How Do You Keep Track of What You Read?

January 09, 2012

Have you ever picked up a book and gotten a few pages into it, only to have this sneaky feeling that you've already read it? Do you have a way of keeping track of the books you've read?

I've thought before that it would sure be nice if the library could keep track of what I've checked out, but then it still wouldn't cover the non-library books I read. (The library doesn't do this for space and privacy reasons.) So, I've created a list of my own in an Excel spreadsheet, and it's great to be able to refer to it and search for an author or book title to see if I've read it. I've added more information to this list in recent years, like my rating of the book and a brief description. So, if my friends want me to recommend a book to them, I can just go to the list.

Some people use Goodreads.com to keep track of books they've read, books they'd like to read, and others use the My Lists function on MCPL’s Catalog. Maybe you just have a good memory and keep track of them in your head, or maybe you have some other great way of doing it. Post a comment to this blog and share how you do it with us! With a new year underway, it could be a good time to start a new method.

Lori G.
Colbern Road Branch