diff --git a/resources/catalog/stylesheet.css b/resources/catalog/stylesheet.css
index 057c6c9f42..07a95661be 100644
--- a/resources/catalog/stylesheet.css
+++ b/resources/catalog/stylesheet.css
@@ -108,6 +108,13 @@ p.date_read {
 	text-indent:-6em;
 	}
 
+hr.annotations_divider {
+	width:50%;
+	margin-left:1em;
+	margin-top:0em;
+	margin-bottom:0em;
+	}
+
 hr.description_divider {
 	width:90%;
 	margin-left:5%;
@@ -117,18 +124,20 @@ hr.description_divider {
     border-left: solid white 0px;
 	}
 
-hr.annotations_divider {
-	width:50%;
-	margin-left:1em;
-	margin-top:0em;
-	margin-bottom:0em;
+hr.merged_comments_divider {
+	width:80%;
+	margin-left:10%;
+	border-top: solid white 0px;
+	border-right: solid white 0px;
+    border-bottom: dotted grey 2px;
+    border-left: solid white 0px;
 	}
 
 td.publisher, td.date {
 	font-weight:bold;
 	text-align:center;
 	}
-td.rating {
+td.rating, td.notes {
 	text-align: center;
 	}
 td.thumbnail img {
diff --git a/src/calibre/gui2/actions/catalog.py b/src/calibre/gui2/actions/catalog.py
index a253664a1e..0eba0406a1 100644
--- a/src/calibre/gui2/actions/catalog.py
+++ b/src/calibre/gui2/actions/catalog.py
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ class GenerateCatalogAction(InterfaceAction):
         if job.result:
             # Search terms nulled catalog results
             return error_dialog(self.gui, _('No books found'),
-                    _("No books to catalog\nCheck exclude tags"),
+                    _("No books to catalog\nCheck exclusion criteria"),
                     show=True)
         if job.failed:
             return self.gui.job_exception(job)
diff --git a/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_epub_mobi.py b/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_epub_mobi.py
index 1ae4efd014..f5fabca80e 100644
--- a/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_epub_mobi.py
+++ b/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_epub_mobi.py
@@ -17,18 +17,55 @@ class PluginWidget(QWidget,Ui_Form):
 
     TITLE = _('E-book options')
     HELP  = _('Options specific to')+' EPUB/MOBI '+_('output')
-    OPTION_FIELDS = [('exclude_genre','\[.+\]'),
-                     ('exclude_tags','~,'+_('Catalog')),
-                     ('generate_titles', True),
-                     ('generate_series', True),
-                     ('generate_recently_added', True),
-                     ('note_tag','*'),
-                     ('numbers_as_text', False),
-                     ('read_pattern','+'),
-                     ('read_source_field_cb','Tag'),
-                     ('wishlist_tag','Wishlist'),
-                     ]
 
+    CheckBoxControls = [
+                        'generate_titles',
+                        'generate_series',
+                        'generate_genres',
+                        'generate_recently_added',
+                        'generate_descriptions',
+                        'include_hr'
+                        ]
+    ComboBoxControls = [
+                        'read_source_field',
+                        'exclude_source_field',
+                        'header_note_source_field',
+                        'merge_source_field'
+                        ]
+    LineEditControls = [
+                        'exclude_genre',
+                        'exclude_pattern',
+                        'exclude_tags',
+                        'read_pattern',
+                        'wishlist_tag'
+                        ]
+    RadioButtonControls = [
+                        'merge_before',
+                        'merge_after'
+                        ]
+    SpinBoxControls = [
+                        'thumb_width'
+                        ]
+
+    OPTION_FIELDS = zip(CheckBoxControls,
+                        [True for i in CheckBoxControls],
+                        ['check_box' for i in CheckBoxControls])
+    OPTION_FIELDS += zip(ComboBoxControls,
+                        [None for i in ComboBoxControls],
+                        ['combo_box' for i in ComboBoxControls])
+    OPTION_FIELDS += zip(RadioButtonControls,
+                        [None for i in RadioButtonControls],
+                        ['radio_button' for i in RadioButtonControls])
+
+    # LineEditControls
+    OPTION_FIELDS += zip(['exclude_genre'],['\[.+\]'],['line_edit'])
+    OPTION_FIELDS += zip(['exclude_pattern'],[None],['line_edit'])
+    OPTION_FIELDS += zip(['exclude_tags'],['~,'+_('Catalog')],['line_edit'])
+    OPTION_FIELDS += zip(['read_pattern'],['+'],['line_edit'])
+    OPTION_FIELDS += zip(['wishlist_tag'],['Wishlist'],['line_edit'])
+
+    # SpinBoxControls
+    OPTION_FIELDS += zip(['thumb_width'],[1.00],['spin_box'])
 
     # Output synced to the connected device?
     sync_enabled = True
@@ -42,105 +79,203 @@ class PluginWidget(QWidget,Ui_Form):
 
     def initialize(self, name, db):
         self.name = name
-
-        # Populate the 'Read book' source fields
-        all_custom_fields = db.custom_field_keys()
-        custom_fields = {}
-        custom_fields['Tag'] = {'field':'tag', 'datatype':u'text'}
-        for custom_field in all_custom_fields:
-            field_md = db.metadata_for_field(custom_field)
-            if field_md['datatype'] in ['bool','composite','datetime','text']:
-                custom_fields[field_md['name']] = {'field':custom_field,
-                                                   'datatype':field_md['datatype']}
-
-        # Add the sorted eligible fields to the combo box
-        for cf in sorted(custom_fields):
-            self.read_source_field_cb.addItem(cf)
-
-        self.read_source_fields = custom_fields
-        self.read_source_field_cb.currentIndexChanged.connect(self.read_source_field_changed)
+        self.db = db
+        self.populateComboBoxes()
 
         # Update dialog fields from stored options
         for opt in self.OPTION_FIELDS:
-            opt_value = gprefs.get(self.name + '_' + opt[0], opt[1])
-            if opt[0] in [
-                          'generate_recently_added',
-                          'generate_series',
-                          'generate_titles',
-                          'numbers_as_text',
-                          ]:
-                getattr(self, opt[0]).setChecked(opt_value)
+            c_name, c_def, c_type = opt
+            opt_value = gprefs.get(self.name + '_' + c_name, c_def)
+            if c_type in ['check_box']:
+                getattr(self, c_name).setChecked(eval(str(opt_value)))
+            elif c_type in ['combo_box'] and opt_value is not None:
+                # *** Test this code with combo boxes ***
+                #index = self.read_source_field.findText(opt_value)
+                index = getattr(self,c_name).findText(opt_value)
+                if index == -1 and c_name == 'read_source_field':
+                    index = self.read_source_field.findText('Tag')
+                #self.read_source_field.setCurrentIndex(index)
+                getattr(self,c_name).setCurrentIndex(index)
+            elif c_type in ['line_edit']:
+                getattr(self, c_name).setText(opt_value)
+            elif c_type in ['radio_button'] and opt_value is not None:
+                getattr(self, c_name).setChecked(opt_value)
+            elif c_type in ['spin_box']:
+                getattr(self, c_name).setValue(float(opt_value))
 
-            # Combo box
-            elif opt[0] in ['read_source_field_cb']:
-                # Look for last-stored combo box value
-                index = self.read_source_field_cb.findText(opt_value)
-                if index == -1:
-                    index = self.read_source_field_cb.findText('Tag')
-                self.read_source_field_cb.setCurrentIndex(index)
-
-            # Text fields
-            else:
-                getattr(self, opt[0]).setText(opt_value)
-
-        # Init self.read_source_field
-        cs = unicode(self.read_source_field_cb.currentText())
+        # Init self.read_source_field_name
+        cs = unicode(self.read_source_field.currentText())
         read_source_spec = self.read_source_fields[cs]
-        self.read_source_field = read_source_spec['field']
+        self.read_source_field_name = read_source_spec['field']
+
+        # Init self.exclude_source_field_name
+        self.exclude_source_field_name = ''
+        cs = unicode(self.exclude_source_field.currentText())
+        if cs > '':
+            exclude_source_spec = self.exclude_source_fields[cs]
+            self.exclude_source_field_name = exclude_source_spec['field']
+
+        # Init self.merge_source_field_name
+        self.merge_source_field_name = ''
+        cs = unicode(self.merge_source_field.currentText())
+        if cs > '':
+            merge_source_spec = self.merge_source_fields[cs]
+            self.merge_source_field_name = merge_source_spec['field']
+
+        # Init self.header_note_source_field_name
+        self.header_note_source_field_name = ''
+        cs = unicode(self.header_note_source_field.currentText())
+        if cs > '':
+            header_note_source_spec = self.header_note_source_fields[cs]
+            self.header_note_source_field_name = header_note_source_spec['field']
+
+        # Hook changes to thumb_width
+        self.thumb_width.valueChanged.connect(self.thumb_width_changed)
 
     def options(self):
         # Save/return the current options
         # exclude_genre stores literally
         # generate_titles, generate_recently_added, numbers_as_text stores as True/False
         # others store as lists
+
         opts_dict = {}
+        # Save values to gprefs
         for opt in self.OPTION_FIELDS:
-            # Save values to gprefs
-            if opt[0] in [
-                          'generate_recently_added',
-                          'generate_series',
-                          'generate_titles',
-                          'numbers_as_text',
-                          ]:
-                opt_value = getattr(self,opt[0]).isChecked()
+            c_name, c_def, c_type = opt
+            if c_type in ['check_box', 'radio_button']:
+                opt_value = getattr(self, c_name).isChecked()
+            elif c_type in ['combo_box']:
+                opt_value = unicode(getattr(self,c_name).currentText())
+            elif c_type in ['line_edit']:
+                opt_value = unicode(getattr(self, c_name).text())
+            elif c_type in ['spin_box']:
+                opt_value = unicode(getattr(self, c_name).cleanText())
+            gprefs.set(self.name + '_' + c_name, opt_value)
 
-            # Combo box uses .currentText()
-            elif opt[0] in ['read_source_field_cb']:
-                opt_value = unicode(getattr(self, opt[0]).currentText())
-
-            # text fields use .text()
+            # Construct opts object
+            if c_name == 'exclude_tags':
+                # store as list
+                opts_dict[c_name] = opt_value.split(',')
             else:
-                opt_value = unicode(getattr(self, opt[0]).text())
-            gprefs.set(self.name + '_' + opt[0], opt_value)
+                opts_dict[c_name] = opt_value
 
-            # Construct opts
-            if opt[0] in [
-                          'exclude_genre',
-                          'generate_recently_added',
-                          'generate_series',
-                          'generate_titles',
-                          'numbers_as_text',
-                          ]:
-                opts_dict[opt[0]] = opt_value
-            else:
-                opts_dict[opt[0]] = opt_value.split(',')
+        # Generate markers for hybrids
+        opts_dict['read_book_marker'] = "%s:%s" % (self.read_source_field_name,
+                                                   self.read_pattern.text())
+        opts_dict['exclude_book_marker'] = "%s:%s" % (self.exclude_source_field_name,
+                                                       self.exclude_pattern.text())
 
-        # Generate read_book_marker
-        opts_dict['read_book_marker'] = "%s:%s" % (self.read_source_field, self.read_pattern.text())
+        # Generate specs for merge_comments, header_note_source_field
+        checked = ''
+        if self.merge_before.isChecked():
+            checked = 'before'
+        elif self.merge_after.isChecked():
+            checked = 'after'
+        include_hr = self.include_hr.isChecked()
+        opts_dict['merge_comments'] = "%s:%s:%s" % \
+            (self.merge_source_field_name, checked, include_hr)
+
+        opts_dict['header_note_source_field'] = self.header_note_source_field_name
 
         # Append the output profile
         opts_dict['output_profile'] = [load_defaults('page_setup')['output_profile']]
+        if False:
+            print "opts_dict"
+            for opt in sorted(opts_dict.keys()):
+                print " %s: %s" % (opt, repr(opts_dict[opt]))
         return opts_dict
 
+    def populateComboBoxes(self):
+        # Custom column types declared in
+        #  gui2.preferences.create_custom_column:CreateCustomColumn()
+        # As of 0.7.34:
+        #  bool         Yes/No
+        #  comments     Long text, like comments, not shown in tag browser
+        #  composite    Column built from other columns
+        #  datetime     Date
+        #  enumeration  Text, but with a fixed set of permitted values
+        #  float        Floating point numbers
+        #  int          Integers
+        #  rating       Ratings, shown with stars
+        #  series       Text column for keeping series-like information
+        #  text         Column shown in the tag browser
+        #  *text        Comma-separated text, like tags, shown in tag browser
+
+        all_custom_fields = self.db.custom_field_keys()
+        # Populate the 'Read book' hybrid
+        custom_fields = {}
+        custom_fields['Tag'] = {'field':'tag', 'datatype':u'text'}
+        for custom_field in all_custom_fields:
+            field_md = self.db.metadata_for_field(custom_field)
+            if field_md['datatype'] in ['bool','composite','datetime','enumeration','text']:
+                custom_fields[field_md['name']] = {'field':custom_field,
+                                                   'datatype':field_md['datatype']}
+        # Add the sorted eligible fields to the combo box
+        for cf in sorted(custom_fields):
+            self.read_source_field.addItem(cf)
+        self.read_source_fields = custom_fields
+        self.read_source_field.currentIndexChanged.connect(self.read_source_field_changed)
+
+
+        # Populate the 'Excluded books' hybrid
+        custom_fields = {}
+        for custom_field in all_custom_fields:
+            field_md = self.db.metadata_for_field(custom_field)
+            if field_md['datatype'] in ['bool','composite','datetime','enumeration','text']:
+                custom_fields[field_md['name']] = {'field':custom_field,
+                                                   'datatype':field_md['datatype']}
+        # Blank field first
+        self.exclude_source_field.addItem('')
+        # Add the sorted eligible fields to the combo box
+        for cf in sorted(custom_fields):
+            self.exclude_source_field.addItem(cf)
+        self.exclude_source_fields = custom_fields
+        self.exclude_source_field.currentIndexChanged.connect(self.exclude_source_field_changed)
+
+
+        # Populate the 'Header note' combo box
+        custom_fields = {}
+        for custom_field in all_custom_fields:
+            field_md = self.db.metadata_for_field(custom_field)
+            if field_md['datatype'] in ['composite','datetime','enumeration','text']:
+                custom_fields[field_md['name']] = {'field':custom_field,
+                                                   'datatype':field_md['datatype']}
+        # Blank field first
+        self.header_note_source_field.addItem('')
+        # Add the sorted eligible fields to the combo box
+        for cf in sorted(custom_fields):
+            self.header_note_source_field.addItem(cf)
+        self.header_note_source_fields = custom_fields
+        self.header_note_source_field.currentIndexChanged.connect(self.header_note_source_field_changed)
+
+
+        # Populate the 'Merge with Comments' combo box
+        custom_fields = {}
+        for custom_field in all_custom_fields:
+            field_md = self.db.metadata_for_field(custom_field)
+            if field_md['datatype'] in ['text','comments']:
+                custom_fields[field_md['name']] = {'field':custom_field,
+                                                   'datatype':field_md['datatype']}
+        # Blank field first
+        self.merge_source_field.addItem('')
+        # Add the sorted eligible fields to the combo box
+        for cf in sorted(custom_fields):
+            self.merge_source_field.addItem(cf)
+        self.merge_source_fields = custom_fields
+        self.merge_source_field.currentIndexChanged.connect(self.merge_source_field_changed)
+        self.merge_before.setEnabled(False)
+        self.merge_after.setEnabled(False)
+        self.include_hr.setEnabled(False)
+
     def read_source_field_changed(self,new_index):
         '''
         Process changes in the read_source_field combo box
         Currently using QLineEdit for all field types
         Possible to modify to switch QWidget type
         '''
-        new_source = str(self.read_source_field_cb.currentText())
+        new_source = str(self.read_source_field.currentText())
         read_source_spec = self.read_source_fields[str(new_source)]
-        self.read_source_field = read_source_spec['field']
+        self.read_source_field_name = read_source_spec['field']
 
         # Change pattern input widget to match the source field datatype
         if read_source_spec['datatype'] in ['bool','composite','datetime','text']:
@@ -152,3 +287,62 @@ class PluginWidget(QWidget,Ui_Form):
                 self.read_pattern = dw
                 self.read_spec_hl.addWidget(dw)
 
+    def exclude_source_field_changed(self,new_index):
+        '''
+        Process changes in the exclude_source_field combo box
+        Currently using QLineEdit for all field types
+        Possible to modify to switch QWidget type
+        '''
+        new_source = str(self.exclude_source_field.currentText())
+        self.exclude_source_field_name = new_source
+        if new_source > '':
+            exclude_source_spec = self.exclude_source_fields[str(new_source)]
+            self.exclude_source_field_name = exclude_source_spec['field']
+
+            # Change pattern input widget to match the source field datatype
+            if exclude_source_spec['datatype'] in ['bool','composite','datetime','text']:
+                if not isinstance(self.exclude_pattern, QLineEdit):
+                    self.exclude_spec_hl.removeWidget(self.exclude_pattern)
+                    dw = QLineEdit(self)
+                    dw.setObjectName('exclude_pattern')
+                    dw.setToolTip('Exclusion pattern')
+                    self.exclude_pattern = dw
+                    self.exclude_spec_hl.addWidget(dw)
+        else:
+            self.exclude_pattern.setText('')
+
+    def header_note_source_field_changed(self,new_index):
+        '''
+        Process changes in the header_note_source_field combo box
+        '''
+        new_source = str(self.header_note_source_field.currentText())
+        self.header_note_source_field_name = new_source
+        if new_source > '':
+            header_note_source_spec = self.header_note_source_fields[str(new_source)]
+            self.header_note_source_field_name = header_note_source_spec['field']
+
+    def merge_source_field_changed(self,new_index):
+        '''
+        Process changes in the header_note_source_field combo box
+        '''
+        new_source = str(self.merge_source_field.currentText())
+        self.merge_source_field_name = new_source
+        if new_source > '':
+            merge_source_spec = self.merge_source_fields[str(new_source)]
+            self.merge_source_field_name = merge_source_spec['field']
+            if not self.merge_before.isChecked() and not self.merge_after.isChecked():
+                self.merge_after.setChecked(True)
+            self.merge_before.setEnabled(True)
+            self.merge_after.setEnabled(True)
+            self.include_hr.setEnabled(True)
+
+        else:
+            self.merge_before.setEnabled(False)
+            self.merge_after.setEnabled(False)
+            self.include_hr.setEnabled(False)
+
+    def thumb_width_changed(self,new_value):
+        '''
+        Process changes in the thumb_width spin box
+        '''
+        pass
diff --git a/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_epub_mobi.ui b/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_epub_mobi.ui
index d72566f581..481763c76d 100644
--- a/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_epub_mobi.ui
+++ b/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_epub_mobi.ui
@@ -6,163 +6,653 @@
    <rect>
     <x>0</x>
     <y>0</y>
-    <width>627</width>
-    <height>549</height>
+    <width>650</width>
+    <height>582</height>
    </rect>
   </property>
+  <property name="sizePolicy">
+   <sizepolicy hsizetype="Preferred" vsizetype="Preferred">
+    <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+    <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+   </sizepolicy>
+  </property>
   <property name="windowTitle">
    <string>Form</string>
   </property>
-  <layout class="QGridLayout" name="gridLayout">
-   <item row="0" column="0">
-    <widget class="QLabel" name="label_2">
-     <property name="text">
-      <string>'Don't include this book' tag:</string>
+  <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout">
+   <item>
+    <widget class="QGroupBox" name="includedSections">
+     <property name="sizePolicy">
+      <sizepolicy hsizetype="Preferred" vsizetype="Maximum">
+       <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+       <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+      </sizepolicy>
      </property>
-    </widget>
-   </item>
-   <item row="0" column="1">
-    <widget class="QLineEdit" name="exclude_tags">
-     <property name="toolTip">
-      <string extracomment="Default: ~,Catalog"/>
-     </property>
-    </widget>
-   </item>
-   <item row="4" column="0">
-    <widget class="QLabel" name="label_4">
-     <property name="text">
-      <string>Additional note tag prefix:</string>
-     </property>
-    </widget>
-   </item>
-   <item row="4" column="1">
-    <widget class="QLineEdit" name="note_tag">
-     <property name="toolTip">
-      <string extracomment="Default: *"/>
-     </property>
-    </widget>
-   </item>
-   <item row="6" column="1">
-    <widget class="QLineEdit" name="exclude_genre">
-     <property name="toolTip">
-      <string extracomment="Default: \[[\w]*\]"/>
-     </property>
-    </widget>
-   </item>
-   <item row="6" column="0">
-    <widget class="QLabel" name="label">
-     <property name="text">
-      <string>Regex pattern describing tags to exclude as genres:</string>
-     </property>
-     <property name="textFormat">
-      <enum>Qt::LogText</enum>
-     </property>
-     <property name="wordWrap">
-      <bool>true</bool>
-     </property>
-    </widget>
-   </item>
-   <item row="7" column="1">
-    <widget class="QLabel" name="label_6">
-     <property name="text">
-      <string>Regex tips:
-- The default regex - \[.+\] - excludes genre tags of the form [tag], e.g., [Amazon Freebie]
-- A regex pattern of a single dot excludes all genre tags, generating no Genre Section</string>
-     </property>
-     <property name="wordWrap">
-      <bool>true</bool>
-     </property>
-    </widget>
-   </item>
-   <item row="8" column="0">
-    <spacer name="verticalSpacer">
-     <property name="orientation">
-      <enum>Qt::Vertical</enum>
-     </property>
-     <property name="sizeHint" stdset="0">
+     <property name="minimumSize">
       <size>
-       <width>20</width>
-       <height>40</height>
+       <width>0</width>
+       <height>0</height>
       </size>
      </property>
-    </spacer>
-   </item>
-   <item row="10" column="0">
-    <widget class="QCheckBox" name="generate_titles">
-     <property name="text">
-      <string>Include 'Titles' Section</string>
+     <property name="toolTip">
+      <string>Sections to include in generated catalog.  A minimal catalog includes 'Books by Author'.</string>
      </property>
+     <property name="title">
+      <string>Included sections  (Books by Author included by default)</string>
+     </property>
+     <layout class="QGridLayout" name="gridLayout_2">
+      <item row="0" column="0">
+       <widget class="QCheckBox" name="generate_titles">
+        <property name="text">
+         <string>Books by Title</string>
+        </property>
+       </widget>
+      </item>
+      <item row="4" column="0">
+       <widget class="QCheckBox" name="generate_series">
+        <property name="text">
+         <string>Books by Series</string>
+        </property>
+       </widget>
+      </item>
+      <item row="0" column="2">
+       <widget class="QCheckBox" name="generate_recently_added">
+        <property name="text">
+         <string>Recently Added</string>
+        </property>
+       </widget>
+      </item>
+      <item row="5" column="0">
+       <widget class="QCheckBox" name="generate_genres">
+        <property name="text">
+         <string>Books by Genre</string>
+        </property>
+       </widget>
+      </item>
+      <item row="4" column="2">
+       <widget class="QCheckBox" name="generate_descriptions">
+        <property name="text">
+         <string>Descriptions</string>
+        </property>
+       </widget>
+      </item>
+     </layout>
     </widget>
    </item>
-   <item row="12" column="0">
-    <widget class="QCheckBox" name="generate_recently_added">
-     <property name="text">
-      <string>Include 'Recently Added' Section</string>
+   <item>
+    <widget class="QGroupBox" name="excludedGenres">
+     <property name="sizePolicy">
+      <sizepolicy hsizetype="Preferred" vsizetype="Maximum">
+       <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+       <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+      </sizepolicy>
      </property>
+     <property name="minimumSize">
+      <size>
+       <width>0</width>
+       <height>0</height>
+      </size>
+     </property>
+     <property name="toolTip">
+      <string>&lt;!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC &quot;-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN&quot; &quot;http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/strict.dtd&quot;&gt;
+&lt;html&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;meta name=&quot;qrichtext&quot; content=&quot;1&quot; /&gt;&lt;style type=&quot;text/css&quot;&gt;
+p, li { white-space: pre-wrap; }
+&lt;/style&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;body style=&quot; font-family:'Lucida Grande'; font-size:13pt; font-weight:400; font-style:normal;&quot;&gt;
+&lt;p style=&quot; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px;&quot;&gt;Default pattern &lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p style=&quot; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot; font-family:'Courier New,courier';&quot;&gt;\[.+\]&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p style=&quot; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px;&quot;&gt;excludes tags of the form [&lt;span style=&quot; font-style:italic;&quot;&gt;tag&lt;/span&gt;]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/html&gt;</string>
+     </property>
+     <property name="title">
+      <string>Excluded genres</string>
+     </property>
+     <layout class="QFormLayout" name="formLayout_3">
+      <property name="fieldGrowthPolicy">
+       <enum>QFormLayout::FieldsStayAtSizeHint</enum>
+      </property>
+      <item row="0" column="0" colspan="2">
+       <layout class="QHBoxLayout" name="horizontalLayout">
+        <property name="spacing">
+         <number>-1</number>
+        </property>
+        <property name="leftMargin">
+         <number>0</number>
+        </property>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLabel" name="label">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>175</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="maximumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>200</width>
+            <height>16777215</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>Tags to exclude</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="textFormat">
+           <enum>Qt::AutoText</enum>
+          </property>
+          <property name="alignment">
+           <set>Qt::AlignRight|Qt::AlignTrailing|Qt::AlignVCenter</set>
+          </property>
+          <property name="wordWrap">
+           <bool>true</bool>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLineEdit" name="exclude_genre">
+          <property name="sizePolicy">
+           <sizepolicy hsizetype="Expanding" vsizetype="Fixed">
+            <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+            <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+           </sizepolicy>
+          </property>
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>0</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string extracomment="Default: \[[\w]*\]"/>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+       </layout>
+      </item>
+     </layout>
     </widget>
    </item>
-   <item row="13" column="0">
-    <widget class="QCheckBox" name="numbers_as_text">
-     <property name="text">
-      <string>Sort numbers as text</string>
+   <item>
+    <widget class="QGroupBox" name="excludedBooks">
+     <property name="sizePolicy">
+      <sizepolicy hsizetype="Preferred" vsizetype="Maximum">
+       <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+       <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+      </sizepolicy>
      </property>
+     <property name="minimumSize">
+      <size>
+       <width>0</width>
+       <height>0</height>
+      </size>
+     </property>
+     <property name="toolTip">
+      <string>Exclude matching books from generated catalog</string>
+     </property>
+     <property name="title">
+      <string>Excluded books</string>
+     </property>
+     <layout class="QFormLayout" name="formLayout">
+      <item row="0" column="0" colspan="2">
+       <layout class="QHBoxLayout" name="horizontalLayout_3">
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLabel" name="label_2">
+          <property name="sizePolicy">
+           <sizepolicy hsizetype="Preferred" vsizetype="Preferred">
+            <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+            <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+           </sizepolicy>
+          </property>
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>175</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="maximumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>200</width>
+            <height>16777215</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>Tags to exclude</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="alignment">
+           <set>Qt::AlignRight|Qt::AlignTrailing|Qt::AlignVCenter</set>
+          </property>
+          <property name="wordWrap">
+           <bool>true</bool>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLineEdit" name="exclude_tags">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>0</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>&lt;!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC &quot;-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN&quot; &quot;http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/strict.dtd&quot;&gt;
+&lt;html&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;meta name=&quot;qrichtext&quot; content=&quot;1&quot; /&gt;&lt;style type=&quot;text/css&quot;&gt;
+p, li { white-space: pre-wrap; }
+&lt;/style&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;body style=&quot; font-family:'Lucida Grande'; font-size:13pt; font-weight:400; font-style:normal;&quot;&gt;
+&lt;p style=&quot; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot; font-size:12pt;&quot;&gt;Comma-separated list of tags to exclude.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p style=&quot; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot; font-size:12pt;&quot;&gt;Default:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot; font-family:'Courier New,courier'; font-size:12pt;&quot;&gt; ~,Catalog&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/html&gt;</string>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+       </layout>
+      </item>
+      <item row="2" column="0" colspan="2">
+       <layout class="QHBoxLayout" name="exclude_spec_hl">
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLabel" name="label_7">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>175</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="maximumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>200</width>
+            <height>16777215</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>Column/value</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="alignment">
+           <set>Qt::AlignRight|Qt::AlignTrailing|Qt::AlignVCenter</set>
+          </property>
+          <property name="wordWrap">
+           <bool>true</bool>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QComboBox" name="exclude_source_field">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>0</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>Column containing exclusion criteria</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="sizeAdjustPolicy">
+           <enum>QComboBox::AdjustToMinimumContentsLengthWithIcon</enum>
+          </property>
+          <property name="minimumContentsLength">
+           <number>18</number>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLineEdit" name="exclude_pattern">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>150</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>Exclusion pattern</string>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+       </layout>
+      </item>
+     </layout>
     </widget>
    </item>
-   <item row="11" column="0">
-    <widget class="QCheckBox" name="generate_series">
-     <property name="text">
-      <string>Include 'Series' Section</string>
+   <item>
+    <widget class="QGroupBox" name="readBooks">
+     <property name="sizePolicy">
+      <sizepolicy hsizetype="Preferred" vsizetype="Maximum">
+       <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+       <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+      </sizepolicy>
      </property>
+     <property name="minimumSize">
+      <size>
+       <width>0</width>
+       <height>0</height>
+      </size>
+     </property>
+     <property name="toolTip">
+      <string>Matching books will be displayed with ✓</string>
+     </property>
+     <property name="title">
+      <string>Read books</string>
+     </property>
+     <layout class="QFormLayout" name="formLayout_2">
+      <item row="0" column="0" colspan="2">
+       <layout class="QHBoxLayout" name="read_spec_hl">
+        <property name="sizeConstraint">
+         <enum>QLayout::SetDefaultConstraint</enum>
+        </property>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLabel" name="label_3">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>175</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="maximumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>200</width>
+            <height>16777215</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>Column/value</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="alignment">
+           <set>Qt::AlignRight|Qt::AlignTrailing|Qt::AlignVCenter</set>
+          </property>
+          <property name="wordWrap">
+           <bool>true</bool>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QComboBox" name="read_source_field">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>0</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>Column containing 'read' status</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="statusTip">
+           <string/>
+          </property>
+          <property name="sizeAdjustPolicy">
+           <enum>QComboBox::AdjustToMinimumContentsLengthWithIcon</enum>
+          </property>
+          <property name="minimumContentsLength">
+           <number>18</number>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLineEdit" name="read_pattern">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>150</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>'read book' pattern</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="statusTip">
+           <string/>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+       </layout>
+      </item>
+     </layout>
     </widget>
    </item>
-   <item row="3" column="1">
-    <widget class="QLineEdit" name="wishlist_tag"/>
-   </item>
-   <item row="3" column="0">
-    <widget class="QLabel" name="label_5">
-     <property name="text">
-      <string>Wishlist tag:</string>
+   <item>
+    <widget class="QGroupBox" name="otherOptions">
+     <property name="sizePolicy">
+      <sizepolicy hsizetype="Preferred" vsizetype="Maximum">
+       <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+       <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+      </sizepolicy>
      </property>
-    </widget>
-   </item>
-   <item row="2" column="1">
-    <layout class="QHBoxLayout" name="read_spec_hl">
-     <property name="sizeConstraint">
-      <enum>QLayout::SetMinimumSize</enum>
+     <property name="minimumSize">
+      <size>
+       <width>0</width>
+       <height>0</height>
+      </size>
      </property>
-     <item>
-      <widget class="QComboBox" name="read_source_field_cb">
-       <property name="sizePolicy">
-        <sizepolicy hsizetype="MinimumExpanding" vsizetype="Fixed">
-         <horstretch>0</horstretch>
-         <verstretch>0</verstretch>
-        </sizepolicy>
-       </property>
-       <property name="toolTip">
-        <string>Source column for read book</string>
-       </property>
-       <property name="statusTip">
-        <string/>
-       </property>
-      </widget>
-     </item>
-     <item>
-      <widget class="QLineEdit" name="read_pattern">
-       <property name="toolTip">
-        <string>Pattern for read book</string>
-       </property>
-       <property name="statusTip">
-        <string/>
-       </property>
-      </widget>
-     </item>
-    </layout>
-   </item>
-   <item row="2" column="0">
-    <widget class="QLabel" name="label_3">
-     <property name="text">
-      <string>Books marked as read:</string>
+     <property name="title">
+      <string>Other options</string>
      </property>
+     <layout class="QFormLayout" name="formLayout_4">
+      <property name="fieldGrowthPolicy">
+       <enum>QFormLayout::FieldsStayAtSizeHint</enum>
+      </property>
+      <item row="1" column="0" colspan="2">
+       <layout class="QHBoxLayout" name="horizontalLayout_2">
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLabel" name="label_5">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>175</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="maximumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>200</width>
+            <height>16777215</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string/>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>Wishlist tag</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="alignment">
+           <set>Qt::AlignRight|Qt::AlignTrailing|Qt::AlignVCenter</set>
+          </property>
+          <property name="wordWrap">
+           <bool>true</bool>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLineEdit" name="wishlist_tag">
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>Wishlist items will be displayed with ✕</string>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+       </layout>
+      </item>
+      <item row="2" column="0" colspan="2">
+       <layout class="QHBoxLayout" name="horizontalLayout_4">
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLabel" name="label_4">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>175</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="maximumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>200</width>
+            <height>16777215</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>Thumbnail width</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="alignment">
+           <set>Qt::AlignRight|Qt::AlignTrailing|Qt::AlignVCenter</set>
+          </property>
+          <property name="wordWrap">
+           <bool>true</bool>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QDoubleSpinBox" name="thumb_width">
+          <property name="sizePolicy">
+           <sizepolicy hsizetype="Expanding" vsizetype="Fixed">
+            <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+            <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+           </sizepolicy>
+          </property>
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>Size hint for cover thumbnails included in Descriptions</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="suffix">
+           <string>&quot;</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="decimals">
+           <number>2</number>
+          </property>
+          <property name="minimum">
+           <double>1.000000000000000</double>
+          </property>
+          <property name="maximum">
+           <double>2.000000000000000</double>
+          </property>
+          <property name="singleStep">
+           <double>0.100000000000000</double>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+       </layout>
+      </item>
+      <item row="3" column="0" colspan="2">
+       <layout class="QHBoxLayout" name="horizontalLayout_5">
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLabel" name="label_6">
+          <property name="sizePolicy">
+           <sizepolicy hsizetype="Preferred" vsizetype="Preferred">
+            <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+            <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+           </sizepolicy>
+          </property>
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>175</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="maximumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>200</width>
+            <height>16777215</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>Header note</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="alignment">
+           <set>Qt::AlignRight|Qt::AlignTrailing|Qt::AlignVCenter</set>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QComboBox" name="header_note_source_field">
+          <property name="sizePolicy">
+           <sizepolicy hsizetype="Expanding" vsizetype="Fixed">
+            <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+            <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+           </sizepolicy>
+          </property>
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>0</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>Column containing header note</string>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+       </layout>
+      </item>
+      <item row="4" column="0" colspan="2">
+       <layout class="QHBoxLayout" name="horizontalLayout_7">
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QLabel" name="label_9">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>175</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="maximumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>200</width>
+            <height>16777215</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>Merge with Comments</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="alignment">
+           <set>Qt::AlignRight|Qt::AlignTrailing|Qt::AlignVCenter</set>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QComboBox" name="merge_source_field">
+          <property name="minimumSize">
+           <size>
+            <width>0</width>
+            <height>0</height>
+           </size>
+          </property>
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>Column containing additional content to merge</string>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="Line" name="line_2">
+          <property name="orientation">
+           <enum>Qt::Vertical</enum>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QRadioButton" name="merge_before">
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>Merge before Comments</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>Before</string>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QRadioButton" name="merge_after">
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>Merge after Comments</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>After</string>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="Line" name="line">
+          <property name="orientation">
+           <enum>Qt::Vertical</enum>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+        <item>
+         <widget class="QCheckBox" name="include_hr">
+          <property name="toolTip">
+           <string>Separate with horizontal rule</string>
+          </property>
+          <property name="text">
+           <string>&lt;hr /&gt;</string>
+          </property>
+         </widget>
+        </item>
+       </layout>
+      </item>
+     </layout>
     </widget>
    </item>
   </layout>
diff --git a/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_tab_template.ui b/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_tab_template.ui
index 5df881beac..4b24507f80 100644
--- a/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_tab_template.ui
+++ b/src/calibre/gui2/catalog/catalog_tab_template.ui
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
    <rect>
     <x>0</x>
     <y>0</y>
-    <width>579</width>
-    <height>411</height>
+    <width>650</width>
+    <height>575</height>
    </rect>
   </property>
   <property name="windowTitle">
diff --git a/src/calibre/gui2/dialogs/catalog.ui b/src/calibre/gui2/dialogs/catalog.ui
index e1de9407ea..62ac7cb5af 100644
--- a/src/calibre/gui2/dialogs/catalog.ui
+++ b/src/calibre/gui2/dialogs/catalog.ui
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
    <rect>
     <x>0</x>
     <y>0</y>
-    <width>611</width>
-    <height>514</height>
+    <width>674</width>
+    <height>660</height>
    </rect>
   </property>
   <property name="windowTitle">
@@ -33,6 +33,18 @@
    </item>
    <item row="1" column="0" colspan="2">
     <widget class="QTabWidget" name="tabs">
+     <property name="sizePolicy">
+      <sizepolicy hsizetype="Expanding" vsizetype="Expanding">
+       <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+       <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+      </sizepolicy>
+     </property>
+     <property name="minimumSize">
+      <size>
+       <width>650</width>
+       <height>575</height>
+      </size>
+     </property>
      <property name="currentIndex">
       <number>0</number>
      </property>
diff --git a/src/calibre/library/catalog.py b/src/calibre/library/catalog.py
index 0b317d6a6e..5eb20159c1 100644
--- a/src/calibre/library/catalog.py
+++ b/src/calibre/library/catalog.py
@@ -550,6 +550,13 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                            "of the conversion process a bug is occurring.\n"
                            "Default: '%default'None\n"
                            "Applies to: ePub, MOBI output formats")),
+                   Option('--exclude-book-marker',
+                          default=':',
+                          dest='exclude_book_marker',
+                          action = None,
+                          help=_("field:pattern specifying custom field/contents indicating book should be excluded.\n"
+                          "Default: '%default'\n"
+                          "Applies to ePub, MOBI output formats")),
                    Option('--exclude-genre',
                           default='\[.+\]',
                           dest='exclude_genre',
@@ -585,6 +592,23 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                           help=_("Include 'Recently Added' section in catalog.\n"
                           "Default: '%default'\n"
                           "Applies to: ePub, MOBI output formats")),
+                   Option('--header-note-source-field',
+                          default='',
+                          dest='header_note_source_field',
+                          action = None,
+                          help=_("Custom field containing note text to insert in Description header.\n"
+                          "Default: '%default'\n"
+                          "Applies to: ePub, MOBI output formats")),
+                   Option('--merge-comments',
+                          default='::',
+                          dest='merge_comments',
+                          action = None,
+                          help=_("<custom field>:[before|after]:[True|False] specifying:\n"
+                          " <custom field> Custom field containing notes to merge with Comments\n"
+                          " [before|after] Placement of notes with respect to Comments\n"
+                          " [True|False] - A horizontal rule is inserted between notes and Comments\n"
+                          "Default: '%default'\n"
+                          "Applies to ePub, MOBI output formats")),
                    Option('--note-tag',
                           default='*',
                           dest='note_tag',
@@ -845,6 +869,7 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
             catalog.copyResources()
             catalog.buildSources()
         '''
+
         # A single number creates 'Last x days' only.
         # Multiple numbers create 'Last x days', 'x to y days ago' ...
         # e.g, [7,15,30,60], [30]
@@ -889,6 +914,7 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                                                   and self.generateForKindle \
                                                 else False
             self.__genres = None
+            self.genres = []
             self.__genre_tags_dict = None
             self.__htmlFileList = []
             self.__markerTags = self.getMarkerTags()
@@ -900,13 +926,15 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
             self.__progressString = ''
             f, _, p = opts.read_book_marker.partition(':')
             self.__read_book_marker = {'field':f, 'pattern':p}
+            f, p, hr = self.opts.merge_comments.split(':')
+            self.__merge_comments = {'field':f, 'position':p, 'hr':hr}
             self.__reporter = report_progress
             self.__stylesheet = stylesheet
             self.__thumbs = None
             self.__thumbWidth = 0
             self.__thumbHeight = 0
             self.__title = opts.catalog_title
-            self.__totalSteps = 11.0
+            self.__totalSteps = 8.0
             self.__useSeriesPrefixInTitlesSection = False
             self.__verbose = opts.verbose
 
@@ -916,17 +944,36 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                     self.__output_profile = profile
                     break
 
-            # Confirm/create thumbs archive
+            # Confirm/create thumbs archive.
             if not os.path.exists(self.__cache_dir):
                 self.opts.log.info(" creating new thumb cache '%s'" % self.__cache_dir)
                 os.makedirs(self.__cache_dir)
             if not os.path.exists(self.__archive_path):
-                self.opts.log.info(" creating thumbnail archive")
+                self.opts.log.info(' creating thumbnail archive, thumb_width: %1.2f"' %
+                                     float(self.opts.thumb_width))
                 zfw = ZipFile(self.__archive_path, mode='w')
                 zfw.writestr("Catalog Thumbs Archive",'')
+                zfw.comment = "thumb_width: %1.2f" % float(self.opts.thumb_width)
                 zfw.close()
             else:
-                self.opts.log.info(" existing thumb cache at '%s'" % self.__archive_path)
+                with closing(ZipFile(self.__archive_path, mode='r')) as zfr:
+                    try:
+                        cached_thumb_width = float(zfr.comment[len('thumb_width: '):])
+                    except:
+                        cached_thumb_width = "0.0"
+
+                if float(cached_thumb_width) != float(self.opts.thumb_width):
+                    self.opts.log.info(" invalidating cache at '%s'" % self.__archive_path)
+                    self.opts.log.info('  thumb_width: %1.2f" => %1.2f"' %
+                                        (float(cached_thumb_width),float(self.opts.thumb_width)))
+                    os.remove(self.__archive_path)
+                    zfw = ZipFile(self.__archive_path, mode='w')
+                    zfw.writestr("Catalog Thumbs Archive",'')
+                    zfw.comment = "thumb_width: %1.2f" % float(self.opts.thumb_width)
+                    zfw.close()
+                else:
+                    self.opts.log.info(' existing thumb cache at %s, cached_thumb_width: %1.2f"' %
+                                         (self.__archive_path, float(cached_thumb_width)))
 
             # Tweak build steps based on optional sections:  1 call for HTML, 1 for NCX
             if self.opts.generate_titles:
@@ -937,6 +984,9 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                     self.__totalSteps += 2
             if self.opts.generate_series:
                 self.__totalSteps += 2
+            if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                # +1 thumbs
+                self.__totalSteps += 3
 
         # Accessors
         if True:
@@ -1246,7 +1296,8 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                     return False
             self.fetchBooksByAuthor()
             self.fetchBookmarks()
-            self.generateHTMLDescriptions()
+            if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                self.generateHTMLDescriptions()
             self.generateHTMLByAuthor()
             if self.opts.generate_titles:
                 self.generateHTMLByTitle()
@@ -1256,10 +1307,10 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                 self.generateHTMLByDateAdded()
                 if self.generateRecentlyRead:
                     self.generateHTMLByDateRead()
-            self.generateHTMLByTags()
-
-            self.generateThumbnails()
-
+            if self.opts.generate_genres:
+                self.generateHTMLByTags()
+            if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                self.generateThumbnails()
             self.generateOPF()
             self.generateNCXHeader()
             self.generateNCXByAuthor("Authors")
@@ -1271,8 +1322,11 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                 self.generateNCXByDateAdded("Recently Added")
                 if self.generateRecentlyRead:
                     self.generateNCXByDateRead("Recently Read")
-            self.generateNCXByGenre("Genres")
-            self.generateNCXDescriptions("Descriptions")
+            if self.opts.generate_genres:
+                self.generateNCXByGenre("Genres")
+            if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                self.generateNCXDescriptions("Descriptions")
+
             self.writeNCX()
             return True
 
@@ -1340,6 +1394,7 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
             #print "fetchBooksByTitle(): opts.search_text: %s" % self.opts.search_text
             # Fetch the database as a dictionary
             data = self.plugin.search_sort_db(self.db, self.opts)
+            data = self.processExclusions(data)
 
             # Populate this_title{} from data[{},{}]
             titles = []
@@ -1388,6 +1443,8 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                         record['comments'] = record['comments'][:ad_offset]
 
                     this_title['description'] = self.markdownComments(record['comments'])
+
+                    # Create short description
                     paras = BeautifulSoup(this_title['description']).findAll('p')
                     tokens = []
                     for p in paras:
@@ -1399,6 +1456,10 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                     this_title['description'] = None
                     this_title['short_description'] = None
 
+                # Merge with custom field/value
+                if self.__merge_comments['field']:
+                    this_title['description'] = self.mergeComments(this_title)
+
                 if record['cover']:
                     this_title['cover'] = re.sub('&amp;', '&', record['cover'])
 
@@ -1413,6 +1474,14 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                         formats.append(self.convertHTMLEntities(format))
                     this_title['formats'] = formats
 
+                # Add user notes to be displayed in header
+                if self.opts.header_note_source_field:
+                    notes = self.__db.get_field(record['id'],
+                                            self.opts.header_note_source_field,
+                                            index_is_id=True)
+                    if notes:
+                        this_title['notes'] = notes
+
                 titles.append(this_title)
 
             # Re-sort based on title_sort
@@ -1712,7 +1781,8 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                     for tag in title.get('tags', []):
                         aTag = Tag(soup,'a')
                         #print "aTag: %s" % "Genre_%s.html" % re.sub("\W","",tag.lower())
-                        aTag['href'] = "Genre_%s.html" % re.sub("\W","",tag.lower())
+                        if self.opts.generate_genres:
+                            aTag['href'] = "Genre_%s.html" % re.sub("\W","",tag.lower())
                         aTag.insert(0,escape(NavigableString(tag)))
                         emTag = Tag(soup, "em")
                         emTag.insert(0, aTag)
@@ -1771,7 +1841,6 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                     #ratingLabel = body.find('td',text="Rating").replaceWith("Unrated")
                     ratingTag.insert(0,NavigableString('<br/>'))
 
-
                 # Insert user notes or remove Notes label.  Notes > 1 line will push formatting down
                 if 'notes' in title:
                     notesTag = body.find(attrs={'class':'notes'})
@@ -1894,7 +1963,8 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
 
                 # Link to book
                 aTag = Tag(soup, "a")
-                aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(book['id'])))
+                if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                    aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(book['id'])))
                 aTag.insert(0,escape(book['title']))
                 pBookTag.insert(ptc, aTag)
                 ptc += 1
@@ -2067,8 +2137,9 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                         ptc += 1
 
                 aTag = Tag(soup, "a")
-                aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(book['id'])))
-                # Use series, series index if avail else just title, + year of publication
+                if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                    aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(book['id'])))
+                # Use series, series index if avail else title, + year of publication
                 if current_series:
                     aTag.insert(0,'%s (%s)' % (escape(book['title'][len(book['series'])+1:]),
                                                book['date'].split()[1]))
@@ -2079,7 +2150,6 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                 pBookTag.insert(ptc, aTag)
                 ptc += 1
 
-
                 divTag.insert(dtc, pBookTag)
                 dtc += 1
 
@@ -2200,7 +2270,8 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                                 ptc += 1
 
                         aTag = Tag(soup, "a")
-                        aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(new_entry['id'])))
+                        if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                            aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(new_entry['id'])))
                         if current_series:
                             aTag.insert(0,escape(new_entry['title'][len(new_entry['series'])+1:]))
                         else:
@@ -2251,7 +2322,8 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                                 ptc += 1
 
                         aTag = Tag(soup, "a")
-                        aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(new_entry['id'])))
+                        if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                            aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(new_entry['id'])))
                         aTag.insert(0,escape(new_entry['title']))
                         pBookTag.insert(ptc, aTag)
                         ptc += 1
@@ -2411,7 +2483,8 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                         ptc += 1
 
                         aTag = Tag(soup, "a")
-                        aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(new_entry['id'])))
+                        if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                            aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(new_entry['id'])))
                         aTag.insert(0,escape(new_entry['title']))
                         pBookTag.insert(ptc, aTag)
                         ptc += 1
@@ -2458,7 +2531,8 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                         ptc += 1
 
                         aTag = Tag(soup, "a")
-                        aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(new_entry['id'])))
+                        if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                            aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(new_entry['id'])))
                         aTag.insert(0,escape(new_entry['title']))
                         pBookTag.insert(ptc, aTag)
                         ptc += 1
@@ -2699,7 +2773,8 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                         ptc += 1
 
                 aTag = Tag(soup, "a")
-                aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(book['id'])))
+                if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                    aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(book['id'])))
                 # Use series, series index if avail else just title
                 #aTag.insert(0,'%d. %s &middot; %s' % (book['series_index'],escape(book['title']), ' & '.join(book['authors'])))
 
@@ -2983,18 +3058,20 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
             manifest.insert(mtc, itemTag)
             mtc += 1
 
-            # Write the thumbnail images to the manifest
-            for thumb in self.thumbs:
-                itemTag = Tag(soup, "item")
-                itemTag['href'] = "images/%s" % (thumb)
-                end = thumb.find('.jpg')
-                itemTag['id'] = "%s-image" % thumb[:end]
-                itemTag['media-type'] = 'image/jpeg'
-                manifest.insert(mtc, itemTag)
-                mtc += 1
+            # Write the thumbnail images, descriptions to the manifest
+            sort_descriptions_by = []
+            if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                for thumb in self.thumbs:
+                    itemTag = Tag(soup, "item")
+                    itemTag['href'] = "images/%s" % (thumb)
+                    end = thumb.find('.jpg')
+                    itemTag['id'] = "%s-image" % thumb[:end]
+                    itemTag['media-type'] = 'image/jpeg'
+                    manifest.insert(mtc, itemTag)
+                    mtc += 1
 
-            # HTML files - add books to manifest and spine
-            sort_descriptions_by = self.booksByAuthor if self.opts.sort_descriptions_by_author \
+                # HTML files - add descriptions to manifest and spine
+                sort_descriptions_by = self.booksByAuthor if self.opts.sort_descriptions_by_author \
                                                       else self.booksByTitle
             # Add html_files to manifest and spine
 
@@ -3970,15 +4047,15 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
             from calibre.customize.ui import output_profiles
             for x in output_profiles():
                 if x.short_name == self.opts.output_profile:
-                    # .9" width  aspect ratio: 3:4
-                    self.thumbWidth = int(x.dpi * 1)
-                    self.thumbHeight = int(self.thumbWidth * 1.33)
+                    # aspect ratio: 3:4
+                    self.thumbWidth = x.dpi * float(self.opts.thumb_width)
+                    self.thumbHeight = self.thumbWidth * 1.33
                     if 'kindle' in x.short_name and self.opts.fmt == 'mobi':
                         # Kindle DPI appears to be off by a factor of 2
-                        self.thumbWidth = int(self.thumbWidth/2)
-                        self.thumbHeight = int(self.thumbHeight/2)
+                        self.thumbWidth = self.thumbWidth/2
+                        self.thumbHeight = self.thumbHeight/2
                     break
-            if False and self.verbose:
+            if True and self.verbose:
                 self.opts.log("     DPI = %d; thumbnail dimensions: %d x %d" % \
                               (x.dpi, self.thumbWidth, self.thumbHeight))
 
@@ -4238,7 +4315,8 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
 
                 # Add the book title
                 aTag = Tag(soup, "a")
-                aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(book['id'])))
+                if self.opts.generate_descriptions:
+                    aTag['href'] = "book_%d.html" % (int(float(book['id'])))
                 # Use series, series index if avail else just title
                 if current_series:
                     aTag.insert(0,escape(book['title'][len(book['series'])+1:]))
@@ -4460,7 +4538,9 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
                 # Leading numbers optionally translated to text equivalent
                 # Capitalize leading sort word
                 if i==0:
-                    if self.opts.numbers_as_text and re.match('[0-9]+',word[0]):
+                    # *** Keep this code in case we need to restore numbers_as_text ***
+                    if False:
+                    #if self.opts.numbers_as_text and re.match('[0-9]+',word[0]):
                         translated.append(EPUB_MOBI.NumberToText(word).text.capitalize())
                     else:
                         if re.match('[0-9]+',word[0]):
@@ -4540,7 +4620,6 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
             ''' Return a list of special marker tags to be excluded from genre list '''
             markerTags = []
             markerTags.extend(self.opts.exclude_tags.split(','))
-            markerTags.extend(self.opts.note_tag.split(','))
             return markerTags
 
         def letter_or_symbol(self,char):
@@ -4663,13 +4742,63 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
 
             return result.renderContents(encoding=None)
 
+        def mergeComments(self, record):
+            '''
+            merge ['description'] with custom field contents to be displayed in Descriptions
+            '''
+            merged = ''
+            if record['description']:
+                addendum = self.__db.get_field(record['id'],
+                                            self.__merge_comments['field'],
+                                            index_is_id=True)
+                include_hr = eval(self.__merge_comments['hr'])
+                if self.__merge_comments['position'] == 'before':
+                    merged = addendum
+                    if include_hr:
+                        merged += '<hr class="merged_comments_divider"/>'
+                    else:
+                        merged += '\n'
+                    merged += record['description']
+                else:
+                    merged = record['description']
+                    if include_hr:
+                        merged += '<hr class="merged_comments_divider"/>'
+                    else:
+                        merged += '\n'
+                    merged += addendum
+            else:
+                # Return the custom field contents
+                merged = self.__db.get_field(record['id'],
+                                            self.__merge_comments['field'],
+                                            index_is_id=True)
+
+            return merged
+
+        def processExclusions(self, data_set):
+            '''
+            Remove excluded entries
+            '''
+            field, pat = self.opts.exclude_book_marker.split(':')
+            if pat == '':
+                return data_set
+            filtered_data_set = []
+            for record in data_set:
+                field_contents = self.__db.get_field(record['id'],
+                                            field,
+                                            index_is_id=True)
+                if field_contents:
+                    if re.search(pat, unicode(field_contents),
+                            re.IGNORECASE) is not None:
+                        continue
+                filtered_data_set.append(record)
+
+            return filtered_data_set
+
         def processSpecialTags(self, tags, this_title, opts):
             tag_list = []
             for tag in tags:
                 tag = self.convertHTMLEntities(tag)
-                if tag.startswith(opts.note_tag):
-                    this_title['notes'] = tag[len(self.opts.note_tag):]
-                elif re.search(opts.exclude_genre, tag):
+                if re.search(opts.exclude_genre, tag):
                     continue
                 elif self.__read_book_marker['field'] == 'tag' and \
                      tag == self.__read_book_marker['pattern']:
@@ -4767,13 +4896,16 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
         if opts_dict['ids']:
             build_log.append(" book count: %d" % len(opts_dict['ids']))
 
-        sections_list = ['Descriptions','Authors']
+        sections_list = ['Authors']
         if opts.generate_titles:
             sections_list.append('Titles')
         if opts.generate_recently_added:
             sections_list.append('Recently Added')
-        if not opts.exclude_genre.strip() == '.':
+        if opts.generate_genres:
             sections_list.append('Genres')
+        if opts.generate_descriptions:
+            sections_list.append('Descriptions')
+
         build_log.append(u" Sections: %s" % ', '.join(sections_list))
 
         # Display opts
@@ -4782,11 +4914,12 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
         build_log.append(" opts:")
         for key in keys:
             if key in ['catalog_title','authorClip','connected_kindle','descriptionClip',
-                       'exclude_genre','exclude_tags','note_tag','numbers_as_text',
+                       'exclude_book_marker','exclude_genre','exclude_tags',
+                       'header_note_source_field','merge_comments',
                        'output_profile','read_book_marker',
                        'search_text','sort_by','sort_descriptions_by_author','sync',
-                        'wishlist_tag']:
-                build_log.append("  %s: %s" % (key, opts_dict[key]))
+                       'thumb_width','wishlist_tag']:
+                build_log.append("  %s: %s" % (key, repr(opts_dict[key])))
 
         if opts.verbose:
             log('\n'.join(line for line in build_log))
@@ -4801,6 +4934,7 @@ class EPUB_MOBI(CatalogPlugin):
         catalog.copyResources()
         catalog.calculateThumbnailSize()
         catalog_source_built = catalog.buildSources()
+
         if opts.verbose:
             if catalog_source_built:
                 log.info(" Completed catalog source generation\n")