As you may have noticed, I’m an avid type-A list-maker. This, and inspiration from my mom (thanks, mom!), led me to start my book-book in 2016. You don’t have to be a list-maker to enjoy a book-book but I suspect it will appeal most to my fellow type-A-ers out there.
What is a book-book?
Now you may be wondering WTF is abook-book and I am here to tell you. My “book-book” is the journal/list/notebook where I keep track of all the books I read, almost like a non-digital, old-fashioned form of Goodreads. It’s my book where I keep track of my books, hence the name “book-book” (not a very eloquent name but it gets the job done).
I love my book-book because it feels old-school (pen & paper for the win), it helps me look back and remember what book’s I’ve read in past years, and it helps me keep track of my yearly reading goal. “Yearly reading goal” sounds superlame but I’ll admit I do enjoy setting reading goals for myself just to see how many books I can read in a year. It also helps me remember to actually make time to read even during my busiest weeks and take a little time just for myself.
My book-book is also a way to not only keep track of what I’ve read but to rate it. I use a 5 star system to rate each book:
- 1 star = not good
- 2 stars = struggled to finish but glad I did
- 3 stars = enjoyed
- 4 stars = loved it and would recommend to a friend
- 5 stars = would read again
In the history of my book-book only one book has ever received 1 star, it’s truly reserved for books I think shouldn’t exist. Books that I don’t finish don’t get recorded and books I’m rereading get a heart.
The great thing about a book-book though is that you can make it entirely your own! I just note title, author, and rating but Mom will sometimes add notes about the plot, what she liked, didn’t like, etc. to remember a little bit more about each book. It’s really just a fun ritual and can be whatever you want it to be.
I tend to plow through books so quickly, I just devour the plot and then move on to the next one, and I sometimes forget what I’ve read in a year so my book-book is a fun way to look back over my list. It also creates a great sense of accomplishment. Again, this sounds a little silly, it’s just a list in a book after all, but it’s one of the small joys in life and I love it. It helps me track each little victory of finishing a book, something that gets tougher and tougher as life busier.
Why should you have one?
So I’ve told you why I love my book-book but why should you keep one? Is “because it’s awesome” a valid answer? No? Ok, you’re right.
Firstly, I think book-books are great for everyone, not just people who read a mountain of books a year. It can an encouragement tool to meet your reading goal, a way to mark down your favorite books to share with friends, or just a place to make a few notes about your most recent read. Like I said, it can be whatever you want it to be! Plus you’ll have an excuse to pick out a new notebook and who doesn’t love that?
You couldjust use Goodreads and go all electronic but what fun is that? I do have an account, but I mostly use it to keep track of the books on my to readlist – that barcode scanner on the app is so handy when I’m wandering around Barnes & Noble. But there’s just something to be said for actually writing something down. It’s like getting a real letter in the mail, it’s just fun!
Is anyone else out there already using a book-book? If you do or if you’re going to start one, tell me how you’ll use it! Are you using a 5 star system like me or something entirely different? Also if you have any ideas for a classier name than “book-book” please share!
Aimee Lerman says
The only other information I keep in my own book-book (that you haven’t already mentioned) is a FIC/NON-FIC note. Also, in addition to keeping my list in chronological order – just adding as I go – in a few cases I have set aside a page or half-page for specific, favorite authors like Susanna Kearsley, JK Rowling, and Anne Bishop. For those authors, I list the books I read in their special section rather than in my year-by-year chronological listing. I do also sometimes add a publication year in parentheses next to each title, for example, I started my Anne BIshop dedicated page in 2016 (I think) and got caught up on the titles she had published in her Others series to that point. As each new book in that series has come out, I’ve added it to that same list but with the post-2016 publication year added to the reference.