February 3, 2020
How do you keep track of the books you read?
Oops! Did someone say I was supposed to do this? Keep track of what books I’ve read? Because I don’t.
Yes, there have been times when I picked up an interesting-looking book and started to read it only to say “I’ve read this before!” It’s a good thing the ebook apps tells me if I’ve bought a book or how much of it I’ve read, because I’d never remember on my own.
I’ve got several stacks of books on the bookshelves in my writing room. If they are in a stack, that means I haven’t read them. Once I’ve read them, they get added to the shelved books, tucked away in storage, or given away. Oh wait, there are exceptions. Some of the books in the stacks are there because they are the wrong height to fit in the empty spaces on my shelves. And then there’s the stack on my desk itself. Those are (supposedly) on the top of my to-be-read list. That’s the only sorting system I have.
The truth is, I’ve got no idea how many books I’ve read in my life. Lots. And lots more. And I’ve never felt the need to keep track of them.
One exception- series. And that’s easy (mostly). Naturally, I want to remember the last book I read in a series. When they’re in physical form, that’s as quick as a glance over my shoulder. And with ebooks, it’s not hard to figure out if you sort by author.
I’m really curious- does anyone actually track the books they read? Put them in spreadsheets or some similar system? Tell me about your system in the comments. Because now I feel like I’m missing out! (And will probably feel guiltier once I read the other posts in the hop!) You can come with by following the links below.
February 3, 2020
How do you keep track of the books you read?
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
The first one I want to mention is put out by ALLi. (The Alliance of Independent Authors) I’m going to join that group one of these days, but for now, I receive their weekly newsletter for non-members. They cover both the craft and the business of writing. They lean heavily on posts from their self-publishing advice center, but also bring in other experts.
Last and probably the worst on my list of distraction. Social media. Any of it. All of you knew that was coming, right? It’s a necessary evil for an indie author, but man, it can be a time-killer. I love seeing all the cool pictures other authors post; but that doesn’t get a book written. Reading reddit forums can generate new book ideas, or just waste time. There are a lot of good podcasts out there, but it’s like mining for gold to get useful information from many of them.
My hunger for reading soon led me to more mature books. Ivanhoe. Rebecca. Frenchman’s Creek. The Scarlet Pimpernel. Even then I preferred novels that featured more action than romance.
