I'll have to stalk everybody myself, now! We can be classy stalkers!

I've been going through some of my bookshelves and adding to my list, and was told that I maxed out the freebie number of books (200), so since they had such a great cataloging system, I signed up for a lifetime membership (it was only $25--well, I think it was only $19, but their options go right to the "typical" level of $25, so I did that, instead, 'cause I like it so much).

I've still got a shelf to enter before I finish with the two bookshelves in my living room. Then, I get to go through my cookbook shelves and my nonfiction shelves, some of which titles have already been entered by memory. Finally will be the big group of books--the romances that I know total around 240 or so just by themselves.

I may go decadent and get the lifetime thing as well. Just because.

I figure I've been wanting to catalog my collection for insurance purposes anyway--this is a convenient way to do it, and it's fun to see what I share with other people (so far, it seems to be Hec's books and Molly Ivins).

I had most of my books in storage in NO, Lola, and the room was flooded, so bye bye paper products. Ah, well. It's the comics I miss most, because those will never be replaced. The others, perhaps in time.

I've been adding to my catalogue by bouncing through recommendations and going "I already have it!" and saving the data entry. Though then I want to go in and pick the exact edition, so NSM with the saving.

So far, I have one book that nobody else in the entire system has listed--a children's book I've had all my life, "Philip and the Pooka, and Other Irish Tales".

ETA: Actually, I've got more solo books than that, but that's the one I like the best (the others are Oscar trivia books, etc.).

I've been adding to my catalogue by bouncing through recommendations and going "I already have it!" and saving the data entry

Duh! How simple! Back to the site (addictive little bugger).

OK, this Library Thing is getting addicting--I've been inputting titles and ISBNs for three hours now, and still haven't reached 300 books yet. I've still got my nonfiction 6-foot tall, 3-foot-wide shelves to get through, as well as all those romances, and I'm thinking about just staying up until I get them all done, damnit!

It's a sad, sad compulsion I have, to categorize and organize all my books. That's always my first task when I move, since getting all of my books out of their boxes means I have a hell of a lot less things to do afterwards in comparison.

ETA: X-post with Connie on the addictive nature of this beast!

From the PCMag's review of LibraryThing, a Very True Statement:

In letting you post your book collection for all the world to see, it's a means of connecting with other people—and a way of feeding your vanity. If you're not into books, you may not see it that way, but trust me, book lovers are very vain when it comes to their books.

ETA: A few of those reviews mention that the website offers CueCat scanners (that they picked up cheap when some company from the dot.com boom went bust) for only $15, so if you have a ton of books you want to track, but don't want to key in the ISBNs or search through the titles, you can pick one up and just scan the barcode!

It's fun adding more and more books, then checking to see how the Watch list has changed. Hello, fellow Bloom Countians!