How I'm Keeping Track of My Reading
I thought I'd take a departure from my reviews and do a quick write-up of the ways I am tracking my reading. One of my favorite things to see from other readers is their reading habits. (At the end of this post I will include some titles that inspired me to live my best reader life, if you will).
Now, my current way of doing things may seem excessive; who knows, halfway through the year I might get lax and not put as much effort into it as I am now. I think the reason I am doing things this way is because I have learned from experience. Over the years, I have forgotten what books I've read, or how many I read in a particular month, or which books I have read and DNFed, simply because I did not keep track. Five years ago, it didn't bother me, but it does now. Plus, I'm a type-A girl; I like to see information organized and laid out neatly. Someday I will look back at this blog and appreciate that I kept such detailed reviews, or I might flip through the pages of my reading journal and remember reading those specific titles at that specific time.
1. Goodreads
I've had Goodreads for a couple years at least. I was never really faithful about updating it or actually using it to track my reading habits. A year ago, I took a college class that was basically about teaching reading. This class utilized GR; we were put into groups and required to write a review of each book we read for the class. (Side-note: I credit this class with giving me back a zeal for reading). After spending more time on GR and witnessing all that it was capable of keeping track of, I decided to utilize it more this year as I attempt to read 100 books.
Firstly, I set up my reading challenge. Sometimes it gets glitchy and doesn't add books that I've read to the total tally for my challenge, but for the most part, it's reliable. Second, I set up a specific bookshelf titled "2020". If for some reason GR glitches and doesn't add my books to my reading challenge, I can manually add any books I read in 2020 to this bookshelf. Third, I utilize the "currently reading" feature. If I make sure to actually list a book as currently reading on the day I start reading it, and mark it as "read" on the day I actually finish it, then GR will actually keep track of how many days I spent reading that book. I can also update GR with what page I am currently on in the book and it will tell me what percentage of that book I have read. I think this has helped my motivation massively because I am able to see my progress.
2. Reading Journal
It seems a little misleading to call it a journal, because I don't record my thoughts there, but we're going with it. Essentially the way this is set up is to have a physical record of what I read over the course of 2020. My current design is each month gets its own page and on that page, I list each book in the order I read them, the author, the date I finished it, and the page number.
That's the extent of what I use it for; it's nothing fancy, just a plain (purple) spiral-bound notebook. The opening page has a basic list of what kind of goals I want to achieve this year (more classics, certain series, etc).
If I decide later on to be a little extra and record more in there, so be it. I know some readers like to keep track of favorite quotes and things like that; that does sound appealing to me, but usually, when I'm reading, I get so engrossed that the thought of pulling myself out to write down a quote is bothersome.
3. Blogging/Reviews
This obviously refers to what you are reading right now! I went back and forth on the whole blog thing. I have had different variations of a blog off and on since I was 13, but ever since I deleted all my social media apps, I've been a little more wary of putting myself out there again (this is the reason why I don't have a photo in my about page, and why it's also very vague in terms of who I am).
However, I decided I wanted to use a blog not so that other people could read it, but for my own benefit and edification. If you are reading this, then GREAT! I hope you get inspired by this! However, my reason for posting about each book I read and writing reviews is so I have something to look back on.
I never wrote reviews on books until I took that reading class a year ago. My reviews are definitely leaning on the informal side, but I write the way the thoughts jumble around in my head. Also, I have a tab called "running list" where I do just that, keep a list of all the books I've read so far. This is easily accessible to me, and if there is anyone out there reading, it's an easy way for you to see the books I've read without having to wade through all the review posts.
4. Planner
This was kind of a last minute, random idea. I have a really basic planner that I'm using this year for school, work, and life in general. I thought one day, "What if I write the title of the book I finished in the day I finished it?" I'm a visual person, so it's fun to look at my monthly calendar and clearly see what my reading progress is like, how much time passes between books, etc.
Well, that's pretty much it. I may end up being lax in one or more of these areas, but the important thing is to read, so I'm not going to be too hard on myself. If there is someone out there reading this, please share how you keep track (or even if you don't keep track) of your reading life. Are you on Goodreads, do you prefer an old-fashioned journal like me, or are you like me from 5 years ago who just read to read and didn't care about keeping track?
Now, my current way of doing things may seem excessive; who knows, halfway through the year I might get lax and not put as much effort into it as I am now. I think the reason I am doing things this way is because I have learned from experience. Over the years, I have forgotten what books I've read, or how many I read in a particular month, or which books I have read and DNFed, simply because I did not keep track. Five years ago, it didn't bother me, but it does now. Plus, I'm a type-A girl; I like to see information organized and laid out neatly. Someday I will look back at this blog and appreciate that I kept such detailed reviews, or I might flip through the pages of my reading journal and remember reading those specific titles at that specific time.
1. Goodreads
I've had Goodreads for a couple years at least. I was never really faithful about updating it or actually using it to track my reading habits. A year ago, I took a college class that was basically about teaching reading. This class utilized GR; we were put into groups and required to write a review of each book we read for the class. (Side-note: I credit this class with giving me back a zeal for reading). After spending more time on GR and witnessing all that it was capable of keeping track of, I decided to utilize it more this year as I attempt to read 100 books.
Firstly, I set up my reading challenge. Sometimes it gets glitchy and doesn't add books that I've read to the total tally for my challenge, but for the most part, it's reliable. Second, I set up a specific bookshelf titled "2020". If for some reason GR glitches and doesn't add my books to my reading challenge, I can manually add any books I read in 2020 to this bookshelf. Third, I utilize the "currently reading" feature. If I make sure to actually list a book as currently reading on the day I start reading it, and mark it as "read" on the day I actually finish it, then GR will actually keep track of how many days I spent reading that book. I can also update GR with what page I am currently on in the book and it will tell me what percentage of that book I have read. I think this has helped my motivation massively because I am able to see my progress.
2. Reading Journal
It seems a little misleading to call it a journal, because I don't record my thoughts there, but we're going with it. Essentially the way this is set up is to have a physical record of what I read over the course of 2020. My current design is each month gets its own page and on that page, I list each book in the order I read them, the author, the date I finished it, and the page number.
That's the extent of what I use it for; it's nothing fancy, just a plain (purple) spiral-bound notebook. The opening page has a basic list of what kind of goals I want to achieve this year (more classics, certain series, etc).
If I decide later on to be a little extra and record more in there, so be it. I know some readers like to keep track of favorite quotes and things like that; that does sound appealing to me, but usually, when I'm reading, I get so engrossed that the thought of pulling myself out to write down a quote is bothersome.
3. Blogging/Reviews
This obviously refers to what you are reading right now! I went back and forth on the whole blog thing. I have had different variations of a blog off and on since I was 13, but ever since I deleted all my social media apps, I've been a little more wary of putting myself out there again (this is the reason why I don't have a photo in my about page, and why it's also very vague in terms of who I am).
However, I decided I wanted to use a blog not so that other people could read it, but for my own benefit and edification. If you are reading this, then GREAT! I hope you get inspired by this! However, my reason for posting about each book I read and writing reviews is so I have something to look back on.
I never wrote reviews on books until I took that reading class a year ago. My reviews are definitely leaning on the informal side, but I write the way the thoughts jumble around in my head. Also, I have a tab called "running list" where I do just that, keep a list of all the books I've read so far. This is easily accessible to me, and if there is anyone out there reading, it's an easy way for you to see the books I've read without having to wade through all the review posts.
4. Planner
This was kind of a last minute, random idea. I have a really basic planner that I'm using this year for school, work, and life in general. I thought one day, "What if I write the title of the book I finished in the day I finished it?" I'm a visual person, so it's fun to look at my monthly calendar and clearly see what my reading progress is like, how much time passes between books, etc.
Well, that's pretty much it. I may end up being lax in one or more of these areas, but the important thing is to read, so I'm not going to be too hard on myself. If there is someone out there reading this, please share how you keep track (or even if you don't keep track) of your reading life. Are you on Goodreads, do you prefer an old-fashioned journal like me, or are you like me from 5 years ago who just read to read and didn't care about keeping track?
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