Shelfarians discussion
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LeafMarks
message 51:
by
Sharon
(new)
Mar 13, 2016 02:02PM
My experience has been the same as yours.
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"I've spent hours with two window tabs open, one window Shelfari and one window Goodreads trying to re-rate my books."Yeah, I had to do the same thing.
yup. Been there, done that. Very time consuming. I was spending most of my time adding my reviews to the good reads side, for some reason they didn't carry over, but many books did. Some books didn't make it and I have over 100 multiple books on GR. Go figure. some were posted as read even though they were on the wish list, little things like that will drive me crazy. My hubby says I obsess too much over my books. that is not possible. He just doesn't understand.
Toastednuts wrote: "I'm spending way to much time trying to find a new home that is as user friendly as my beloved Shelfari. ..."Unfortunately, I don't believe such a site is out there. :-(
no, not yet Cindy, but hopefully one day soon...let's hope so
I have joined that Italian site someone mentioned, but that's it so far. I haven't really used. I can import my books from LibraryThing if I put them on my computer first, but not Goodreads. So I'm wondering if I have to fix all my covers, etc on LT first or not. It's aNobii
I just read a post from LibraryCin on Shelfari about Leafmarks shutting down July 1. I haven't read that anywhere else....
Jonetta wrote: "I just read a post from LibraryCin on Shelfari about Leafmarks shutting down July 1. I haven't read that anywhere else...."It is shutting down. They sent emails to the members and there is an announcement on the home page.
I just got an admin email notifying me of the July 1st shutdown, so I can confirm this. I can't say it comes as any big surprise given the lack of activity from the admin. Well, as soon as it looked like Shelfari was in danger, I started keeping offline copies of all of my book data as well as keeping it on multiple sites. I suppose with Shelfari going away and now Leafmarks, the only sites I'll have left for book stuff are here, LibraryThing, and Libib which is just an online database service without many social features.
I feel like I was one of the first people to notice it. She must have posted it on the home page just before I logged in today, as no one in my groups there had mentioned it (until after I did) either.
Jonetta wrote: "I just read a post from LibraryCin on Shelfari about Leafmarks shutting down July 1. I haven't read that anywhere else...."Yes. I just saw the email from them.
I'm not surprised really. It is far too much work for one person and the site just cannot keep up with GR.
I do feel sorry for all of those who moved over there after Shelfari's demise and will now have to relocate again.
Well, I'm down to one site now. How secure are we that goodreads won't be next?
You honestly never know how long any website will last. This is why I've been keeping offline records with the Calibre software. A part of me is afraid that software might go away, too though, and that's the only software I've found that really meets most of my needs. It's very customisable, and I highly recommend it. The only things that I find lacking for it is the inability to add more than one date or series in those fields. Instead, you'd have to add that information in a text field, which of course isn't sortable. For series, I've learned to just stick the one that's the most relevant in that field. For dates, I have four fields for the dates I first started and finished reading a book and for the most recent reads. Then I have a separate text field where all read dates are listed, and I've had to learn to be content with that.
I just periodically download my file to my computer. Amazon makes a lot of money off of Goodreads. They put all their eggs into this site's basket. For now, I'd imagine it's safe. If it ever becomes unprofitable or fails to serve as an effective feeder for their other services, that will be the time to worry.
I was just starting to get rolling on LM. My groups were up and active. I guess the influx of Shelfarians was just too much for one person to handle.
Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "Well, I'm down to one site now. How secure are we that goodreads won't be next?"While nothing is ever 100% certain in life, it's highly unlikely that GR is going anywhere given the size of the site and Amazon's significant investment in it.
Kythe42 wrote: "You honestly never know how long any website will last. This is why I've been keeping offline records with the Calibre software. A part of me is afraid that software might go away, too though, and ..."Calibre is a wonderful tool although it is not an alternative for group interaction only cataloging.
Jonetta wrote: "I just periodically download my file to my computer."Good advice. I've also imported the file into a Google Sheet as a backup.
True, but one can always create a forum that's not connected to any specific book site for book discussion. Though, if it's not well known, it might be harder to get members.
Jerry-Book wrote: "I was just starting to get rolling on LM. My groups were up and active. I guess the influx of Shelfarians was just too much for one person to handle."True. GR has a large staff of programmers and moderators. Leafmarks just does not have the manpower to accomodate so many users.
Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "yup. Been there, done that. Very time consuming. I was spending most of my time adding my reviews to the good reads side, for some reason they didn't carry over, but many books did. Some books didn..."obsessing over books? not possible! :)
I am back online today and just got the email abt Leafmarks. I feel bad for readers that didn't like the other groups and went to LM after Shelfari closed down. What guarantee do we have that GR won't shut down???? I don't like Library Thing too much,it has nice options but awkward to use and many of my books do not appear in their catalog (they are on the other sites) . I am sticking with Goodreads. I am also using my book journal, (that will never quit unless I die). Are there any other book sites.I just want ONE for a backup to Goodreads.Booklovers ar getting kicked in the "spine" this year. I receivd one last discussion from Shelfari today,makes me sad.
I really like LibraryThing second to Shelfari for their book cataloguing(I can add books if they don't already have it in the database), but I like them least for discussion groups. I found their discussion groups so awkward just trying to follow the conversations that I never joined in with any. By the way, they also offered free lifetime memberships to Shelfari refugees. I'd already paid for one quite some time ago, though, so I couldn't take advantage of that deal. I thought it was worth the money, though. It was rather inexpensive as a one time fee.
Laurie wrote: "What guarantee do we have that GR won't shut down????"There is no guarantee that either GR or LT will stay around forever, but these two sites have been around for the longest and they have the largest memberships. As Jonetta says, they will probably be around as long as it is profitable for them to do so.
I did the free import to LT. I also started Calibre when Shelfari was looking bad. I had been building up a nice collection on LM and now that is going. For now I'll catalog in LT & Calibre and come here for the discussion groups.
Today is supposedly the last day of Leafmarks. Sorry to see it go.
Well, it's currently 4:20 pm CST on July 3rd, and LM is still there. ~sigh
Anyone tried Booklikes? Someone recommended it but I have not been able to log in there.
Did yall get the app for LT? I also want to have a backup after what happened with Shelfari. I lost almost all my reviews & not all of my books were imported. It's so frustrating after all the time I put into working on my shelves on Shelfari.
I was just on Leafmarks. Maybe they will keep it up till after the holiday. I wish they would get it over with since they don't want to keep it going.
I think she is keeping LM open for exporting shelves.
Mod
Linda ...
do you still have your CSV file from Shelfari?
Did you contact SUPPORT (at) GOODREADS(dot)COM? They were very helpful to me.
Jerry-Book wrote: "Anyone tried Booklikes? Someone recommended it but I have not been able to log in there."I signed up with BookLikes to check it out. I've found issues (like missing books on import), but it isn't that bad, and I do have a little shelf. It isn't the same, though. It's mainly for book bloggers/reviewers which I'm not. I review books sometimes, but that's not my thing. I'm quite happy with LibraryThing, though I seriously miss Shelfari.
Incidentally, they had been having issues with their validation/approval emails going out. Is that the login issue you're having? I emailed them, and the guy personally validated my account. I haven't had an issue logging in since then. There's a timezone issue, but I still heard from the guy a day later.
Linda wrote: "Did yall get the app for LT? I also want to have a backup after what happened with Shelfari. I lost almost all my reviews & not all of my books were imported. It's so frustrating after all the time..."If anyone is interested, I'm also gun-shy, so I signed up with Libib so I can have a backup of my books. There, you can also catalog movies, music and video games (YAY); and you can publish those lists or keep them private. It's working really well for me. You can also follow people, but it isn't like Shelfari or the other more social book sites. It's really just a way to keep inventory records. If you have a pro account, you can do much more. I think it's a nice backup, but it isn't as detailed as we'd like it.
Book Concierge wrote: "Linda wrote: "Did yall get the app for LT? I also want to have a backup after what happened with Shelfari. I lost almost all my reviews & not all of my books were imported. It's so frustrating afte..."I did contact them & Jaclyn imported from her end which resulted in more books but I have many reviews missing. I'm just moving forward because I can't remember the review I wrote & it would be too time consuming to write agai. Thanks!
a.n.ita wrote: "Linda wrote: "Did yall get the app for LT? I also want to have a backup after what happened with Shelfari. I lost almost all my reviews & not all of my books were imported. It's so frustrating afte..."Thanks I'm going to check it out!
My import is all messed up, I don't know how to fix it. Friends are liking my reviews of books I have not read yet. Hello? I guess I can only fix it one book at a time. I'm going back to my scrapbook for a back up.
Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "My import is all messed up, I don't know how to fix it. Friends are liking my reviews of books I have not read yet. Hello? I guess I can only fix it one book at a time. I'm going back to my scrapbo..."Dosha I emailed GR support & asked for my file & also asked if she would import from her end which was a great help. I then went to "my books" clicked on "find duplicates" & deleted. It took some time but was worth it. I've noticed many books that say read that are to be read but I'm changing as I find them. It's a process! The thing that frustrates me the most are missing reviews. Happy 4th!
Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "My import is all messed up, I don't know how to fix it. Friends are liking my reviews of books I have not read yet. Hello? I guess I can only fix it one book at a time. I'm going back to my scrapbo..."I have that problem with new books I am adding. I like to shelf books I haven't read yet so when I'm looking for a certain type of book for my next read, I can find it. I have to really watch it because those books are often reshelved as read instead of want-to-read. I'm not sure if it's automatically changed by GR or if I'm somehow causing it. I catch most of them because someone likes my review/rating. It's very frustrating.
Mod
Of course I only access GR via a PC (not a phone or other mobile app), so maybe that's the issue as well.
BC, it happens to me all the time. Someone can "like" an unread book on your shelf at anytime. It happens to me mostly when I add a new book to my shelf or change the status from "want to read" to "currently reading." The ability to do that is there.
Denizen wrote: "I have to really watch it because those books are often reshelved as read instead of want-to-read. I'm not sure if it's automatically changed by GR or if I'm somehow causing it. I catch most of them because someone likes my review/rating. It's very frustrating...."It's not automatically changed by GR. If you're adding a new edition to an existing book, GR automatically defaults to "read." Otherwise, if you're selecting an already existing edition, adding it by just selecting "want to read" shelves it with that status.
Linda wrote: "Thanks I'm going to check it out!."You're welcome! I hope it works for you. Not all of my books imported, so I have some work to do, but I think it's worth it just to have a backup list of all of my books. Being able to list my video games, movies, and music is just a huge bonus. It isn't all flashy flash. If anyone would like to see what your catalog would look like, you can check out mine. (I don't have anything to do with the site. Someone told me about it, so I gave it a go. :D )
Jonetta wrote: "BC, it happens to me all the time. Someone can "like" an unread book on your shelf at anytime. It happens to me mostly when I add a new book to my shelf or change the status from "want to read" to ..."Yes. People like like the fact that you want to read a book or added it to your shelf.
I get confused when someone likes my review. What review? I didn't read it yet! When I go to the book to see what is going on, it is shelved as read. So, I fix it, and it is like a vicious circle, on and on and on. Sometimes, I have read it, and my review isn't there......hmm. I too am more frustrated by missing reviews than anything else. I think I will have to concentrate more on looking forward than backward, or I'll go mad.
I will like a book that someone posts even if they haven't read it. Sometimes I have read the book and/or author and loved the book or author and sometimes it is because I have it on my reading list and am looking forward to a review. Don't sweat the small stuff - life is too short!
Leafmarks still open today- July 5th and people are still posting.
Julie wrote: "I will like a book that someone posts even if they haven't read it. Sometimes I have read the book and/or author and loved the book or author and sometimes it is because I have it on my reading lis..."Julie, thank you for posting. At least I understand more of the possibilities and you are so right: Don't sweat it.
One of the things I liked the most about LM was that I could rate a book 3 and a half stars instead of 3 or 4.
