Goodreads Librarians Group discussion
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Amazon is going away as a data source

eg: http://www.goodreads.com/book/edits/1...
I think a lot of these Kindle and CreateSpace books are going to be lost if we're not able to use Amazon as a source for rescuing them :/

Just waiting for them to come up as needing to be rescued :)





...Well, that just kills my to-read list dead, doesn't it. I've never yet seen a publisher listing their Kindle editions with anything other than a link to Amazon, so that means that from now on newly published books will never be available for shelving until someone buys a copy, sits down, and does the effing data entry by hand.

Thanks Sara! I didn't know about all those sorting options.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/edits/2...
Edit: or, attributed the description to me, as I see on the right it has done since making this post.

Here is an example:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...

I have a question: when and where will the volunteer appreciation party be held that goodreads is going to throw for us? ;o)"
Hi Brixton,
I really like that idea of a "volunteer appreciation party." I'm going to chat with Otis and try to figure something out. It may be in virtual form, and probably not tomorrow, but we all need a little more appreciation in this lifetime. And you guys certainly deserve it. :)

For some of the books I rescued I actually went to my local library and checked out the book there and entered the data -- then returned the book the next day. It doesn't say that you have to own the book.

I have a question: when and where will the volunteer appreciation party be held that goodreads is going to thro..."
That would be nice:)

aww, those cute Russian variations are happening already:
author: 'Fyodor Dostoyevsky' to 'Fedor M. Dostoevskij'
And wow, Deedee, that's dedication! What volunteers do never ceases to amaze and impress me.
Question: if I see a book's ISBN10 is set by openlibrary and the ISBN13 is set by amazon, may I/should I delete the 13 since I'm already there, or will this info just vanish on drop dead day (nods to whomever called it that!), leaving everything else intact?

I'm just guessing here, but maybe the rescue me notice only comes up when a book has KEY information from Amazon (i.e. title, author)?
Patrick, would it help if GR users wrote (polite) letters to Amazon expressing dismay about the Kindle listings?

That's right. I asked about something similar earlier, and the coding makes it "at risk" only if it's title or author that was sourced by Amazon. Other information, such as publisher, cover art, page count, etc., that is sourced by Amazon will also be deleted. However, it's considered lower priority/less crucial information than title or author (which makes sense to me). In the end, after the dust has settled post-Jan. 30th, we're to go ahead and add all of that non-crucial information whenever we come across it.

One thing we can do for ourselves and friends BEFORE The 30th, is to copy and paste the books to be deleted (in my opinion the to be merged books aren't as crucial to know) and keep our own lists and message friends with their list. So, if the books disappear, members will know which books might be missing from their shelves. Then eventually they can be added again.

Patrick, Do I understand correctly that Kindle editions/books will disappear from the GR database?!


That makes me very nervous. I had kept a list of my at risk books and some lists for less active friends, but got rid of them when we showed as no books at risk of being completely deleted. So know I don't know which CreateSpace and (for others) Kindle editions might be deleted. I hope they do all eventually show up on our at risk lists; that's the only way I'll know which need saving, or at least keeping a record of.



My concern are the CreateSpace and Kindle books I thought I'd rescued. I want to make sure they'll show up on our and our friends/all members at risk books. If I/we don't have time to rescue them again, at least we can copy and paste the lists. If I can't do that and books are deleted I have too many books to know which books might end up deleted from my/friends' shelves. Thanks. I hope that is clearer.

How can that be?

Once the book is saved I'd go in and edit it whilst you have the book handy and you don't forget.


Patrick, I have to comment that this seems quite a self-destructive shoot-themselves-in-the-foot move on Amazon's part as they own the Kindle format and some authors have only opted for Kindle rather than a broader e-formats.
Their antics over this relationship with GRs has made me a lot less keen on buying from them and I am sure I am not alone in that sentiment.

To get a language specific rescue page (sort of) look for list of top users in Russia/Japan/Whatever and then check these people rescue list.
That’s what I am doing.
There was advice in this tread how to look at non-friends rescue list.



Can we have the party in Manchester, UK. Or someone will have to fetch me in a plane!
I'm happy to write letters complaining if it helps. About kindle editions rather than a plane to the party, lol!

Thanks, it's just that I'm not sure if I know need to go back through every single book again to check? My rescue link isn't showing Kindle books for me, but I'm not sure if that's been activated yet. It actually never did, both before we were told the books were safe and again after. But maybe now it is showing for other people. I would feel a bit more secure about it if I knew that previously rescued Kindle editions should stay rescued.

I don't think my French is good enough for me to tackle this.
http://www.goodreads.com/rescue_books...


Thanks, it's just that I'm not sure if I know need to go back through e..."
Several hours ago Patrick said the Kindle rescue page will start tomorrow.

I have found the book with t..."
A bit late but thanks for your help, dely!

I'm really sorry but I can't help with kindles unless you want me to mess them up. I will just do what I can best: saving German books...

I don't think Amazon realises how many people they've p$@*ed off, and now they've done the same to their customers and authors."
So I wonder if all of those books I rescued that I had bought originally from Amazon Germany or Amazon Canada will now be considered off limits by Amazon as well. I know I am being a bit facetious here, but judging from how Amazon has reacted they might decide in the future that any book, even books that had been bought from Amazon are now considered off limits, sigh.
Patrick, how Amazon has reacted and especially that last little tidbit, is something that should be put in bold letters as a site announcement. Everyone using Goodreads should know this.
There is no way I am going to be able to rescue friends' kindle books. I wish I could get away with not buying on Amazon, but for books published in German (especially if you don't live in Germany), Amazon is indispensable as a buying source, but I am sure glad I never did buy a kindle.
Edited to Add: I also wonder for those people who own a kindle and are rescuing their kindle editions as being owned by them, what are the legal ramifications of this? Because I heard (and it's a main reason I have never tried to purchase one of these contraptions) that Amazon still retains many rights to both the device and the books bought for the device (that they can and have checked the devices, that they can and have erased bought editions from the devices). So before people who own kindles start rescuing their kindle editions as "owned" on Goodreads, it should at least be made sure that Amazon considers these editions as being the personal properties of the user/buyer/client (otherwise GR could have a major legal nightmare on its hands).

You should not have taken them off the list. You should have realised that Amazon just is not to be trusted.
And I have no idea how to rescue kindle books without screwing up, I have never owned a kindle and will never (thankfully) own one of these things.

You have to add a title, who cares about what Amazon says. I don't use kindle, but for those books that exist only as a kindle, you OWE it to GR members to at least supply a title (so they at least know what they are reading); who cares if that violates Amazon' policy. I mean, there are ways to get around this. Just add a title that is a little bit changed from the Amazon title and call it a personal title (it will then no longer be a title suppled by Amazon). You know, I hope this little ploy by Amazon really, really ends up costing them business, and BIG TIME. I would really love it if that were the case.

This is better. It's cleaner -- there's no question of where the record came from."
Interjection from Sub^Nomine: Ref msg #1203 & #1211, this is exactly what I did yesterday for "More Peanuts" (Charles Schultz), as I happened to have a 1959 edition in the bookcase in my study. Moving forward to discussion on Kindle; I'll happily recommend the Sony e-Reader, Mine's a PRS-600, which supports a wide range of file formats & which doesn't tie its owner to the caprice of a single bookseller. Love it.

This is better. It's cleaner -- there's no question of where the record came from."
Interjecti..."
I think I might try to get a Sony (especially since I primarily want an e-reader to download older, obscure literature from the internet). I think you are right, any e-reader that is exclusively tied to one bookseller is dangerous and could lead to complications and problems.

Has this question been answered?

Most books I have entered here, are books I own(ed) a copy of. I entered of all the books the number of pages and in almost all cases the description in the language that the book is in.
When I now rescue a book of mine, the number of pages is lost when the rescue-form doesn't ask for number of pages, the publisher disappears miraculously from time to time and also the description is lost / merged into the default description. Is there any way to prevent this from happening?
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I have a question: when and where will the volunteer appreciation party be held that goodreads is going to throw for us? ;o)