Romance Audiobooks discussion
Audiobook Discussions
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Tagging quirks...
Good grief, I was pretty impressed that you were able to break Audible books into tracks! :) I'm glad you mentioned the part about being a software engineer 'cause it makes me feel a little better. :)iTunes kind of aggravates me because I can't get it to do what I want. I didn't even know it was possible to have more than one library! I mostly listen to music on non-Apple MP3 players so I don't keep it in iTunes. I went back and forth between iTunes and Windows Media Player having fits while trying to get the tracks of a ripped audiobook in correct order. I'm not very aurally oriented so I haven't had much practice with digital media until recently.
I use the Audible app for audiobooks because it's easy. Are there better advantages to using iTunes?
I'm so relieved to see I am not the only one obsessive about the meta-data on my audiobook files. I listen to audiobooks on either my iPod or computer and manage my music and audiobooks in iTunes as well.I don't think I can offer anything new in the way of retentive practices :D - I follow most of the naming/tagging practices you outlined except for prefacing the Album/Artist with AB. I combine and convert any non-Audible files to AAC (.m4a renamed to .m4b) so they show up in the iTunes library as Books and as Audiobooks in the iPod with stable bookmarking. That way I don't have trouble separating audiobooks from music and since I have always used a Nano for audiobooks, I can scan through the audiobook files quickly since there are at most 3 tracks per book and nowhere near my whole library synched.
I catch a lot of flak about my organizational tendencies but I chalk it up to being a data analyst who has worked on computers since cassette tapes were the external storage media for them.
Vic, I prefaced my MP3 audios in iTunes with a Z. This works great on my iPod but not so much on iPhone. All but one are missing despite regular syncing. What do you think is the problem? iPhone seems to indiscriminately dump music files between syncs as well. Oh, and I love the audible iPhone app (which I got to beta test).Thanks for the samples! I got Mercy Thompson.
Glad to know I'm not the only one with a tagging compulsion! iTunes is a bit of an annoyance, especially with large databases but I already have all my info there so will keep using it. I also use iTunes's grouping field to put book tags. For example, for Keri Arthur's Full Moon Rising, I have the following in the grouping section: .werewolves.vampires.locAustrailia.geneticExperimentation.erotica. Then I have smart playlists set up like "Books - Tags: vampires" so I can see all books with that tag. The playlist is defined as all books where grouping contains ".vampires." Good times! :)@Diana - I only have an iPod classic so I'm not sure what your issue is. If you're using iTunes, make sure you have it set to manually synch files. A great place to learn about apple i and iTunes is ilounge.com - it's got tutorials, reviews, etc. Glad you got Mercy Thompson audio - it's great fun to listen to!
I thought I had tagging OCD but you have proved me just a baby in my definition and abilities Vic. :)I use iTunes to keep all my audiobooks organized. I love the fact that I can name and number even my Audible book collection to whatever I choose with iTunes. I enjoy series of books and want them numbered in order etc.
I'm definitely a "manually manage" person with my iPod Classic, no syncing for me, too easy for me to screw it up. I just want to drag and drop what I want to my iPod.
Once I get my audiobooks onto my iPod I change the "media kind" from Audiobook to Music, because I want to be able to look for my audiobooks by Artist. They still show up as Audiobook under Genre, so I get the best of both worlds. Works great!
I agree that Apple really falls down on the job for audiobook listeners. We should have all the same options to search by under Audiobooks as we do for Music. But until that time comes, this is my workaround.
Tstbren wrote: "I thought I had tagging OCD but you have proved me just a baby in my definition and abilities Vic. :)Admit it ... you're now thinking about using the grouping tag and setting up smart playlists! Come on, you gotta keep up in the OCD competition! :-D
OK, even if you DON'T use the grouping tag, smart playlists are pretty great for keeping things organized. I have a playlist folder "Organizing" and have smart playlists there to help me tag books that may have gotten missed on import. So some examples are
"Organizing - Needs Reader" (meaning the composer field is blank)
"Organizing - Missing Genre"
"Organizing - Missing Grouping"
"Organizing - Added in Last Month"
... all kinds of fun can be had while you're looking for something to do while listening to audiobook!
You are so right. :) The more organized I can get my audiobooks the more I'll like it! First up is getting the narrators name under "composer". That is a great tip and will keep me busy for more than one audiobook listen.
Two questions if you don't mind:
#1 When you talk about splitting anthologies down to individual stories, are you doing this with Audible books? If so, can you give some "how to" details, please?
#2 More than once I've backed my iTunes library up on an external hard drive in order to move to a new computer or reformat a computer. Then when I upload my library from the external hard drive to the new iTunes I've installed all of my tagging is gone, hours and hours of work kaput, grrrr! Have you found a solution to that or is it some obvious detail that I'm missing when I back up iTunes and then reinstall it?
Thanks!
Yes, I really like having the reader name in the composer section because then I can just view the list of composers in iTunes and pull up all books I have read by a certain narrator.#1 Yes I do this for audible books as well. I'll send you a PM on GR. It's kind of involved and requires extra software the way I do it.
#2 http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/arti... is a good tutorial on backing up iTunes. There are 2 parts to what needs to be backed up and restored: iTunes library and the actual mp3/aa/aax/mp4/etc files.
My personal set up:
I have a single TB drive that I have all my audiobooks and music on (In my case my I drive - internal HD). This drive is monitored and backed up on NAS device (Synology DiskStation 2-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS207+) with 2 TB drives in it. I have my iTunes library for books located on my C drive in my personal area and that directory/sub-dirs are monitored and backed up on NAS. I spend WAY too much time tagging my stuff to lose it all!
I think all I did when I had to replace my I drive was to replace drive, make sure it is the SAME drive letter and as old drive. Backup my I drive to new drive and then when I brought up iTunes library everything was there.
The iLounge article is pretty good at explaining what the important files are. I successfully restored my book and music libraries to my PC after reformatting with Windows 7 last year.
We can take this to PM if you have more questions.
I knew there had to be a way to back up and not lose my tagging. I'll be bookmarking that article.After my last disaster I put my iTunes library on a 1TB external hard drive that I leave connected to my computer.
But now I see that it's the second part of those files that I need in order to keep the tagging, along with the actual audiobook files.
I should have known it would be an obvious detail! Thanks so much!
I'm not organized like you all are but I'm finding this discussion very interesting/instructive. I'm getting ideas for the day I decide to get organized. :)
Keep posting tips here please. I'm not nearly as organized but I may be some day! Joining GR is my first baby step in keeping track of the hundreds of books I read and listen to every year. I still have email communication with Audible's app testing team. Any feedback on the apps I should pass along?
@Diane - I am so glad that my OCD tagging addiction may help you! ;) Seriously, I have hundreds of audiobooks that I'm tracking after listening to them for the last 15 or so years. For the last 6-7 years I've been listening to them exclusively on iPod. Please let us know the app you're currently using to organize your files.@Diana - Well, being organized can be difficult. As fanatical as I am, I TOO get lazy and maybe don't look up year a book was published or enter the reader in the composer tag before importing it. What app are you using to get your audiobooks to the device you're listening on? I don't use any of the audible apps. I listen straight on my iPod. I do have a Kindle but those are for straight ebooks. Why would I use anything except my 160 GB ipod classic? :) I have more audiobooks on my iPod than I do music!
Like I said in earlier post, I do use iTunes to organize my library. I have separate iTunes library for books and music so that helps a LITTLE in time to bring up iTunes. Part of my problem is having a lot of smart playlists on top of large library. But I'm willing to put up with it since the playlists help.
Link to how to set up multiple iTunes libraries on a single windows/mac account: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1589. The instructions mentions iTunes 7 or later but these work for iTunes 10 as well. I find it easier to manage my book iTunes library separate from my music iTunes library.
OK, going to expound a little more (iTunes specific) on MY iTunes process so look away or click away if no longer interested...
My iTunes library is located on a hardrive I set up specifically for iTunes. I have set this drive to my I drive. (for iTunes... ok, not TOO cute). I have a directory "0iTunes" on I. I put the 0 (zero) in front because alphabetically it'll come first if I ever decided to put another directory on my I drive. I have my media folder location set to "I:\0iTunes" (you can find this by selecting Edit menu \ Preferences and then select Advanced tab on pop up dialog.) I then created a folder in 0iTunes named "zzzBooks". I put a blank text file in that directory - the blank text file lets that directory to remain that and not be automatically deleted when iTunes processes files in this directory. This way, when I get a new MP3 CD, I copy the files from CD into zzzBooks. I use separate program to tag my mp3s because I was using it before I started using iTunes so I modify tags after copying to directory. Once I'm happy with my tags, I go to iTunes and select File menu \ Add Folder to Library and select the "I:\0iTunes\zzzBooks" directory. Then the files are processed and automatically put in correct directories. (see below on auto-managing directories) I also use this directory (zzzBooks) as the directory that audible files are downloaded to.
Another thing i do, specific to iTunes is let IT manage my folders. ESPECIALLY for my books. You can select this by selecting Edit menu \ Preferences - Advanced Tab. Click the option Keep iTunes Media folder organized.
Hopefully this made sense...
LOL! No! You've gone way beyond my ability to follow, but I am in awe of your mad skills. And I love having you as a resource for my elementary questions.I use Audible's app on my iPhone and it's ridiculously simple. I still have all of my audios on my 120gb classic and it's a wonderful workhorse. The iPhone is 32gb requiring me to pick and choose what I could download (a cruel task). When the app came out I was thrilled because now my entire library (including audios purchased elsewhere) is stored on the iPhone which is always with me. I download on the phone from my library when I'm ready to listen.
@Diana - You TOO can have mad skills! ;) But thanks for the compliment (I think) ;) Seriously though, do you use iTunes to tag/organize your audio before putting it on your iPod Classic or iPhone?
Not really. The only thing I did in iTunes was preface the MP3s I loaded with a Z. That way they're all together in the music library on my iPod. I've got iTunes 9.2 and can't (I think) upgrade to 10 on my older Mac desktop.The iPhone app is totally different. It does all the organizing for me. I can sort by title, author, or date dl'd. I haven't figured out yet how to get to my mp3s on the iPhone but it's not really a problem because I have them on my iPod. They're in the music library and take up too much space for the iPhone. Before the app, I had to check/uncheck audiobooks depending on which device I was syncing. It was a pain. Anyhow, having my library stored within the app has solved the problem. I don't sync books at all on the phone.
Believe it or not, I was a consultant for a broadcast operating system vendor back in the 80s. I installed softwear and taught new users on big honking computers using floppy discs. I was a beta tester in my TV station for one of the very first Television operating systems in 1973 and later went to work for the vendor. Good times! My, how things have changed!
I have an iPod 5th gen that I mostly use for my audiobooks, music and videos. When I download from Audible my books go directly into iTunes and the audiobook folder. My books show up on my iPod in alphabetical order (title)under the audiobook category but I can also find them under artist and album.
wow - what a lot of tagging! I just figure author and title is enough for me. Oh, and I rate them - which reminds me that I've read them more than anything else. I do go in and make sure the author's name is properly entered in the Sort function.I hate that the Audible app can't remember how to group Susan Elizabeth Phillips - in iTunes it works, but in the audible app, there's about 5 listings for her; same with Alexander McCall Smith. I think they need to revisit their data entry protocol.
Melinda, same problem on Kindle. Who knew Lisa Kleypas and Kleypas, Lisa are two different authors? It's in the metadata embedded by publishers and they need to fix it!
I'll admit that much of this conversation is above my head - I'm more of a title and author and grade and hopefully a short review gal. But I think this is a great subject for a Speaking of Audiobooks column. Now if I can only digest all the information here...
Lea, I'll try to clear some of the obfuscation of this thread.** Mostly rehash **
Essentially, most of our digital audio files have a metadata container embedded in them. This container allows us to tag the audio files with information such as artist, title, genre, composer, etc. This is most commonly known as ID3. This metadata is read and written by the software we use to listen to and organize our audio files. You'll have more/different tagging options available depending on what software you use to organize your audio books. iTunes adds a bunch of different tags that it tracks in the iTunes database which is a different file stored on your computer.
So one question I had was what kind of idiosyncrasies or practices everyone had when filling in these tags for their audio book files. Anyone interested in keeping their audio books organized, I STRONGLY recommend tagging as the audio book is purchased and added to your digital library.
If the audio book is purchased from audible and put directly in my iTunes library, I will update the tags when it's done and before I put it on iPod. If the files are ripped from audio CD or copied from an MP3 CD, I tag them after getting them into iTunes or after I do some processing on them.
I'm personally not so anal about the title tag except for my audible files because the audiobook section on the iPod isn't as robust as the music section. However, I do tend to put book title - track # or chp # in my title tag.
You said you're more focused on title and author. I'm assuming you mean the title of the book. One issue I try to address when tagging my audiobooks is knowing if it's part of a series, where in the series does it fall? For example, I know the first few books of the In Death series but if I didn't put that information in my album tag it'd be tough for me to know. So, I think most of us do something along the lines of " - book title".
I like to put book genre in the genre tag. I know some people just put audiobook or speech but I tend to go with "Romance, Historical Romance, Romance Suspense, Paranormal Romance, Thriller, etc."
Also, the year tag can be blank or the year the book was first published or when the book was produced in audio. I prefer to track the book's first published date in this field but can understand why some people would like to track audio publication.
Tracking the narrator is also important to me. I track this information in the composer tag. Some people I've talked to put this in artist tag and the author in the composer tag. Some people track the reader in the comments. But for me having it in composer field works well and when I'm in iTunes I can find all the books in my library read by a certain reader.
The other thing factoring what and how your are tagging your audio books is how you are listening to them. I personally use my 160 GB iPod almost exclusively. I keep a TON of books on my iPod all the time. Not all of my books show up in the audiobooks section of my iPod but rather show up in the Music section. That's why I preface my artist and album tags with "AB " for audio book so that they all get grouped together when it is sorted alphabetically. I think someone was adding "z" in front so all their books grouped at the bottom of the list.
I do also rate my books after I've listened. This is an attribute that will be stored differently based on the application organizing your digital files. I know that mediaMonkey and iTunes do this differently.
I think that is the basics of what we were discussing. I went a little crazy talking about further organizational aids that can be created using iTunes since that is the application I'm currently using to organize my audio books.
I hope I didn't put you to sleep! :)
Vic - I emailed you earlier and asked for your okay to quote you. Don't know if that is required but I always try to ask anyway. Did you get the email?And Thanks So Much For This!
I got the message and responded - fine with me. I'm no expert just a slightly (or more than) obsessive computer nerd who likes to keep her audio books organized. I've done something similar with my ebooks and use calibre to organize them but that's a different topic! ;)
I have a very dumb question but since I'm writing the column right now, I best look like a dummy than be wrong.I love all the ideas about tagging for narrator and series, etc. (and plan to utilize those suggestions one of these days). But I keep a playlist in iTunes that contains all my audiobooks. I merely check the titles I want to have on my iPod. I find it extremely easy for keeping my audiobooks separate from my music. Am I overlooking something so obvious that I'm tripping over it?
So, if you have a book that you got as an MP3 CD and it has like 40 tracks on it (one for each chapter) you have all those tracks on your playlist and then 1 or 2 items for an audible downloaded book etc.. ? I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think what's MOST important is having a system/process that you're happy with and works for you.I keep a lot of books on my iPod all the time. I have P Briggs entire audio library and all the In Death audios and all the Outlander audios and... you get the picture. Then I kind of browse what I want to listen to. I tend to re-listen to books a lot. Especially if I'm working and I sometimes tune out on what I'm listening to and focus on work (yeah, that's what I'm paid to do) and realized I've missed big chunk of book. No worries, it's a book I already know so I keep it going. I do have a playlist for my TBL books that I haven't listened to yet.
Oh, just re-read your post and maybe I misunderstood. I'm not sure how many books you have in your library but I have a lot in mine. I've been listening to audio books for almost 20 years. So, I would find just having playlist with my audiobooks a bit unwieldy. I do have separate libraries for my audiobooks and music but that's just a personal preference. (You can do this by holding down shift key when starting iTunes - it will prompt you to create new library or switch to another library). Again, personal preference and what works for you. :)
Okay - let me see it I can answer this question. I'm going to out my friend TSTBren here because she has worked tirelessly with me in teaching me how to combine all those tracks with a splitter/joiner. She deserves more thanks that I can ever give her. I don't know everything I do to come up with the final product (I follow TSTBren's instructions very closely) but that product is one book with all tracks combined.
Yeah, I have about 225 books right now in that playlist and it is a bit unwieldy. That's why I'm thinking all your organization would be very helpful. I keep about 30 books on my iPod at a time. Part of the column will be wondering out loud how I could improve on my very inadequate system. :)
OK, I gotcha on single track per book. I don't bother with that although TSTBren & I have chatted a bit about this and her method and I may re-think that a bit. ;) So, currently I have many books that have multiple tracks. That would make your method really crazy for me!I do process some of files with slitter/joiner. Usually when I'm using the joiner it's for the CRAZY audio CDs that have like 99 tracks per disk. I mean - like I want to deal with that? In those cases I generally join all the tracks per disk but then leave it at that so I will have say 10 tracks for a 10 CD book. I use the splitter when I'm breaking my books into short story for the anthology audios. I did this for Side Jobs (Dresden's collection) and the 2 anthologies by Kelley Armstrong and the one by Anne Bishop.
You might want to think about splitting out your audio books from your music into separate iTunes libraries. I love it because I have a ton of playlists for music that I've created over the years and have them organized in different playlist folders. I have organizational smart playlists too.
And then when I switch over to my books, I have a bunch of play lists for my short stories and then organizational smart playlists. Also, since both my libraries are large, it reduces the amount of time to come up. My hubby listens to audiobooks as well but I'm pretty much the audio-librarian in the house and he just tells me what he wants and I put it on his iPod. I love it when our book tastes merge! :)
Wow - great info! Thanks again.
I don't understand why some of your audiobooks show up under music in iTunes. I use the "Media Kind = Audiobook" so that they all show under books. When it's an MP3 I convert it to AAC.
Well, I don't do that because of the books that are in Music are the ones with multiple (>7) tracks per book. And when you bring up audiobooks on my iPod, it basically shows all the TRACKS for all books marked as audiobook. And I have lots of audible books that stay on my iPod. If it let me select author and then book from the audiobook selection, I'd be happy!So, I just keep it as mp3. It works for me. :)
Quick note, I've taken my grandkids initials, TST, out of my name, so I'm just Brenda now. Easier to recognize myself. :)To quote Vic ..."I think what's MOST important is having a system/process that you're happy with and works for you."
So I'm just tossing my two cents in with the rest...
Although Audible is now my main source of audiobooks I prefer to keep all audiobooks that came from CD or MP3CD's in MP3 format. Two main reasons.
I want to be able to put my audiobooks on any player I choose. MP3 format allows me to do that. I use an iPod the majority of the time but I always have at least one other type of MP3 player (right now a Sansa Clip+) on hand.
I want to be able to use an MP3 Splitter/Joiner program to join the multiple tracks from audio CD's or multiple chapters from MP3CD's into one tidy book file, like the Audible books come.
The tagging is much easier when there is only one file per book. Since I am now expanding my tagging details, because of this thread, I'm extra glad about that!
For audiobooks the "import" settings in iTunes gets set to MP3 Encoder at 64 kbps, which is more than adequate for quality audiobook listening. 64 Kbps is what Audibles "Format 4" is.
Right now I keep the Genre of my audiobooks set to Audiobook. Although I am liking Vic's idea of expanding that too...
Within my iTunes library on the computer I keep the "Media Kind" set to Audiobook, as Melinda says. I want to find all my audiobooks in the Books portion of my iTunes library by title or author.
BUT .. when I put the books onto my iPod Classic I change the Media Kind to Music right there on the player, so that I can find my books by Artist/Author.
I too keep a lot of audiobooks on my iPod at all times. I want to be able to search by Author/Artist or Album, not scroll through a hundred titles (well, okay, hundreds) under the Audiobooks heading on the iPod.
The 12 gbs of actual music that I also have on my iPod is all in Playlists, but I can still find music by Artist or Genre if I desire.
So far I just have one iTunes library. With only 12 gbs of music to go with the 110 gbs of audiobooks it is still opening quickly, so no need to split it.
This is some great give and take, I know I've learned a lot. I'll look forward to even more input.
Brenda, what splitter/joiner program do you use? I used to have one but I lost it and don't remember the name of it to get it back. *sigh*
Diane I've used the $19.99 option from ezsoftmagic.com for several years now. Tossing in some more pennies here .... Lea you say "I have about 225 books right now in that playlist and it is a bit unwieldy."
If your comfortable with your Playlist way of handling your audiobooks my suggestion would be to make a few more audiobook Playlists.
Say Historical - Contemporary - PNR - UF etc. Thus dividing your audiobooks into several Category Playlists for easier management.
OK, I feel like I'm about to step in front of a 12-step program but here are a couple of screen shots to show you the extent of my book smart playlists:http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8720346/pics/...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8720346/pics/...
Holy Cr.. um Cow! I'm so impressed, stunned speechless actually....
You can just call me "grasshopper". :)
Wow, Vic - talk about inspiration! If only, if only I were so organized. But I am determined to introduce some of this into my iTunes. Great ideas.
I think it's more like you guys are speechless because you can't figure out a nice way to tell me to talk to a therapist. ;)
Well, I tend to think you are like my analytical son. When visiting him recently, he was trying to convince me to use gmail for all of my emails. I left with so many various folders within my gmail account by both subject matter and various email friends that I was thinking "This is really great!" I got home and looked at it and thought "Now why did we set up this folder?!"
Nope, no therapist. ;)I meant the "grasshopper" metaphor.
I'll never be as detailed, but I can see a lot of ways to improve my organization. The better organized the books, the more time to listen.
Please tell me I'm not the only one old enough to get the grasshopper comment. :)
And a PS ... Lea no wonder you could follow my TMI instructions on joining up those books, your used to your son's detailed ways. LOL
Brenda wrote: "Nope, no therapist. ;)I meant the "grasshopper" metaphor...."
/me wipes forehead - relief. OK, thanks for not calling in the folks with the straight jackets. And I DID get the grasshopper reference. :)
Just thought you may have been covering for the "OMG - this woman is totally insane." I won't even discuss my Christmas cookie spreadsheet that I can adjust how many times I want to duplicate the recipe and flip to my ingredient tab to see what I need to buy. Hmmm.... shutting up now!
All I can say is, if I still had time to grow up, I'd want to be you .... ....and my kids would tell you I already am! :)
I'll have to let them know I'm a mere amateur. I can now provide them proof with your iTunes pictures. :))
Okay - you guys are really cracking me up! I think I'd actually be really interested in seeing those cookie spreadsheets. After all, I think one of my talents is knowing how to trust someone else's research. :)
And I know I'm older than Brenda and I don't get the grasshopper comment!
Lea's Audiobooks wrote: "I think I'd actually be really interested in seeing those cookie spreadsheets. After all, I think one of my talents is knowing how to trust someone ..."You asked for it. Check your GR inbox. This is an MS spreadsheet and I swear there are no viruses. ;) This also gives you the kick butt recipes I do for Rum cake, Rum balls and Grand Marier Balls that everyone wants every Christmas. :-D
This is fantastic! I can't wait to explore it. I love this sort of thing.
GrasshopperKung Fu
David Carradine
ring any bells? LOL
Melinda wrote: "GrasshopperKung Fu
David Carradine
ring any bells? LOL"
Most definitely - thanks :) :)
My tagging practices include prefacing my artist and album tags with "AB " to indicate it's an audiobook. This way, when I go into iPod/music/artists, all my authors are grouped together with "AB ". Also, when tagging albums that are part of a series, I preface it with "AB - " so that books in a series are listed in order when I look at albums/books by an author.
For example, my book Naked In Death by JD Robb is listed with "AB J.D. Robb" as an artist and the album is "AB In Death 01 - Naked In Death".
I also try to tag the reader(s) by putting that information in the composer tag. If there are multiple readers, I'll add them with comma to delimit them. If the author reads the book, I just put "author" for the composer value. These I don't preface with "AB ". I also tag year value with the 1st year a book appeared in print rather than year it was published in audio.
For books I purchase from audible and show up in my Books section of iTunes, I do all of these things but also name the title of each track with the same thing as the album and put the track # at the end since most books have more than 1 audible part. I REALLY wish the audiobooks sections on our iPods resembled the music section and you could browse items by artist/album/etc.
The other thing I've started to do with anthologies (i.e., Side Jobs, Dreams of Flesh, Tales of the Otherworld, etc) is break up sections so I have tagged the actual short story per track and have set up playlists (named "AB A - ") so I can play individual short any time and can easily see where a short falls into the series.
Anyone else have any tagging quirks I may benefit from? ;)
OK, also want to mention I'm a software engineer - spend a lot of my time on computer and am comfortable with lots of different software - and am religious about tagging my books as I put them in my iTunes library so it's not as overwhelming as it may sound.