Do you keep a list of the books you’ve read?
How? Why/why not?
Yes, I keep a list of the books I read. I started it in January 2002, using a Works database on the harddrive on my computer. I lost track for a while a couple of years ago because of a harddrive breakdown (but my brother the computer wizard managed to restore lost files later so then I picked it up again). I probably missed a few entries here and there for other reasons as well; and I don’t always list re-reads. But it’s still a record of most of my reading over the last 10 years, and I find it quite helpful.
I use it to check if I’ve read a certain book, and when; or how many I read over a certain period of time etc. As I have it on database I can also easily find which titles I read by the same author.
So far I have not used the list for ranking books, just author and title, and whether I read it as printed book, or listened to it as audio book (or, recently added, read it on Kindle).
Occasionally I review or mention certain books on my blog. I don’t do that with every book I read though.
You are very organized with your list. My list is on paper and goes back several years and it is helpful in figuring out where I am in reading series, since I read quite a few series. C.J. Sansom, Ian Rankin, Patrick O'Brian, C.J. Box, Proust's 4 volume work, etc.
ReplyDeleteYou're ambitious! I started my blog to keep track and then I found Goodreads and I love it.2 Kids and Tired Books BTT
ReplyDeleteAmbitious, that would be writing a review of every book. Just making note of title and author does not take up much time but is still helpful.
DeleteNo. I never gave it a thought. But what a good idea. I do keep a list of books I loan out, so I can get them back.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, I wish so much I had done this through the years!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNever too late to start, if you are still reading!
DeleteSuch a list is very useful when otherwise you'd be unsure about whether you've read a certain book or not.
ReplyDeleteYou already know that I review every book I read on my blog; I started that only about two years ago, and of course I have read hundreds (if not thousands) of books up until then. Sometimes I do realise I've read a book in the past when I come across it now - that's for NOT having kept a list such as yours :-)
I imagine that, like many folk, you would love to have a list of all the books you had ever read from the age of 'tiny'. Every so often from my late teens I started lists but never kept them up to date. Now, like you, it has only been in recent years that I've tried to list every single one. The sad thing is that I can't recall the details of some of those I read just five years ago. I stare at the names and titles and think 'What was that sll about?'
ReplyDeleteThat's true for me too, John, and also with many I read a lot more recently than five years ago. But I see it like this: keeping the list also tells me which books made such impression that my brain does find them worth remembering.
Deletei have never kept a list and that is what i like about Kindle reading. when i delete it from my collection after i read it, it moves it to archives and i can look there and see if i have read it. of course that only works for my Kindle books, not the ones I have read before.
ReplyDeleteI keep a book journal to keep track of what I've read, partly to keep me from buying books I've already read and also to remind me of the good ones.
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