I know that since I’ve had my blog my list of books I want to read has grown so much that every once in a while I think about just chucking it. A good book will find me somehow right? Well, I’m obsessive about books so I’m sure I won’t throw out the list but I do have a question for all of you who also keep reading lists.
Do you make a note of where you first heard about the book? From another book blogger, the newspaper, etc.? The reason I ask is because someone recommended a mystery book to me last year and I just read it this weekend. When I first started writing this blog entry I was going to say “thank you (insert book blogger’s name)” but now I can’t remember who suggested the book to me.
So I’d just like to see how some of you manage that or if you even bother with that at all. I guess it doesn’t really matter but because I’ve been compiling my TBR list for a good five to seven years I’d like to remember why the book got on my list in the first place.
Oh so what was the mystery book? Except the Dying by Maureen Jennings. Excellent period mystery which I’ll review soon.
I tend to make a note if a person recommends something to me or if i’ve heard about it from reading someone’s blog. But if i’ve read about it in a newspaper or in a book of book lists (1001 books you must read before you die) I don’t usually acknowledge it.
I have that same urge myself sometimes! But I do periodically go through my wishlist and purge some titles, particularly the older ones, if they no longer appeal to me (or if I sometimes wonder what possessed me to add them in the first place). Like you, I wanted to keep track of where I got the idea to read such-and-such book, so now in the comments section of my Amazon wishlist, I note who or what made me add it. And just in January, I decided to create a separate list where I can move titles that I’ve read rather than just removing them entirely, so I can look back and still see where I got the idea to read the book, particularly helpful when it may be months between when I get a book and when I actually read it.
Sometimes I mark where I heard about the book. I do mark which ones I want to check out of the library. There are some books that I think are interesting but I’m not sure I’ll like the book or not.
Because I very seldom take book recommendations, I seem to have a pretty good memory about who suggested what when. I should probably start writing that down though because my memory is horrible and for some strange reason I think I’m going to want to remember that sort of thing years from now and with my current “Oh, I’ll remember” method, I’m in for a lot of trouble! 😀
I keep a list that tells me if the book is available from the library or not and more recently where I heard about the book from for the exact reason you mention.
I did this pretty regularly for a while, but then gradually stopped. Thinking I’ll remember who suggested a book has not been successful, especially when I later see the same title listed elsewhere several times. I need to try to be more conscientious about it because knowing where the impetus to read a book came from is an interesting part of one’s reading history, and it is nice to acknowlege the individual who first mentioned it.
I haven’t really kept track of books that are recommended to me or if I come across them on a blog. There are exceptions to that – especially with books that are given to me and you have recommended several to me that I usually note on my blog. But otherwise…I am not as organized as I would like to be….
I lack organizational skills so I certainly can’t manage to keep track. . . unless it’s recommended to me by someone who rarely ever does, and then it sticks.
I try to make a notation on my list of who the recommendation originated with, as well as where I’ve read reviews for the book. Like you, I like to mention this when reviewing a book. Sometimes I forget where I’ve seen the book reviewed though and spend far too much time using the search function on everyone’s blogs (or simply at Blogger) to find all the reviews for a specific book (just did this for Twilight). I need a life. 😉
Thank you everyone! I see some of you are very organized and some of you are a bit like I am at the moment “Oh I’ll remember”. ha,ha. I think I really need to go through the long TBR list and weed out the books that no longer appeal to me. If I get really organized maybe I’ll add a notation if the book was recommended by one of my bloggy friends 🙂
I just started keeping other ‘stats’ in my book journal this year, where I got the idea to read it from, etc. It seems like a fun way to journal reading.
I keep an email folder of book reviews — I subscribe to Powell’s Review-a-Day; I delete most of them but save a select few. Also, if a newspaper review really grabs my, I’ll email the article to myself and save it. I usually don’t bother if it’s a book that’s “hot,” that’s being reviewed everywhere or gathering awards, but I do like to recall where I heard of the more obscure titles.
It’s harder with personal recommendations — sometimes I make a note when I add a title to the list I carry in my purse, sometimes I don’t. I archive my blog posts and comments in gmail, and I occasionally search for, and find, the source if it’s documented there.
First of all–WOW on the new blog look! (Yes, it’s been awhile since I’ve been by.)
Second–I’m not organized enough to make notes of who recommends things to me or how I hear about them, but I still have a really good memory for those kinds of things (I say still because…well…I’m getting older. Aren’t we all?), and so I often can just remember who mentioned the book or where I read about it. Most of the time.
Third–if you like a good period mystery, have you tried AND ONLY TO DECEIVE by Tasha Alexander? I’m reading it now and enjoying it quite a bit, although I think I’ve known who the good guy is and who the bad guy is for quite some time now. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to know or not, but as the reader, if I figure it out too early (which I did in this book, if I’m right), I’m not happy.
Still, I am enjoying it and still reading it–for if I didn’t/wasn’t, I’d put it down. 🙂
Great blog look! I just love it!
I’m only organized enough for my book club, which I run. Writing down the referral source helps me to track down reviews to share with the members.
Another good historical mystery: The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, by Richard Zimler. Even the story behind the book’s publication is fascinating.
I know what you’re talking about, I write down books people recommend but not who those people were! Pretty annoying when you want to talk to them about it!!
I’ve never even thought of making a notation of who recommended what book. Sounds like something I should be doing. It would be nice to know who to thank (or curse) when I finish reading.
I don’t note where I got a recommendation from, although perhaps I should because I forget, too, and sometimes I don’t even recognize the title or author of something I’ve written down and so don’t know why it’s even on the list. But I’m only minimally organized, so I’m not sure I could keep it up.
I’ve only become more organised since I started book blogging. I use my Amazon wishlist to record who recommended what (in the details section), as I use the wishlist more as a reading suggestion list, and rarely purchase anything! I also keep a word document with books I *may* read one day if I ever get the time, and have started recording who recommended it to me. It’s not perfect, but it works most of the time.
Since, I read mostly non-fiction, bloggers don’t reccommend reads. So sad. 🙁 BUT, I love getting the goods (fiction leads) from all my blogging friends.
Thanks again everyone for all your input. You’ve given me some good ideas as to how get a grip on this one 🙂 Oh and Colleen and Susan Helene thank you so much for the mystery recommendations. I am always looking for new mysteries!
I don’t do lists (except daily-to-dos). I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions. I let life flow. Less stress on me.
Iliana, I think it might have been me who recommended Maureen Jennings. I’m a huge fan and I know you were asking for recommendations at one point so I probably piped up then. 🙂
I write down titles (or try to as I never can remember when I think I will remember), mostly I troll for ideas on my blog and happily other bloggers leave suggestions and then I can always go back to the post! I should try and note where I find them, but I never do. Also, a ditto about the Tasha Alexander mystery. It was good (definitely a first novel though). Definitely entertaining and I hope she will get better as each instalment comes out.
Isabel – I do love lists (no new year’s resolutions though) but can see what you mean about them causing stress. I guess I don’t take mine too seriously 🙂
Heather T. – Oh yeah, you remember for me! ha,ha. I love the book. As a matter of fact, I’ve already bought a couple more. Thank you!! 🙂
Danielle – Now that I can keep my comments I think it’ll be easier to remember 🙂 I need to go to the library and see if they have the Alexander mystery!
I love the idea ofcarrying around book journal. Somehow typing book titles into the blackberry doesn’t feel romantic but adding books to a list with pen feels more real. Now what I end up doing is writing book titles on napkins, stuffing them into my laptop bag or purse and then hauling them out to wipe my baby’s face. So the idea of having a mini leahter-bound journal just to write the title of books to read, and books to write, is perfect. Thanks for the great (and easy-to-implement) idea.
Kathleen Molloy, author – Dining with Death
http://www.diningwithdeath.ca
La Mort au menu
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