Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I find my way around?
Noting:books is a collection of microblogs (“notebooks”) — individual readers tracking the books they've read and noting their thoughts. You can look through any person's notebook, or you can look at the page for any book to see everyone's notes on it.
Clicking a person's name or photo will always take you to that person's notebook. And from there, clicking any book title will display that person's notes on that particular book.
Clicking a book cover will always take you to that book's page. From the main page of Noting:books (the “everyone” page), so will clicking any title. Once you're on a book page, clicking the book title atop any single note will narrow it to that person's notes on the book, just as it does from their notebook.
To start your own notebook, all you need to do is register. A notebook has three primary parts: your chronological list of reading notes, your reading history (a complete list of titles and dates, organized by year, with links to your notes on each book), and a to-be-read list. The links at the top of your notebook toggle between your notes and your history, and the TBR list is accessed from the link beneath your user picture.
- When would I want to follow a person or a book?
You can see any notes an individual makes by visiting his or her notebook, and any notes made on a given book by visiting that book's page. But if you want to be sure never to miss a single note by a given person or about a given book, you can choose “follow” and those notes will be delivered to your notebook. Any time you want to see your notebook without everyone else's notes mixed in, simply click “view alone” under your user info — the link toggles between “view alone” and “view with others.”
- What do “add” and “list” mean?
In addition to the Follow button under the book cover on a book page, you'll also find buttons marked Add and List. We always use the word “add” when talking about adding a book to your notebook for the sake of tallying or commenting on it. Clicking the Add button on an existing book's page is the simplest way to do that. The List button, on the other hand, simply posts that title to your running To-be-read list.
- What do “open” and “closed” mean?
An “open” book is one you're currently reading. A “closed” book is one you're done with, having either finished or abandoned it. You can close a book while you're making a note about it by clicking on the appropriate radio button under the Add a Note form. You can also close an open book at any time by choosing “edit status” next to that book in either your sidebar or your reading history. The reading history keeps a list of all of your closed books, grouped by year. (There's a link to every user's reading history at the top of his or her notebook.)
- How does the “about” dropdown work in the Add a Note form?
The dropdown lists all of your “open” books — those you're currently reading — with the most recently started first. If you're reading a magazine or just want to make a general note to yourself, you can always choose “no book in particular” from the dropdown. Those will appear in your stream of notes but not on any book page, since they're not associated with any book.
- Can I add a note for a closed book?
Yep. Navigate to your notes page for that book by choosing it from your closed books list (either in your sidebar or your reading history), and there you'll find that title in the dropdown menu.
- What's the maximum note size?
It's 750 characters, and there's a helpful counter in the Add a Note form so you'll never have to wonder if you've gone over.
- What happens if I check “keep private”?
For any book you've opted to keep private, your notes and your status as a reader of that book will be visible only to you. Every book added to the system appears in the browse books directory and the “most recently added” list on the everyone page, but your notes and user image will not appear anywhere in conjunction with the book (except, of course, to you). The privacy setting is also available under “edit status” for any book in your notebook, and you can switch a book from public to private, or vice versa, at any time.
- Do I have to enter dates as mm/dd/yy?
You can put a lot of things in the date field — today, yesterday, June 6 2008. If you just type “June 6,” it will assume the current year.
- Can I back-date a reading?
Sure. If you want to record older readings, just put the appropriate date in the started and finished fields when adding the book to your notebook. As an example, Noting:books was created in 2008, but Karen Templer put in books she finished in the previous year. So you'll find a 2007 folder in her reading history.
- Is HTML allowed in notes?
Sorry, but it's not. HTML tags are automatically stripped. If you enter a URL (without enclosing it in a tag), it will appear as plain text.
- How do I reply to someone?
Noting:books isn't designed as a messaging system. However, if you know someone is following you, they'll see any note you address to them (as will anyone else following you or anyone looking at the everyone page). If you saw a note on a book you've read and want to add your thoughts, simply add that book to your notebook by clicking the “add” button on the book's page (you can always guess at the date you read it) and then add whatever note you want to make. Your note will then appear on the book's page.
- Why am I seeing a different edition than I added?
If one person has read a hardcover classics edition of Moby-Dick and another person has read a mass-market paperback, and a third listened to an audiobook, it's all Melville's text — and it's the text that counts. We assume you want to see everyone's thoughts no matter the edition, so we group them together. If you notice two pages for a book in the system, please let us know and we'll merge the notes.
- What about spoilers?
The primary purpose of Noting:books is for people to have a way to record their thoughts about the books they've read. So if you're reading notes about a book you haven't read yet, you may encounter spoilers. Consider yourself warned.
- How do I upload my picture?
Click the “edit profile” link below the placeholder picture. On the profile page, you'll find a Browse button. Click that and locate the image file on your computer, then click Save. It needn't be a photo of you - it could be a pet or a drawing or whatever you like - but please don't upload an image you don't own the rights to. If your uploaded image is rectangular rather than square, the system will automatically crop equally from the two ends. The profile page is also where you can add a bio and links to your blog, website or other relevant location.