I was reading the posts the today and saw where someone had stated that if you have a question to post it here.  Well here goes.....(sorry if these questions are silly or have been answered elsewhere..)

1. Is there any way to find people's bookshelves that share similar interests with you?  I noticed when I visited a couple that it shows your interest similarity percent with that person.  Is there a way to find bookshelves that might contain tons of books that you would love?? 

2. I am trying to keep track of the paperbacks that I have so I don't order dupes, and was making a list of them on my profile.  A lot of the steeple Hill books that I have will not post..they state "unable to find", but I KNOW those books are out there somewhere.  How can I list them?  I know that you can add books without isbns when you want to put them on your bookshelf, but what about books you just want to list for your own benefit on your page??

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help me out....much appreciate...Tina R.

First off, welcome to PBS.  This site is AWESOME and with a little time and attention, you will be swapping like a pro.  The forums are a GREAT place to get information.  Be sure to check out the Help Docs in the Help Center.  Most, but not all questions are addressed there.

I find that the "similarity index" that shows up on other's bookshelves are pretty hit or miss.  The more books you have posted and the more books you have requested and received the more accurate it is but "accurate" is truly a relative term.  My best advice would be to "hang out" on the genre threads.  Read the posts of the people there.  When you identify someone who seems to have similar tastes, "Friend" them.  I am a reader of mysteries and thrillers.  Many of my PBS friends were found on that forum.  If you prefer Sci Fi, biography, historical fiction...whatever...just hang out on the forum for a few days and get a feel for the place.

As for keeping track of books, you can always use your TBR and BIR lists to keep track.  (Those are To Be Read and Books I've Read under "My LIsts" on the My Account tab.)  You will also see posts about online sites like Good Reads, FictFact and Shelfari.  There are others.  All of these sites are free and allow you to keep track of books and series in a variety of ways.

Hope that helps some!  I apologize in advance for any typos!  Welcome to PBS!

LeeAnne had some great suggestions!
 

The only thing I might add would be to read reviews written by other members of books you've enjoyed. From their review, you can get to their bookshelf to see if they have other books of that type.  Also, check out the new Lists feature in your profile. Browse other members' lists for similar interests.  If you see a lot of similarities, you're bound to find some on their shelf that you'd like.

As for adding books, if you can find an ISBN number of the book at another site, like Amazon.com, Fantastic Fiction, etc., you may have better luck pulling the book up with an ISBN #.

GOOD LUCK & WELCOME TO PBS!

I use my TBR pile to keep track of the books I own.  Then when you are looking at bookshelves it'll say in blue letters that the book is on your TBR.  It's also handy to see which are WL so you can control your postage budget or get an idea of what to read if you are low on credits. 

I second hanging out in the genre forums and the games forum.  You don't have to play the games to read the threads.  But the games usually  have themes and so the people playing probably have those kinds of books on their bookshelves and WL.  Also if you become  regular poster people will want to be your buddy and then you'll see their similarity ratings.  But I'm with Leann in that it's pretty hit or miss. I have buddies that have a high rating too me and I can't figure out why looking at their shelves and WL. Then there are others that have a low rating with me but our WL and bookshelves are almost identical. 

"As for adding books, if you can find an ISBN number of the book at another site, like Amazon.com, Fantastic Fiction, etc., you may have better luck pulling the book up with an ISBN #."

But, please note:  if the book does not have an ISBN number on it (the book you are holding in your hand) it really doesn't do any good to look the ISBN number up on one of the other sites because you are Not Allowed to use that number.  If it does not have an ISBN number on the book you can use the option of Posting Without an ISBN.

I just wanted to thank everyone who responded to my questions...it was very gracious of all of you to take the time to help a newbie out!!  I have really come to love this site in the short time that I have been here.  The people that I have had dealings with have all been great and everyone seems so willing to help others out.  What a great site!!  Thanks again and I appreciate the info....Take care  Tina R.

I recommend that you subscribe to the Daily Wush List.  There you can put post-it-notes on every version of a title you've read...not just the one ISBN you've read.  Some books come out in many ISBN's and in different formats like HC's and audio books.  Note every one with the title with BIR.  So later on as you come across a book with a different cover or format you can tell you've read it by the little sticky note on it.

Ruth

I rate every version of a book when I've read it so they all come up as BIR when I'm looking.  Sometimes when I'm bored I pull up an author on PBS and then just give a star rating to each of their books that I've read. 

If you are looking at a book on PBS it has an option of lists where it will show that you have read it. I use the feature from the Received part when a book comes in the mail. It says like "Mark book as books I've read" or something. I can't go see cause.. well, I didn't get any books today! LOL!

Here is a place on PBS I quickly copied... so if you try and order a book and see the highlighted part, then you'll know you've read it. Of course you would also have to mark all your book prior to PBS as read... and keep up with alternate bindings... well... that's a lot of work! Maybe it will work for you, cause I get by ok! LOL! :)

Green Rider (Green Rider, Bk 1) Author: Kristen Britain
Book Information Publisher: Daw Books Book Type: Mass Market Paperback On My: BIR 203 ISBN-13: 9780886778583 - ISBN-10: 0886778581 Publication Date: 4/1/2000 Pages: 471 Book Reviews

Tina, Did you look on the copyright page for the ISBN?  Sometimes, if a book doesn't have the ISBN on the back of the book, you can find it somewhere on the copyright page.

Wow....you all were so right when you stated to ask questions here.  Everyone has been so helpful - I am totally amazed!!  I was reading some recent posts about people being rude, but I can honestly say that I have only come across wonderful people like the ones who have posted all the info to me on this thread... All of you have been great...thanks again for all the useful info!!  Tina R.

Welcome to PBS !    hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I wish we could find people with similar shelfs as ours....that would be nice.

I need to start keeping some kind of system so I dont order the same books ANYMORE!    Yep ,I've done it a couple times...LOL

Welcome! I love PBS. It's very addicting in the beginning. I just rated books as I went along that I owned cause I didn't see a better way at the time. I did end up with some duplicates in the beginning but I've learned to double check along the way just to be sure. I wish I had gotten more involved in forums in the beginning, so I'm trying to make up for that now and get more involved in the message boards at least. I've learned that most members are very helpful and courteous! And I have used live help as well and the responses were fast and helpful. I'm still learning new things here myself.