Do you keep a reading log?

[Slache]

If so please tell me about it. I've never done this, but I think it would behoove me to start.

[marbel]

I used to keep a notebook of books I'd read - title, author, date.  Maybe some sort of rating thing. It was just in a notebook, probably a composition book or some other inexpensive journal-type notebook.  It got lost somewhere along the way.  Now I use Goodreads, but of course that may someday be lost in the internet.   

 

I do wish I'd kept a list of books, starting when I was a kid. What a treasure that would be. I encourage my kids to keep track of their reading, but they are not interested.  No doubt I was not either, till well into adulthood. 

[Slache]

I used to keep a notebook of books I'd read - title, author, date.  Maybe some sort of rating thing. It was just in a notebook, probably a composition book or some other inexpensive journal-type notebook.  It got lost somewhere along the way.  Now I use Goodreads, but of course that may someday be lost in the internet.   

 

I do wish I'd kept a list of books, starting when I was a kid. What a treasure that would be. I encourage my kids to keep track of their reading, but they are not interested.  No doubt I was not either, till well into adulthood. 

 

I don't know anything about Goodreads. Tell me about it?

[forty-two]

I don't record *all* my reading, but I do try to keep a reading log of what I read for my amateur research project (which is basically all the non-fiction I've read - it all ties in one way or another).  Most of the worthwhile books I read I end up writing about in my reading journal, so that's the main way I record them.  I try to jot down titles of journal articles in my reading journal, to keep track of them, but that's been hit or miss, unfortunately.

[Miss Peregrine]

I  need to. So many times I check a book out from the library, get a good way through it and realize I've already read it!

[Slache]

Maybe a reading log is the wrong term. I'm looking for like a personal accountability thing.

[Julie Smith]

I have an excel spreadsheet of all the books my boys have listened to, and read.

 

Since I wasn't going to count every single picture book, I only included books that took over an hour to read.

 

From the list I can tell what year a book was read, and whether is was a read aloud, or the boy read it to himself.

[medawyn]

Goodreads.  I can set a yearly goal, mark books to be read, keep track of books by genre/author/year read, etc.  I can leave public or private reviews, so I can make reminder notes to myself for future searching.

 

 I also like the social feature, because I can stay connected with friends whose taste in reading I share or whose reading challenges me to push myself.

[Word Nerd]

I use Goodreads.

[GailV]

I use Goodreads.

 

I write interesting passages and notes about books in my bullet journal.  That's pretty random, though.  i might have several quotes from one book, and none from another.

[marbel]

I don't know anything about Goodreads. Tell me about it?

 

Goodreads is a social media site for books.  You can search for books and authors, get recommendations, review books, make friends, join groups...  Oh and set reading goals.

 

The link in my sig should take you to  my page.  

[Raifta]

I keep track of all the books I've read just in a word document.  I try to record title, author, whether it was ours, borrowed from someone or from the library and if I kept it once I'd finished reading it.  Also, a brief description/review.

 

I start a new document each year and at the end of the year skim over it and sum up the year - best, worst. 

 

At the beginning of the year is where the personal accountability part comes in - I set several goals for myself - they might be something like:

 

total number of books read 

read a book in French

read x number of books from our shelves

read x number of non-fiction books

a list of a few specific books that I want to read that year

 

The goals change from year to year depending on a huge host of reasons.

[PrincessMommy]

I use GoodReads to track what I've read and how I liked them.  Sometimes I'll write a review but mostly I'll just rate.   I track by year and set my own private goal (not via Goodreads).  

 

 

[Stacia]

Goodreads & the Book a Week thread on here. I also just keep a Word document on my computer where I track the books I read each year. This is the type of info I keep in it: Title, author, publisher, my rating, continent/area of the world, 1 or 2 sentences of my thoughts.

 

My Goodreads page.

 

For example, my Word document so far this year....

 

2017 Books Read:
 

01. By Gaslight by Steven Price, pub. by Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. 4 stars. Europe: England. (Beautifully written tome exploring the intersecting lives of William Pinkerton and a grifter named Adam Foole.)

02. Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche by Haruki Murakami, trans. from the Japanese by Alfred Birnbaum & Philip Gabriel, pub. by Vintage International. 4 stars. Asia: Japan. (His low-key approach, as a novelist, to interview survivors & try to wrap his head around the subway attacks, as well as a plea to society to look at root causes of people joining cults.)

03. Head in Flames by Lance Olsen, pub. by Chiasmus Press. Europe: The Netherlands. (Clever; artistically & conceptually amazing. Triptych of narratives: Vincent Van Gogh on the day he commits suicide; Theo Van Gogh, film maker, as he is assassinated in the Netherlands; & Mohammed Bouyeri, Theo’s murderer. Horrifying. Most physically painful reading I’ve ever done. I don’t even know what to say.)

04. Down on Ponce by Fred Willard, pub. by Longstreet Press. 3 stars. North America: USA. (Entertaining, page-turning, crime-filled, noir-ish romp through Atlanta.)

05. Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds by Lyanda Lynn Haupt, pub. by Sasquatch Books. 5 stars. North America: USA. (Lovely little work reminds you to stay in touch with the outdoors, observing closely & noting details. A book which is balm for the soul. Beautiful.)

06. In Ghostly Japan by Lafcadio Hearn, pub. by Charles E. Tuttle Company. 4 stars. Asia: Japan. (A collection of essays & stories -- insight into the cultures, habits, surroundings, folktales, & folklore of 1899 Japan as seen through a Westerner’s lens.)

07. When Women Were Birds by Terry Tempest Williams, pub. by Sarah Crichton Books. 3 stars. North America: USA. (Memoir written in 54 short musings. All are interlinked to finding one's voice, as a woman in this space we inhabit -- from our inner lives to the wide world as a whole.)

08. Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds by Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, trans. from the French by H. A. Hargreaves, pub. by the  University of California Press. 5 stars. Europe: France. (Delightful mix of philosophy & astronomy from 1686 which is joyful speculation mixed with sometimes prescient facts. How I wish Fontenelle could see today’s strides in astronomy & continue to theorize for us all!)

09. Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse, pub. by The American Reprint Company. 4.5 stars. Europe: England. (Rummy & plum, if a bit repetitive between stories. I had plenty of smiles & laughs while reading.  A charming bit of British humor.)

10. Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov, trans. from the Russian by Mirra Ginsburg, pub. by Grove Press. 5 stars. Europe: Russia. (Fabulous. Scathing, darkly funny satire mixed with mad science which skewers all levels of 1920s Russian society.)

11. Harry Potter and the Sorcer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling, pub. by Scholastic. 5 stars. Europe: England. (A worldwide bestseller for a reason. A great children’s novel.)
12. The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preson, pub. by Grand Central Publishing. 3 stars. Latin America: Honduras. (A mix of archaeology; Guns, Germs, and Steel theories; and political/cultural hurdles as a previously unexplored/possibly unknown culture is explored.)

13. Flaming Iguanas: An All-Girl Road Novel Thing by Erika Lopez, pub. by Simon & Schuster. 3 stars. North America: USA. (Out-there road-trip memoir, at times funny, touching, outrageous, cringe-worthy, baffling, sweet, empowering, & more. An art piece + diary. Unique.)

14. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling, pub. by Scholastic. 5 stars. Europe: England. (Part two of the great series.)

15. The Löwensköld Ring by Selma Lagerlöf, trans. from the Swedish by Linda Schenck, pub. by Norvik Press. 3 stars. Europe: Sweden. (A psychological ghost story of a ring stolen from a dead man; written by the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.)

16. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution by John Oller, pub. by Da Capo Press. 3 stars. North America: USA. (Well-researched biography of a pivotal & admirable Revolutionary War leader.)

17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling, pub. by Scholastic. 5 stars. Europe: England. (The greatness continues….)

18. You Can’t Touch My Hair and Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson, pub. by Plume. 3 stars. North America: USA. (Sharp & funny takes on feminism & being a black woman in the US today. Would benefit from fewer pop culture references. Still funny though.)

19. Silk by Alessandro Baricco, trans. from the Italian by Guido Waldman, pub. by The Harvill Press. 5 stars. Europe & Asia: France & Japan. (A beautifully-woven, tiny piece of perfection.)

20. L’art de la Simplicité: How to Live More with Less by Dominique Loreau, trans. from the French by Louise Lalaurie, pub. by St. Martin’s Griffin. 1 star. Europe: France. (Utter tripe about simplicity & zen that must be aimed for the rich & flaky.)

21. Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch, pub. by Del Rey. 4 stars. Europe: England. (Fun, interesting, well-written supernatural police procedural with likeable characters, bits of history, & occasional humor. Recommended.)

22. The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck: His Journey to the Court of the Great Khan Möngke, 1253–1255 by William of Rubruck, trans. by  Peter Jackson, pub. by Hackett Publishing. 3 stars. Asia: Various. (Interesting account of Friar William’s travels – lively while also outlining the hardships he endured such as weather, lack of food & drink, bad interpreters, etc….)

23. Dali’s Mustache by Salvador Dali & Philippe Halsman, pub. by Flammarion. 3 stars. Europe & North America: Spain & USA. (Silly fun for the Dali fans, as well as the Halsman fans. Interesting notes at the back explaining how photography shots were staged/developed.)

24. IQ by Joe Ide, pub. by Mulholland Books. 3 stars. North America: USA. (South Central LA’s answer to Sherlock Holmes comes in the form of IQ. In this intro book, IQ is helping solve who is trying to assassinate a famous rapper. More of a character study than a who-done-it.)

25. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, pub. by Random House. 4 stars. North America: USA. (Round robin cacophony of voices – mostly dead – exploring the topics of loss & love in a serious, vulgar, funny, sad, touching, sweet, hopeful, depressing, irreverent, & thoughtful way.)

26. News of the World by Paulette Jiles, pub. by William Morrow. 5 stars. North America: USA. (Wonderful, filled with goodness, & two of my newest favorite characters, Captain Kidd & Johanna. Highly recommended.)

27. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson, pub. by Berkley. 3 stars. North America: USA. (Re-read for book club. Just as bizarre, refreshing, & laugh-out-loud funny as the first time I read it.)

 

 

Edited May 16, 2017 by Stacia

[Catwoman]

I'm too lazy to keep track of the books I read. :)

[Lady Florida.]

I also use Goodreads. Before that I didn't keep a log but GR makes it pretty easy. I rarely write reviews, but sometimes I do. Mostly I use it to keep track of what I read, what I want to read, and I get recommendations from Goodreads friends as well as from some of the groups there. You don't need to use it socially though if you don't want to. You can keep it to yourself and just use it to keep track of books. 

[Guest]

No but I wish I would have. I did for my son ages 0-28 and it brings back many happy memories

[KungFuPanda]

No. I don't want to pollute something as wonderful as reading with paperwork.

[Rosie_0801]

I do much as Stacia said for the Book a Week thread.

 

I like to praise people for reading Terry Pratchett and make the occasional rude comment about Shakespeare and Truman Capote.

[Carrie12345]

I had started a list of books to be read, with boxes for "owned", "in-progress", and "finished".  (Borrowing tends to cost me more than buying.  :glare: )

 

It is a beautifully long list.

There are many, many, many more "owned" than "finished" boxes checked!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I created a reading log in my Bullet Journal. I drew a bookshelf with blank books on one page (idea from Pinterest) and color/write in the title as I complete a book. I also have a page where I write the title and author of each book.

 

The idea of beginning a book journal for a child is wonderful. I think I may do that for my DGD. She's 5 and loves to read. 

[VaKim]

Another Goodreads user here. 

[Slache]

The idea of beginning a book journal for a child is wonderful. I think I may do that for my DGD. She's 5 and loves to read. 

 

The one for my kids includes more than you'll probably want because I'm tracking there education.

 

Subject: Bible, English, Foreign Language, Math, History, Science, Art, Other

Method: Instruction, Read Aloud, Reader, Audiobook

Title

Author

Format: Hardback, paperback, MOBI, etc.

Genre

Date Published

Length

Language

Content

Series 

Rating out of 5

Grade Finished

[Mothersweets]

I use Goodreads and also the Book-a-Week thread here.

 

I use to write down the titles of each book I read in a day planner and it is fun to go back and look through it. Goodreads is super handy but I think I'll start writing them down, too. THere's just something about seeing it in my own handwriting, kwim? 

 

I love the idea of writing down the books my children have read - I wish I would have done that!

[melmichigan]

I used to keep a file on my iPad.  Now I use Goodreads because I can link it to my amazon account.

[EMS83]

I keep a spreadsheet, but don't add to it too much.  I have one for the kids.  Mine is just title, author, date started, date finished (and usually it's YEARS apart).  The kids have title, author, date, subject, and initials so I can write it into their end-of-year reports as extra reading.  

[gingersmom]

I tried with goodreads but didn't like it.

 

Since January 1 I've recorded monthly every book I have read.

[courtney.byrum]

I use LibraryThing to keep track of the books I've read as well as for both kids. Each calendar year we start a new 'collection' for each of us. They like to see how many times they've read a book, so I also keep track of how many times per year they've read something. I do also keep track of what is read for each school year on there so I can go back at any time and see what's been read. It also helps me keep track of what books we already own so I don't buy them again (though I have another app I use for the kids books when I remember to keep it updated).

 

I started keeping track in 2011 I think so I missed the million picture books and mostly started when they were reading chapter books, so while they still read picture books it's a much smaller quantity these days.

 

http://www.librarything.com/profile/cabyrum

[Robin M]

I keep track on my blog with a running list of reads for the year. 52 books thread is also handy since I can check back through the threads easily to see what I have read. I hardly remember to update goodreads except at the end of the year which is why 52 books or my blog come in handy. Paper logs disappear since i put away yearly journal when done with the year.

[bensonduck]

I keep a composition book listing books by month (just title and author). My grandmother did this for most of her adult life and looking at her log was such a treasure. Every time I complete a book and log it, I think of her and smile. Maybe my grandchildren will enjoy looking at my log some day.

[Slache]

I keep a composition book listing books by month (just title and author). My grandmother did this for most of her adult life and looking at her log was such a treasure. Every time I complete a book and log it, I think of her and smile. Maybe my grandchildren will enjoy looking at my log some day.

 

This is just lovely!

[SKL]

Great idea.  I think I'm a little late to start that now though.  :P

[Rosie_0801]

Great idea.  I think I'm a little late to start that now though.  :p

 

You ain't dead yet!

[Anne in CA]

I think it's a good idea. I can't tell you how many times I've started a book only to realize that I have read it before. It's especially annoying if I've purchased a book I've read before, lol.

[Lady Florida.]

No. I don't want to pollute something as wonderful as reading with paperwork.

 

That's what I used to think - until I started keeping one. There were so many books I wanted to read but never got around to them. The list in my head often got pushed aside for other lists and other information. Now I have a list of books to read. I can choose one of them or I can let other books choose me. By keeping track of what I read and when, I can tell people who recommend a book to me that I read it in 2014 but thank you for the rec. 

 

I always wanted my reading and reading choices to be organic and thought a list would kill the spontaneity. I was wrong. 

Edited May 17, 2017 by Lady Florida.

[Sammish]

Yet another GoodReads user here. It's saved me from rereading or requesting from the library a book I've already read many a time (all romance novel titles sound the same - who can keep track of them?  :laugh: ) DH was just lamenting this week that he hadn't kept up with his account, because there was a newish book by an author he liked, and he couldn't figure out if he'd already read it or not.  

 

I have the app on my phone, so it's easy to enter in books as I start and finish them. And we just got a new Kindle, and that lets me automatically update my GoodReads account as a start and finish ebooks. 

 

I like getting their monthly email that tells me about new releases from author's I've read. 

 

Plus, one time I wrote a really glowing review of a book I loved, and the author 'liked' it! Totally made my week :)

[MeghanL]

For me, I have a blog to review the books I've read and that is a good place to log them. 

For the kids, I only track what we get from the library. I have a notebook and I just write the date and the title of the book before I put it in the library tote to be returned. It takes 2 seconds.