How To Keep Track of Reading

Posted on July 8, 2011 by
Categories: Techniques

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Photo by surlygirl

Have you ever been in a library, looking for a book you were told was great, but were unable to remember the title or author? Or started reading a book, only to realize you’ve read it before?

I have. And I’ll ‘fess up. I did it often.

I solved the problem by keeping a list.

Why Keep A Reading List

The primary goal of a reading list is to note what you have read and when. This saves you from selecting the same book again, and also will allow you to see if you loved … or hated… a particular author’s other works.

When you add suggested books to the list, you then have a ready source of books to look for in the library or bookstore when you want to read something.

The Details of the Reading List

I find it important to track the following details for books I have read:

  • Title
  • Author
  • Date read
  • Genre
  • Source (library, own, etc)
  • My rating (I use a scale of 1 to 5)
  • A brief summary of the book.

For books that have been recommended to me, I also note who recommended them and why. This helps avoid the “what was I thinking?” question when I pick up a book I want to read.

Keeping Track of the List

The list is a great idea, but it has to be portable for it to work. My first list was a little spiral notebook. I listed the books I had read in the front, and the ones I wanted in the back.

When I got my first PDA I transitioned the list to electronics and started storing it in a database application. This allowed me to keep it with me, but also allows me to put all of my reading lists up on my personal website.

Now I use a program called BookCrawler. It’s the best I have tried so far, and allows me to export everything and generate my online reading tracking.

Of course right now, I am using the program to get through my backlog. I have entered all the books I have in the house that haven’t been read, and I am working through the list. :) (See Simplifying the Reading Backlog)

How do you manage your reading?

Photo bysurlygirl

 

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Comments (1)

 

  1. Jen says:
    July 10, 2011 at 12:52 pm

    I use Goodreads. It’s essentially social media for reading, and I have it hooked up to my Facebook account. I add books I want to read and check them off as I get them done. I also get great suggestions based on what my friends are reading. I love it and now have the longest list of TBR in my life. It’s awesome. :)