# how do you keep track of books you've read?



## austenfiend (Nov 17, 2009)

Do you have a spreadsheet that you keep information on?  Do you just have a good memory? (sorry, that leaves me out!).  I was just wondering what is the quickest way to keep track of books that have been read and possibly have a rating system for them.  Any thoughts/ideas would be appreciated!  I just started using my Kindle last night, am starting my second book, and have accomplished nothing else!


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

This is a common question, and everybody has their own system... I use Delicious Library on my iMac. You might also be interested in trying Shelfari or GoodReads, which are both online.


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## Sporadic (May 1, 2009)

austenfiend said:


> Do you have a spreadsheet that you keep information on? Do you just have a good memory? (sorry, that leaves me out!). I was just wondering what is the quickest way to keep track of books that have been read and possibly have a rating system for them. Any thoughts/ideas would be appreciated! I just started using my Kindle last night, am starting my second book, and have accomplished nothing else!


I track the books I read through my Twitter account. Good for when I'm away from the computer (since you can access m.twitter.com through the wireless browser on the Kindle)


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

A lot of times I review the book--(I used to review for a review site) on my blog or on Amazon.  Admittedly the more I like a book the better chance it has of getting reviewed so I'm actually better about "tracking" books that I *liked.*


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

I started a spreadsheet after I got my Kindle.  I wish I had started a lot sooner, because I'm finding there
are books I've read that I've forgotten about until I read the description, or sometimes a chapter or two 
into it.
deb


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## MikeD (Nov 5, 2008)

Excel spreadsheet.


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## bkworm8it (Nov 17, 2008)

MikeD said:


> Excel spreadsheet.


Ditto.

I put title, author, short description to jog my memory, rating, and final kindle location number.

theresam


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## OnOneWheel (Jul 25, 2009)

Excel spreadsheet. Purchases (To Be Read) are in black. Once I read them I mark that line in red (get it red/read...)


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## austenfiend (Nov 17, 2009)

Thanks for all the great ideas, everyone.  BTW, what does 'final Kindle location number' mean? drenee, I know what you mean, I thought I'd better start a list from the get-go.  The memory isn't what it used to be.


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## bce (Nov 17, 2009)

austenfiend said:


> The memory isn't what it used to be.


They say the memories the first to go.

At least I think that's what they say.


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## matte633 (Nov 30, 2009)

Thanks for the good ideas.   It used to be a bookshelf that I proudly displayed all of my recent reads...


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Oogie Pringle said:


> They say the memories the first to go.
> 
> At least I think that's what they say.


I used to know what was first to go. But I forgot.


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## chilady1 (Jun 9, 2009)

I use Calibre and once I have completed the book, I add to the tags "Completed" with the date.


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## libros_lego (Mar 24, 2009)

I use goodreads, but it'd be nice to have a reading journal. Maybe an oberon...?


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## suicidepact (May 17, 2009)

Right now I use memory, though I suspect I'll be using tags and Calibre  very soon.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I use Bento on my MacBook to keep track of what I've read and purchased. I used to use Filemaker Pro, but upgrades got too expensive. Bento syncs with my iPod Touch, so I have the info at my easy chair or whenever I go to bookstores.

Mike


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

MikeD said:


> Excel spreadsheet.


Same here - I just started it recently so I'm sure I've forgotten some books. But I got curious as to how many books I'd read - so it's just a list of the books I've already read. My TBR list is my home page. Which is way too long.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I use Goodreads, but I just started an Excel sheet today.


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

I use Goodreads and also tag things in Calibre with a star when I have read them.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Paper books I put a mark in and put them on the "I read this already" shelf.  

Ebooks from Amazon, I note in "Your Collection" when I've read the book.

Non-Amazon ebooks are generally classics that I usually remember if I've read, and if not, I read 'em again and that's o.k. too.


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## MikeD (Nov 5, 2008)

jmiked said:


> I use Bento on my MacBook to keep track of what I've read and purchased. I used to use Filemaker Pro, but upgrades got too expensive. Bento syncs with my iPod Touch, so I have the info at my easy chair or whenever I go to bookstores.
> 
> Mike


Heh. Brings back memories. 

I used to develop Environmental dbs on 4th Dimension and Filemaker Pro for some Mac based customers. In fact my original "books read" spreadsheet was based on an Informix program called WingZ for the Mac. Over the years it moved to Lotus and then to Excel. So, I've been keeping a spreadsheet of books read since the late '80s. 

Before that, I would put a sticky blue dot (available from an office supply house) on the spine of any book that I read and a sticky red dot on the spine of any book that my wife read. Pretty cool. You could tell at a glance which books on the book shelf that either of us had read.


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## gina1230 (Nov 29, 2009)

I use Book Collector from Collectorz.com.  I am able to rate books, mark as read/unread, among many other things.  I believe they have a free trial version for the first 100 books, so you are able to get a very good idea if this is something that would interest you.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Maybe I should get back to work on the web tool discussed here? (I ran into a couple speed bumps, then got distracted by other projects -- ones that actually pay the bills.  )


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

MikeD said:


> Heh. Brings back memories.
> So, I've been keeping a spreadsheet of books read since the late '80s.


I started about 1982. I got my first computer in 1981 and wrote a BASIC database program that kept track of my books. I think it went to an Atari database after that, then to Appleworks on my //c, then to PCFile+ for a while, then to FileMaker Pro, where it stayed until this year.

Mike


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## MikeD (Nov 5, 2008)

jmiked said:


> I started about 1982. I got my first computer in 1981 and wrote a BASIC database program that kept track of my books. I think it went to an Atari database after that, then to Appleworks on my //c, then to PCFile+ for a while, then to FileMaker Pro, where it stayed until this year.
> 
> Mike


Very cool. 

You were a little ahead of me. My first PC was a IIc and then an Atari ST (I still have the Atari around here somewhere), but I didn't create my "books read" spreadsheet until later.


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## RavenclawPrefect (May 4, 2009)

I use Calibre and tag it as "Read" when I am done.  I also have a journal that I keep. Because I am just this way, I may start a spreadsheet as well.


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## akpak (Mar 5, 2009)

Goodreads, a #readlog tag on my Twitter and now the monthly totals thread here


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

MikeD said:


> Very cool.
> 
> You were a little ahead of me. My first PC was a IIc and then an Atari ST (I still have the Atari around here somewhere), but I didn't create my "books read" spreadsheet until later.


I started with an Atari 800, then got an ST. I still have both, the 800 for Shamus, and the ST for Time Bandits and Airball.  

Mike


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

Book journals since 2000.  When I was a kid, I made index cards and alphabetized them like they had at the library.  I should go look for that file box sometime...

N


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Today I input most of my kindle, paperback and hardcover reads from late 2008 through 2009 in Excel Spreadsheet.  My input was random, but I did sorts on other sheets within the workbook for alpha Author, Book Titles, Genre, Reading Status and Book Format.  Now I really feel geeky.

I don't think I'll ever get all my paper books into this from other years.  As I enter more books to my random input list, I'll do new sorts to replace the other sheets.


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

On the Kindle, I've been putting a note at the beginning of the book with the date I started it and a note at the end with the date I finished.



jmiked said:


> I started about 1982. I got my first computer in 1981 and wrote a BASIC database program that kept track of my books. I think it went to an Atari database after that, then to Appleworks on my //c, then to PCFile+ for a while, then to FileMaker Pro, where it stayed until this year.


Awesome. In high school I wrote a library program in Pascal for my final project.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Neekeebee said:


> Book journals since 2000. When I was a kid, I made index cards and alphabetized them like they had at the library. I should go look for that file box sometime...
> 
> N


Oh, yeah. I had a book journal when I lived in France for a while in the mid-1950s. Its still around somewhere. I went to index cards for a while, then to computers.

I'd forgotten about the journal.

Mike


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## PraiseGod13 (Oct 27, 2008)

I started my Excel spreadsheet before I even had my Kindle (I saved for 8 months to buy it).  So, first it was my "Wish List" and then developed into my Book List once I got my Kindle.  I have title, author, price paid, date purchased and where I got the book from.  Once I've read a book, I go into my spreadsheet and put an * right before the title so it makes it easy to scan down the list and see what I've read and what's TBR.  I keep my spreadsheet right on my desktop for easy accessability and every couple of months I print out a paper copy for when my laptop isn't available.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I don't keep track of everything I've read, that would be exhausting and I don't see the purpose of it anyway. I do keep track of books in my personal library with librarian pro


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Cobbie said:


> I'm new and don't have many books, but I move them to my Archive on my K2. Is this wrong?


Of course not. I also delete any book that I have finished.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

pidgeon92 said:


> Of course not. I also delete any book that I have finished.


Me, too. They are all in Calibre, anyway, so there's not much point in cluttering up the Home Page.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

Hmm. Interesting. I've never thought about having a "read" book list. I should probably start. Does anyone have a good Facebook application of this that they like?


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

AddieLove said:


> Hmm. Interesting. I've never thought about having a "read" book list. I should probably start. Does anyone have a good Facebook application of this that they like?


I've been using WeRead. Only one I've tried so I have nothing to compare it to, but I like it for putting my current "read" on my page and seeing what my FB friends are reading.


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## Richard in W.Orange (Nov 24, 2009)

Paper books -- they don't get shelved until they're read. If they are not on an "appropriate bookcase" then, they're not read. (Speaking of which, the drawer of the nightstand which is not a bookcase had 3 books in it when I cleaned this week.)

I haven't quite figured this out yet where the kindle's concerned. Now I can keep track by looking at the little 'how far bar' (does it have an official name) on the home screen for that I've read v. that I haven't. I susupect when there are more books I'll have to come up with something more 'effective'. (This would be a good use for a folder.)


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

MikeD said:


> You were a little ahead of me. My first PC was a IIc and then an Atari ST (I still have the Atari around here somewhere), but I didn't create my "books read" spreadsheet until later.


My first PC was a IIc as well, but I was 5, so I obviously wasn't making a "books read" spreadsheet, though I could have (and it would have been QUITE long) if I'd known what a spreadsheet was. We did have Appleworks, after all. But with the advent of Kindle, I'm just now (for about a year) tracking my purchases and reads in Excel.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

We're supposed to keep track?  

If I can't remember that I've already read a book, I might as well re-read it.    Actually this rarely happens to me, I pretty much can remember if I've read a book.

Betsy


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

I have to keep track. There are a lot of series out there where the title has very little to do with the actual story line, so I really can't remember unless I have my book journal to refer back to. Can't trust the ol' memory to recall whether it was _Snickerdoodle Cupcake Murder _or _Pomegranate Crepes Murder_ (not actual titles) that I read and disliked. 

Also, it's the ones that were bad that I tend to forget...wouldn't want to waste precious reading time reading _those_ again! 

N


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> We're supposed to keep track?


Of course!

One of the reasons I like to keep track is that if I really enjoyed a book, I can look up that author later and see if they have written anything new.


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

I use Readerware to track all of my books DTB and eBook formats.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I'm too disorganized to keep track.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

pidgeon92 said:


> Of course!
> 
> One of the reasons I like to keep track is that if I really enjoyed a book, I can look up that author later and see if they have written anything new.


What happens with me, is that if I find a new author I like, I immediately go and get all the books I can find by that author and read them all. Then I don't really have a problem remembering the author's name and checking on them occasionally.  I have Readerware, and I really like it, but I don't look up books in it. I use it more to see how many books I have or which books by an author I bought as opposed to reading from the library, or just to play with 'cause I like software.

Betsy


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## TC Beacham (Nov 23, 2009)

I used to keep notecards but haven't done that in a while. I was thinking of joining goodreads, as some here have done. 

To goodread members: How do you like the site? Have you had good discussions there, or do you just go there to keep track of your books?

Thanks!


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## imon32red (Jun 15, 2009)

I don't.  In fact when I used to read a lot of fiction, sometimes I would read thirty or forty pages of a book and then realize that I had already read it.


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

TC Beacham said:


> I used to keep notecards but haven't done that in a while. I was thinking of joining goodreads, as some here have done.
> 
> To goodread members: How do you like the site? Have you had good discussions there, or do you just go there to keep track of your books?
> 
> Thanks!


I rarely take part in the discussions there, mostly just use it for book tracking and to see what my friends are reading


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## Shadowraven (May 7, 2009)

jmiked said:


> I started about 1982. I got my first computer in 1981 and wrote a BASIC database program that kept track of my books. I think it went to an Atari database after that, then to Appleworks on my //c, then to PCFile+ for a while, then to FileMaker Pro, where it stayed until this year.
> 
> Mike





jmiked said:


> Oh, yeah. I had a book journal when I lived in France for a while in the mid-1950s. Its still around somewhere. I went to index cards for a while, then to computers.
> 
> I'd forgotten about the journal.
> 
> Mike


Whew, glad I'm not the only one  The one good thing my English 9 teacher did was have us create an annotated bibiliography of all the books we had read. That year I also added grades 6-8 and have been keeping track ever since. Thanks to a recommendation from a member here I went onto Shelfari last night and started adding them. I'm excited to see what my final count is


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

can calibre track dtb's?


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

I use Calibre. When I load a book into Calibre, I make sure there are no stars in the "Rating" field. Then, each time I read the book, I give it an additional star. One star means I've read it once, two means twice, etc.

Can you list a DTB in Calibre? Good question and the answer is ... YES!! With Calibre open, click the drop down arrow just to the right of the Add books button. The last option on the drop down list is "Add Empty book". Click that option and then OK (unless you want to add more than one book). Back in Calibre, click oonce on the new line (I think the title will be listed as Unknown), then click the "Edit meta information" button on the toolbar and make whatever changes you want to the book information. You may get lucky - after entering the book's title, click the "Fetch metadata from server" button near the bottom of the Meta data page and, if it can find the book, it will complete most of the metadata information for you.


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## BruceS (Feb 7, 2009)

gina1230 said:


> I use Book Collector from Collectorz.com. I am able to rate books, mark as read/unread, among many other things. I believe they have a free trial version for the first 100 books, so you are able to get a very good idea if this is something that would interest you.


I highly recommend Book Collector as well. They also offer Movie Collector to keep track of your DVD/Blu-ray collection.

The best part about both applications is that there is a corresponding app for the iPhone so that you always know what ones you have already purchased when you are out shopping for more.


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## BasicGreatGuy (Dec 27, 2009)

I made a Microsoft Word document that I use to keep inventory of all my books and the various genres thereof.  I suppose making a spreadsheet in Excel would work very nicely, if one had the notion.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

<brain......... but it is easier with Kindle.. I only keep books I have not read on my Kindle, once I read them, they get moved off.
I do have to check original publish dates sometimes when looking for a book to buy. darn publishers reprinting new covers on old books.


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## earthlydelites (Dec 12, 2009)

thanks for the tips, I'll start off using calibre and adding the tag in there


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

I am looking for an easy software to track my tbr and catalog my have read I just made the move to a mac so I'm using a combo of goodreads and a spread sheet in pages but am interested in a software that is designed for this.  Any suggestions? I need to be able to include Dtb's as well as I still have a pretty large pile of them to read


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

mistyd107 said:


> I am looking for an easy software to track my tbr and catalog my have read I just made the move to a mac so I'm using a combo of goodreads and a spread sheet in pages but am interested in a software that is designed for this. Any suggestions? I need to be able to include Dtb's as well as I still have a pretty large pile of them to read


Maybe in another month or so my web-based book list app will be ready.


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## pomlover2586 (Feb 14, 2009)

I currently just use my memory.....Though the idea of a Journal/Book log does sound promising to me.....I wouldn't want to track it via computer- something like this to me should be more "personal" so it could be passed on to my kids. May sound strange but yeah....at any rate it gives me and excuse to go look at Oberons some more! LOL


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Maybe in another month or so my web-based book list app will be ready.


THIS is exactly what I'm looking for love the idea of drop down lists,being able to mark read,tbr. ect and I love that format is included as well. Please let us know when its ready if you don't mind


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## Digital Tempest (Dec 17, 2009)

I use Goodreads and (sometimes, when I remember) an Excel spreadsheet.


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## summerteeth (Dec 23, 2009)

I just started using Shelfari.  I tried goodreads and I didn't like it so much.  I think Shelfari is a bit more accessible, IMO.


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