In August of 2006, I began keeping track of every single book I read. Last month, I finished my 2,000th book. This is what I’ve learned over the years.
**Keep track of the books you read** \- Some people swear by a tool like Goodreads, whereas I’ve found that my own home-brewed Google Docs spreadsheet works best for me. Keeping track solved a few problems for me, including accidentally rereading a book I’ve already read, forgetting where I am in a lengthy series, etc. It’s also gamified the whole experience for me a bit, which really suits me well.
**Have a TBR inflow** \- Curating an inflow of book recommendations has kept the quality of the books I read quite high. I have several book blogs I follow, and I shamelessly pillage tons of “best of the year” books every year for example. Randomly perusing a book store is still one of my favorite hobbies, but I’ve found that it’s also a lot more hit and miss than using trusted recommendation sources.
**Keep track of your TBR** \- I have a few TBR-related tabs in my spreadsheet. One is for general books I want to read, one is to keep track of unread books from authors I’ve enjoyed and plan to read more of, and one is for series that I am not done with and want to continue. I’ve found the series tracker to be especially critical, considering how difficult it can be to tell when the next book in a series is coming out, whether a series is done or not, etc.
**Keep track of your favorites and rate all of your books** \- Every year, I write up a summary of my top 10 favorite books I read that year and any honorable mentions. I enjoy posting it to social media and sending it to book friends, as it sparks a lot of fun conversation. This also provides a really handy tool to reference when someone asks you for book recommendations as well – I love being someone else’s TBR inflow!
**Libraries are your best friend** \- This probably goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway! I buy books very regularly, especially from authors I enjoy, but I am at my local library at least once a week.
**Find some book friends** \- If you’re on this subreddit, you’ve probably already done this! But I have different book friends with varying tastes and I run a book club, which is a wonderful way to diversify your own TBR and have enjoyable chats.
**Have a system and don’t get overwhelmed** \- Even averaging 110+ books read a year, my TBR consistently grows rather than shrinks. I’ve made my peace with the fact that my TBR will outlive me! I have a system that keeps new books coming at a steady pace without having to overthink it, while also prioritizing books I’m excited about or that a friend has recommended.
**Find what works for you** \- I get some light teasing from friends and my spouse based upon my “process”, but it works really well for me. I’ve perfected it through years of tweaking and adjusting. Find a system that works for you, and try to smooth away any abrasion points to get down to the parts of being a reader that you love!
Thanks for reading!
As an extra bonus, I began rating books on an arbitrary 1 – 10 scale in 2012. Below are the books I rated a perfect 10 after reading them.
* “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo
* “Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke
* “This is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
* “Here I Am” by Jonathan Safran Foer
* “The Wall of Storms” by Ken Liu
* “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles
* “The Lincoln Highway” by Amor Towles
* “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir
* “Educated” by Tara Westover
* “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
by synchtw