Books already read

[Ajroy]

Is there a way or an add on that I can use in the library to show that a book that has already been read?

[jhowell]

Is this a question about calibre?

[hobnail]

In Calibre I used the "Add your own columns" thing in the Preferences and added a Yes/No column titled Finished.

I don't know if the Kindle plugin or the Kobo plugin could change it for me the next time I plug in the ereader, when the book has been finished. Not that it matters in my case because I delete the book as soon as I've finished it. Then when I connect to Calibre I can see the non-new ones that aren't on my ereader and change their Finished column from blank to Yes. It just occurred to me that I ought to figure out how to change the Finished column from blank to No whenever I send a book to my ereader. So a blank in that column would mean not finished and not on the ereader and a red X would mean not finished and on the ereader and the green check would mean finished. Then I wouldn't need to look at the dates.

[DNSB]

If you are using calibre, you can configure @davidfor's Kobo Utilities plugin to save reading status to custom columns in calibre. I also use this to populate a Finished collection on my Kobos.

If you are not using calibre, you should be.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by Ajroy

Is there a way or an add on that I can use in the library to show that a book that has already been read?

Others have already asked if you're specifically referring to calibre, so I'll focus my response on other methods for tracking books one has read.

1. Goodreads is my primary method of keeping track of books I've read (as well as books I am currently reading, that I want to read, and that I have abandoned and don't plan to finish). LibraryThing is a similar, popular resource.

2. FictFact (now defunct) was another popular resource for tracking one's progress reading fiction series as well as for receiving alerts when next-in-series books were released. Alas, that resource was shuttered in May 2019, and IMHO, its competitors pale in comparison. Here's a link to search results for "fictfact alternatives".

3. Some public libraries have features that allow patrons to track their borrowing history from that library system as well as to create to-read lists. Worldcat also has a list-making feature. (I don't use those resources, though, because I borrow and buy books from a variety of sources and find it easier to track them all in one place.)

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by hobnail

In Calibre I used the "Add your own columns" thing in the Preferences and added a Yes/No column titled Finished.

An extra column in Calibre is the method I use as well, but instead of just yes/no, I use a date entry. I like to reread certain books, the date let's me know if enough time has passed so I'd enjoy the reread again. The date is also useful if you ever want to quickly see how many books you've read in a certain period, like the last year or so.

[icallaci]

I use the "Rating" category in Calibre to keep track of books I have read, as well as what I thought of them. If a book has a rating, I've read it.

[Ajroy]

Yes, it is about Calibre.

[maddz]

I've got a tick column set up my my Calibre.

Go to Calibre preferences, in the 'Interface preferences' section (at the top), click on 'Add your own columns'. In that menu, click on the big + button on the right.

In the pop-up, you have 4 boxes, and you must define the first 3:
- Look-up name: prefix with #, lower case, no spaces. Mine is '#read'.
- Column heading. This is what is displayed in the main Calibre screen. Mine is 'Read?'
- Column type. Choose Yes/No.
- Description. Optional.

That should do what you need. Oh, and you'll probably need to ensure the column is displayed (and I always forget how to do that).

[mrhedges]

I just created a custom column with yes/no tick box and update them as I read them. Quick and simple.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by icallaci

I use the "Rating" category in Calibre to keep track of books I have read, as well as what I thought of them. If a book has a rating, I've read it.

I do the same. I also have a "read" tag that I can apply (a holdover from years past, and totally redundant given the "rating" category in Calibre).

At one time I played around with adding a custom column that others have mentioned, but abandoned that because I use other software (besides Calibre) that reads Calibre's database. e.g., "Calibre-web" for my eBook server (despite the name "Calibre-web", it is not developed by the Calibre team). These non-Calibre softwares do not universally support custom columns. But in my experience they all support the "Rating" feature, and of course tags.

[library addict]

I have custom Read (yes/no) column and a Date Read custom column as I have a number of books I have "re" purchased in digital that I read originally in print but don't remember well enough to assign a rating. One day I am going to reread them all (I've reread a dozen or so per year since I added the columns, but have a large number to go.)

I'm still using the older version of Calibre Companion so all of this info shows on my tablets as well.

[ownedbycats]

I use a combination of a yes/no Read column, an integer Percent Read, and a datetime Last Read.

I also created a composite column to flag books as "currently reading" based on them. It's helpful for sorting.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by DNSB

If you are using calibre, you can configure @davidfor's Kobo Utilities plugin to save reading status to custom columns in calibre. I also use this to populate a Finished collection on my Kobos.

Unfortunately I've gotten into the habit of deleting a book from my Kobo when I've finished it. I'm trying to remember to not to do that.