Keeping track of the piles

     This is the birthday card my parents sent me last week, and they couldn't have chosen anything more apt as it does indeed resemble my TBR pile!

     The picture is entitled "Been to the Library" and it's by the artist Irene George, but while most of my books don't come from the library, I do have something approaching that number waiting to be read.

     I know that many of the visitors to this website would, if they could, come home from the library with a haul like the one shown, or - now here's a thought - they'd like nothing better than a 'trolley dash' round a book shop: all you can grab in two minutes flat!

     But how do you keep track of what you have in your pile? I use a spreadsheet because I need to record quite a lot of information, and then I have a simple notebook for jotting things I want to remember about a book as I read it. I rather fancy something like this, (there's more on it here) which is 'organised' and has space for storing cuttings and reviews, but a really comprehensive system of whatever nature would be welcome.

     How about you? - that is everyone bar Dark Puss, who famously has no TBR pile of which to keep track (strange cat!).

   

Comments

[Lizzie]

Good to know it's not just me! Similar pile - and I go to the library too! Now that I have retired from full time work, I am planning a reading extravaganza. Well, alongside all the other things.....
I used to use a similar journal to the one you like, but didn't really make time to complete it for every book I wanted to read/had read. So now I use my Amazon wishlist for a note of books I want to read, and may now find time again to list those I have. The TBR pile - those physically present - doesn't actually get listed at all. Thanks for the blog.

[Claire (Paperback Reader)]

Like Lizzie I have a physical book journal (lovely thing) that I list all the books read in plus quotes. My Amazon wishlist is used to take note of the books that I want to read and is a handy reference for book buying expeditions or library requests. My actual TBR pile is listed mentally.

Belated happy birthday!

[Barbara MacLeod]

No, I reckon if I can read along with your (wonderful) Book Group I am doing well! I do not have a pile (except on my Amazon Wish List) and rather enjoy being introduced to your monthly suggestions.

I am currently away in another world with this month's Elizabeth Jenkins book - a pleasant read sitting in the garden with one's feet up and within reach of a glass of Merlot!

[[email protected]]

Years ago I bought a Book Lovers Record Book. But it was so lovely I felt to write lists there would spoil it. Instead my lists of books that I see reviewed, in shops etc are kept in a small notebook which I carry at all times. I usually have a reference as to where I found the recommendation as I can then link back if needed. NF and F kept at seperate ends of the notebook.
In January I started to keep brief notes/quotes of each book I read. Before that I had just kept lists of books read each month. On commencing a book I tuck a piece of paper into it along with the book mark to jot things down. Until May I transferred these notes into a bigger journal....but now am way behind. I am hoping a recent birthday present of a voice recorder which can be linked onto a computer, so transferring the spoken word into print maybe the answer; except I have yet to master the softwear!
The TBR pile is just that. An evergrowing haphazard pile on the bookshelf, rather like your card!

[Pat]

Oh dear, you are putting me all to shame with your journals and lists and spreadsheets. I list books I've read on the sidebar of my blog but the TBR pile is scattered throughout the house, perched haphazardly on bookshelves, tables, any spare surface and even stacked on the floor. When I get it into my head that the time is right for a particular book I quite often can't find it. Books once destined to be "next" slide off over the horizon, ushered away by newer, more tempting books. I think I need help!

[Karin]

I use LibraryThing (www.librarything.com) to keep track of books I own, books I have read, books to look at etc. You have to pay up (if I remember correctly a very reasonable 10 dollars a year or 25 for lifetime membership) if you want to enter more than 200 books, but by using collections and/or tags you can divide your books into whatever categories you want (tbr is a commonly used tag!). There are also fields where you can enter reviews, dates read, comments, private comments and lots of other things, so it is quite adaptable to use as you want. Some people use it for just their physical library of books they own, but lots of others like myself also use it to keep track of books of interest.

Maybe not as handy as a notebook for book buying expeditions, though you can print out lists and there is also a mobile version if you have a suitable phone (not sure what it shows as my phone is too ancient to use in this way).

[Simon T]

Lovely card! And happy belated birthday.
My parents bought me lots of notecards, so I have four file holders of all the books I own... In terms of tbr, I just grab something off the shelf - but most of the time I'm reading for a book group or for university, or review books. And I keep a list in the back of my journal for each year - and then another list in another book!

[Fran H-B]

An additional comment- just having a quiet browse through some new to me book blogs when I found a link to this:
http://www.readingnotes.co.uk/index.html

Maybe this is a book I would use, it looks small enough to carry about, and I could stop having pieces of paper everywhere.