Every so often I come across a piece of free software that is *really* useful. It doesn’t happen too often, but I’m always eternally grateful when I find one. And recently I stumbled across a program called Calibre which is an ebook manager.

I love signing up for newsletters from websites that interest me because usually they give away a free *something* like an ebook or a pdf download. Yeh I know, I do it too, but I think it’s nice to give a little (like my Slow Work Manifesto) and get a little back in return (your undivided attention when I send out my newsletter).

But after you download these documents and you don’t have time to read them right then and there, they get filed in a folder or two or two dozen and then get forgotten about. Well Calibre collects all those documents and puts them in a nice neat folder and enables you to actually find things when you want them by categorizing them. I even have a category called “To Read” so I know which ones I’ve yet to read.

But wait – there’s more.

Because it’s not only an ebook manager, you can also use it to manage any other type of file like mp3s, or jpgs like my One Word Cards. And when you install them into Calibre, you can also further categorize them in a Series so everything is super easy to find.

This is a super way to file and find stuff!

I’ve just finished loading in all my ebooks and free downloads – the ones that I actually want to keep – and I have over 350 items so far with more to add. Man, where does this stuff come from!

So if you think it’s time to clean out the folders on your desktop, grab a copy of Calibre – it’s free and useful – and you can find it here.

… Continue reading →