'm so spoiled by Amazon prime!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 No, I actually haven't gotten any of them. I'm not too worried as I've never had a problem with them in the past, but I was hoping to get them last week. I know it can take up to 2 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 It's a rite of passage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I am actually able to remember all the books we have. If I knew how I did this, I'd share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professormom Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I must confess, I'm a little bit addicted to books. So, I'm in trouble because I'm losing control of how to organize them and how to be sure I don't keep buying books I already own. We started off using HOD, so I have neat little tubs of those books. But we are going a different route, and now I have about 8 other tubs of books (history, read alouds, leveled reading). I just bought 26 more from better World books (huge flash sale today only!) and I have no idea where to put them when they come. How do you organize your books? Do you have a master list you check? Do you label your books so you know reading level, curriculum, etc.? I usually order books that I find on a book list, but the problem is, often they are found in 2-3 places if they're classics...at one reading level for one curriculum, but a read aloud for another curriculum. It's all starting to get blurry in my head. Advice? . I haven't read this whole thread so this may be redundant. Welcome to the club, lol. I have yet to meet anyone who has homeschooled for at least a few years that hasn't found themselves buying duplicatesâ˜ºï¸ I use the BookCrawler app on my ipad. I can scan books as they come in and then it is easy to look them up when I am making a new book list for the year. It also comes in handy for peace of mind. If something happens to our house, my ninety beeeellion dollars worth of books will be accurately recorded and I will get a nice big fat insurance check:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Just saw this and it cracked me up. First off, organization. We have one of the IKEA 5 x 5 shelves for all our current or soon to be current school books. I am able to use each cube for a subject as well as 2 shelves for teachers manuals and teachers aids. Behind the ikea shelf (it is being used as a room divider) we have 2 small 3 shelf bookshelves. I have all reading instruction, The easier version of classics like Gulliver's travels, our horrible histories, landmark history, Max Axiom books etc..... I then have an extra long bookcase, the width of 2 regular ones in my dining room. That is where I put curriculum that might get used for dd (bottom 2 shelves) and all the books I am not sure where to put. With series (like the magic treehouse) when ds was done, we put those in tubs and have labeled them. We have just gotten the Magic Treehouse back out for DD, but we have a lot of "fun" books in tubs labeled by reading level. I keep buying Paddington Helps Out and Black Beauty. I have three copies of each. (What's that about?) I have taken to scribbling down lists of what I own, or what I want, and taking it to book sales. I have a Library Thing account but I have trouble keeping it updated. This is only our 4th year, so I only have 2 copies of Black Beauty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystie Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I used to use LibraryThing, and still like it, but I want to be able to catalog our audio and dvds, too, and LT only does books. So I bought Delicious Library 2 (Mac only). Then I export the library as a list into Evernote so I can have it portable on my iPod Touch (wifi only). What I like about Delicious Library is that I can also easily drag and drop books into my contacts to mark them as lent out. And I created a contact for books "in repair," too. :)We do a 3 year history cycle, so I have books with a colored label on the spine for each cycle, and only one cycle is out at a time. Lots of books are out all the time, too, and those are not labeled. I made "shelves" in DL that match our actual shelves: one is history & lit, one is culture, family, & education, one is theology, one is curriculum, etc. I'm not sure how well that will work when I need a new shelf and have to physically rearrange the books. :) But it's working for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I don't have a system, which is why I have purchased at least a dozen duplicates over the years (most of them have been garage/estate sale finds.) My previous organizing method is away at college. My oldest son seems to have a photographic memory as to where books are in the house (but he can't ever seem to find a pen, his calculator, etc.) so I would just ask him. When I would bring books home, he would know right away if we already had that book. At one point I think I had 2 complete sets of The Indian in the Cupboard series. He was pretty irked with my self when I bought him a second copy of Devil in the White City, though. We do have school related books in the living/dining room where we would at least organize school. I have other non-fiction (adult and children's) in the family room. My children have bookshelves in their rooms with their personal copies of things. I have a bookshelf with just children's fiction and another with adult fiction. We had tried a Dewey Decimal system for the non-ficiton and alphabetical by author for the fiction, but that wasn't always maintained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Totally off-topic, but for those of you who bought books in this flash sale, have you received them all? I got the ones that weren't coming from BWB, but haven't received the small pile :blush: of ones that were supposed to ship directly from them. (A shipping notice for "all" of them, but no tracking numbers.) Or am I just jumping the gun since it has only been a week? (I'm so spoiled by Amazon prime!) I have not received my flash sale books, but I am hoping to see them this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I spoke & the mailman delivered! I received mine today. :hurray: Thanks to the OP for helping me spend more of DH's money (and whittling down my Amazon "shopping list.") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 I got mine too! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Awwww! Where are my flash sale books??? (Stamps foot) They will probably come tomorrow when I am gone for 12 hours!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abba12 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 You guys are awful. I have now bought Book Collector and anticipate many, many hours of scanning and categorizing ahead of me... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 (edited) . Edited September 8, 2023 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 My first thought when I saw this thread title: "what? Only one?" Precisely! Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I still do not have my flash sale books! Now I am worried they are lost. Ugh! What's the good of a flash sale if you can't ever get your books? To those who have received yours, did they come via Fed Ex? USPS Media Mail? Sometimes Fed Ex comes here late.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Mine came via USPS. I can't remember if they were media mail, but probably. You can always send them a note with your order number. But they'll probably just reassure you that you still have 5-10 more business days to wait. :thumbdown: :willy_nilly: :eek: :banghead: They probably aren't lost. But I know how you feel!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kricau Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 LOL Been there done that :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I keep going to the front porch to stare longingly...oh well, tomorrow is a new day. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I got my books! I got my books! <happy dance> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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