16 Comments

I have Google Sheets going back 13 years. It's not a fancy system but it's searchable, which is amazingly helpful sometimes, and it works for me!

Expand full comment

This could work for me. Don't know why I haven't thought of it. I have some lists in Evernote but they aren't in sheet form and it's disorganized.

Expand full comment

I am a spreadsheet person and honestly, haven't found any system that's easier, better organized, or more efficient even with all the options out there. (I use Evernote, Notion, and Confluence for other things, including work, but nothing will ever convince me to abandon Google Sheets when it comes to recording my reading.)

Expand full comment
author

Awe, that sounds wonderful to have a listing of the books you've read over the last 13 years.

Expand full comment

It definitely is.

Expand full comment

This is helpful, Gayla - I'm interested in what you decide about Storygraph. I am looking for a clean, easy way to track my reading. My husband gave me a nice journal to use a few years back but now it is stuffed with handwritten notes. I like something that is easier to organize. I keep started TBR lists and then Books I've read by year. Goodreads -- I'm very inconsistent with that.

Expand full comment
author

I love journals, they are so pretty, almost too pretty to mess up with my messing handwriting. I'm looking forward to using Storygraph for my 2022 reads, mainly for the stats capabilities. To be honest, I don't know much about it at this point, learning more about it is my "time off at Christmas" project.

Expand full comment

I use Goodreads and Story Graph and an excell spreadsheet…..probably overkill but I’m a nerd!

Expand full comment
author

I love the nerdy. I know you told me in the past that Storygraph doesn't have shelves and that's my biggest concern prior to beginning. But I'm not planning on loading anything from GR, so maybe not having shelves but having what Storygraph offers will be a good trade-off.

Expand full comment

Love the idea of reading logs for children! My nephew is a big reader, & will now be getting one along with his Christmas present!

Expand full comment
author

I love that idea too. If they are readers, think about what this will mean to them many years later to have these journals to look back on and share with their own kids.

Expand full comment
Nov 25, 2021Liked by Gayla Gray

I love the idea of book journals and wish I would have thought to do this earlier in life. It wasn't until I joined a book club about 4-5 years ago that I started doing that. I like to use the handwritten journal format. I also like it to be simple, I just record the book, author, month read, and book format (Kindle or book purchase, library book, book club, etc.).

This last year, I also started trying to keep my journal online using Goodreads, but I have been bad about keeping that one up-to-date.

Expand full comment
author

I use GR to record the books I own (print and e-book), the books I receive as ARC's and the books I've read. I will assign a star rating, but I do not write a review. There are only so many hours in a day and I don't have time to do that, although I wish I did. I'm excited about Storygraph for next year, let me know if you might be interested in exploring this together next year in our G & M book club.

Expand full comment
Nov 25, 2021Liked by Gayla Gray

It will be great to discuss it. I've learned so much about books, book clubs, and book websites from you over the years and look forward to our talks.

Expand full comment

Ah yet another new habit to commit to. I have read consistently my whole life but never kept a journal. I am always impressed when someone comes to the bookclub with organized notes about the book just read. I'm not sure why I never did but this might be the gentle push needed. Thanks.

Expand full comment
author

There's no time like the present to start keeping track of what you read. I wish I had done this all of my had reading life. I know how my reading tastes have changed as I've gotten older; I'd love to be able to read what my younger self thought back then about some of the books that I read in the past and would not read today. lol

Expand full comment