Your 'Read' list on GR

[Angie]

(I hope this is the correct spot for this question.)

I've kept a book log since late 1999. When I joined GR (in 2008) I decided I would only add books to my 'Read' list that I'd read since joining GoodReads. (I've made some exceptions because of the '1001 Books to Read Before You Die' list. Many of those books I read quite a few years ago.)

I was wondering how everyone else manages their 'Read' list. Have you added every book you remember reading? What guidelines, if any, do you all use.

[Laura]

I have everything I can remember reading on there - but my memory ain't what it used to be.

[Jessica]

I started keeping a Microsoft Word document of books I read starting in 2007. When I joined GR in May 2008, I added all of the books that were on that list and then went and added books I had remembered reading in school. I've added a few Dr. Seuss books and such from my childhood but for the most part, my read list is books I've read from junior high on.

[Angie]

Thanks for your input, ladies.

I think I want to add some of my other books, but only those whose stories I can remember well, and that I can give an honest rating/review to.

[Becky]

I also have everything that I can remember reading on GR. I'm not as obsessive as Fiona (yet) but I do like cataloging my books as well. I LOVE the cloud feature here.

I have a goodish number of shelves, but the main one that I've been working from lately is my "owned-to-read" shelf, which contains all of the books that I own but haven't read.

I also wanted to keep track of how many books I've read per year, but never did before GR, so this year I created a "read-in-2009" shelf. I didn't create a "read-in-2008" shelf since I joined mid-year and didn't want to have inaccurate data.

I'm a bit picky about having correctly shelved books and stuff, so if I can't keep track accurately, I just won't keep track. (I also have a "to-be-shelved" shelf so that when I add new books to my "to read" shelf I can just stick them there until I'm ready to move it onto the appropriate shelves.)

I can't remember all of the books that I read in childhood, so if it recalls memories for me, I'll add it... The Cay comes to mind. When I look at the title of this book, I feel like I've read it, but I can't be certain, so I will have to re-read it one day. I still have it on my list as "read" though. I gave it 3-stars since I couldn't absolutely remember reading it and wanted to be fair. :)

[JG (Introverted Reader)]

Fiona, you should have been a statistician!

I've added all the books I can remember reading. If I don't remember them well enough to rate/review them, I don't. That probably says something about the book right there, doesn't it?

[Jeane]

Ince 2004 I have a little notebook where i write in the book I read everytime I finsihed it. I restart the lsit at number one every new year. This way I also see how many books I read in a year.

On GR I added every book I read and remembered for now. Now and then I find a book I know I read once and add it, doesn't matter when I read it. Only with Patricia Cornwell I didn't put them all on read because when I was home I started rereading them all, so the to read ones I actually read already but want to reread them.

[Jill]

I add all the books I can remember reading ever. I know I'm still missing a lot.

[[deleted user]]

I have added a lot of books that I have read but some I would like to re-read like Little Women so it's not marked right now. I know I have read more books then I have marked.

[Bree]

My "read" list is mostly what I've read since I joined GR, though when I first joined, I rated a few that I'd read recently (as in the last couple months). The only exceptions to that are Where The Heart Is by Billie Letts, and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult - both of those are SUCH favorites, I had to add them. :)

[Kandice]

When I first joined, I didn't join any groups, so I jusr read all the reviews as they came up. If there was a review for a book I remembered reading it, I would add it. I know I have read more books than I have added to my shelves, but I just don't have the gumption to really sit down and figure it out.
Of course now, I add books as I read them, and TRY to review them all.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ]

I've only listed the books I can remember reading. My reading log only goes back 5 years, but even when I entered the books I didn't list all the dates read (too much work lol), and only added reviews (mostly just stars not a typed review) if I could remember the book. My bigger problem was that I'm entering tons of harlequins into GRs and I can't tell you for the life of me most of the ones I read as only a few stand out as familiar. In that case, since I can't remember, they're going in marked as unread.

Oh, and I didn't like how goodreads gave you only three options for read, currently-reading, and to-read. So I made a new shelf and made it exclusive (just like the ones that come with GR) and labeled it "unread". That way I can seperate those I want to read with those on my shelves that are unread. (Exclusive shelves mean that a book can only be in any one exclusive shelf at a time, but in any number of regular shelves.)

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

I've put down anything I can remember reading, with approximate date. I'm sure I haven't remembered everything!

[silvia]

I put down everything I remenber reading also.

but I have a shelf labeled 2008 - whit all the books I've read last year and I'm doing the same whit 2009. tried to do the same whit 2007 but didnt ave the patience to check the notebook that I used before.

I also have one shelf for whislist - books I want to read but dont have

[Maria]

about 8 years ago, i started keeping a notebook of the books i wanted to read and crossed off as i went. i've gone through some cycles, including losing some of the pages in the original notebook, but i now have a special notebook for it. anyway, when i found GR in the summer of 08, i transferred all of the books there, including the ones i had read, onto my list. i also added books not on the list i keep in the notebook, but remembered my opinion on them when i read them (books from HS and college, some YA lit, stuff like that). my total list is over 1000, i think my TBR is close to 800, and my read list is near 300. every so many months i go through and update my GR list with the books i've added to my written one through things like BookPages, recommendations, and book club fliers.

[Missy]

Interesting question. I don't really have a strict guideline I follow, I just decide when I finish a book whether it deserves to be on my list or not. I've omitted a lot that were just silly, couple-hour reads that weren't very good and I probably found and some yard-sale or second hand bookstore. There's also the books that I just completely forgot about, which is probably a good handful. And then there's the hundreds of children's books that I was reading not so long ago that I would just feel silly entering. I've kept it to only the most "special", like Little House on the Prairie and The Cricket in Times Square. These are also noticeably different from the 50+ Berenstein Bears books I gushed over 10 years ago. :)

I guess it just all depends. Most of the books I'm reading now are entered, as I'm past the stage where I'll find some random, not very well written and completely unknown young adult book and read it.

[Stephanie]

Until GR, I never kept a record of what I was reading, so I don't have anywhere near a complete list. However, when I joined I added everything I could remember reading recently. As I go through other people's bookshelves, if I see one I have read I add it. I've added a few YA and childrens books as I've come across them if they are ones that had a significant impact on me (although I must have read the entire Babysitter's Club series ... and Goosebumps ... and Fear Street .... books when I was younger and I am not really interested in going back and adding all of those). I would love to have all the books I've read from high school and after on here, but sadly my "read" shelf is nowhere near complete.

[Angela]

I have added everything I remember reading, with the expection of Sweet Valley Twins, Sweek Vally High, Babysitters Club... I have only added high school books that we were required to read that I remembered reading. I love this site because I can keep track of everything and no more picking up a book and wondering if I read it or not- I hate that!!

[Lynlee4]

I'm like Angie....have added what I've read since joining GR with a few exceptions.

I have a list from 2006 to date on bookcrossing.com.

[Stef]

I have added about a fifth of the books I own and put them on the READ- ot TBR-shelf. I am not done with adding. I haven't added books I read but don't own because I can't remember all the books I lent from the library as a kid.

[Kristina]

I've kept lists of what I read since 2006, and when I became a member here, I added everything, but made sure I also made folders for each year. So it's "Read in 2006" etc. Makes it easier for me, and for people who are interested in what I read. :)

[Liz]

I started by putting the reads I kept a list of from 2006 until my join date. Then I went back to other lists (bibliophile & Library thing) and put the READS from there on here. Then the rest were added later as I remember that I read them. I put everything I've read (except stuff I read as a kid).

[Carol]

I´m trying to remember all the books I´ve ever read and the dates.. It´s hard, but..

And I´m not entering the childhood books cause I live in Brazil and they are very different from what I find here!

[Gabby]

I honestly read too much to keep track of. And I would be finishing books faster than I could make sure they get on a list. On my "read" shelf, I have a few of the books I have read since joining goodreads, and books that I have read that I found going through my friends' shelves.

[Brittany]

Unfortunately I am not yet to the status of most of you prolific readers, lol, so mine will seem rather teensy! I added all the books I currently own - other than my "to-read" list which features many books that I do not own (and create a perfect excuse to tell hubby that I need to buy a book, hehe). In any case, I can't remember the ones I read when I was younger because those were mostly childish - such as Babysitter club. I think I read every single one of those, lol.

[Anna]

I started just putting books I read since joining Goodreads and my favorite books but then I got carried away...now whenever a book comes up that I have read it goes on the list but I'm not going out of my way to search all the books I can remember reading.

[Tamara]

I added all the books I could remember. But my memory is horrible so from now on I'll just add books once I finish them.

[Irene]

I only joined a few months ago. I used to keep a book log- I still have it but it's water damaged and the pages are stuck together.
My Goodreads "read" list starts from the time I moved into this apartment (Oct 2007).
I have an exclusive shelf for all the other books I can remember that I read but don't remember when I read them called "books I read before Oct 2007"

[Jack]

I added all the books that I still have. Most of the books have dates in them. I used to have a friend (lost contact with her) who would write down the dates when we finish reading the book. So, that was helpful as the dates were still in there - fading, but I can still read it.

[Allison]

I have added books that I have read since joining goodreads.
The only exception is that I have a bookshelf that has all the books I own. A lot of the books I have are ones that I read in middle/high school (Nancy Drew, etc.) I did add those to my read shelf, since I know I have read them.

[GracieKat]

I have all the books that I've read on my READ list but I don't like having the ones that I have read but no longer have (because I don't like them or know that I will never read them again). I'm going to spend some time sorting it out one of these days. I don't usually do a review if it has been awhile since I've read them because my opinion may have changed since last time.

[Jessika]

I've kept notebooks and such with records of what I've read since I was in about second grade (I'll be a junior in college this fall). It all started with that Pizza Hut Book-It thing that they did--haha!

But I've only added that books I've read since joining Goodreads to my "read" shelf (I've read wayyy more than forty-some books!). I do it that way so that each book has a fair chance at being rated/reviewed accurately.

My TBR shelf is kinda weird, too. The books I have on there are books that I do not own so that I can keep track of them. I have about another 200 waiting on a shelf at home!

[GracieKat]

i know that I've read way more books than I've listed as read but if I do not have them anymore then that usually means that I did not like them so it's hard to remember 20 odd years of reading.

[Liz]

I've got most of what I can remember reading (apart from a few things like Babysitter's Club) on my shelves, even some of my children's books that I loved or that affected me as a child. It's a great way to keep track of what I've read. I also have one shelf for each possible rating, which gives me an idea of what sorts of books I do or don't enjoy.
I haven't added all my TBR because that list is about 10 pages long. However, when I buy a new book I always put it on my to-read-that-I-own shelf.

[JSou]

I just use Goodreads in general as just a way to keep track of the books I own. It's great to be able to organize them. My read shelf is just of the books that I own (so is my to-read). I haven't added all the other books I've read since before joining Goodreads that I don't have in my personal library, but have since made a "borrowed" shelf for books I get from friends.

[GracieKat]

I love to write lists of my books so I've gotta say that GR has definitely cut down on my paper usage. Yet another great reason to love GR, it helps the environment!

[Lianne]

I actually never kept a log of all the books I've read until I joined GR. I've managed to add all the books I've remembered reading; I probably missed a few but yeah, it's such a handy way of keeping track what I books I did read over the years =)

[Eden]

It's only been since I've been on Goodreads that I've kept a log of all the books I've read, but I wish I started soon. There is some books I remember reading and I loved them, but can't remember the titles, ot the authors. But, what's on my read list is every book I've remembered reading so far.

[Madeline]

I've tried to enter everything I can remember ever reading here, I still randomly encounter books and enter them in and estimate the year I read them in. I don't enter my TBR's here because I Started listing all my books in mid 2006, on word. I've considered switching it to excel but I have an aversion to the little boxes... I know that doesn't make sense it's an aesthetic thing I guess. I've kept up with that even after joining goodreads. I have a system, it's color coded (blue=books I own, green=books I want to own, black=books that I don't know if I want, but I do want to read, red=books I've read, pink=books I'm reading, orange=books I've borrowed from the library, yellow=books I've borrowed from friends, and teal=books I'm using for the seasonal challenge) I think its pretty fun to keep up with, but I guess that's the Virgo in me ^_^ . First I have my "to read" list which is only ever 100 books long and are the 100 books that are oldest on my tbr list, I always try to pick from that before taking from my "to be added (to the list of 100) list" then I have a "read" list which is color coded by month and starts over at 1 every new year so that I can see how many books I've read. Since joining goodreads it also has a new column to show whether or not I've remembered to enter the book at goodreads. :) I'm impressed by Fiona! I haven't become ambitious enough yet to color code genres or do page counts!

[Dan]

Everything I remember having read is on my "Read" list here. Every once in a while, something will jog my memory and I add another book. What's really frustrating is when I remember a book but can't recall the exact title or the author.

[JG (Introverted Reader)]

For help with that, you can post in this group: What's The Name of That Book????

[Petra X]

Fiona and Madeline, you should come and organise my bookshop for me (and the paperwork)!

[Teresa]

Well I made my shelves very detailed LOL and glad to see I am not the one that is doing this : )

I read a lot of mysteries and series, so I used stopyourkillme.com to find them and list them. I know I don't have all the books I every read. I used to read about 20-25 books a month, and stopped reading for almost 3 years, no real reason, just didnt read, now I am a reading machine again. The best part for me on GR is when I see a book I want to read, just click and add to the to read shelf, no more scraps of paper for me.

[Manday]

My "read" does not include all the books I have ever read, but when I run into a book that I have read and just hadn't thought about it a while I certainly add it.

[Rachel]

I've added everything I've read since joining GR. If a YA/children's book, or any book, I've read before comes up in discussion I add it. I also randomly added a couple books by my roommate's mother that I read as a child because I was impressed I found them in the database.

My TBR shelve gets updated as I decide to read something and often after I visit the bookstore.

[Madeline]

Petra X wrote: "Fiona and Madeline, you should come and organise my bookshop for me (and the paperwork)!"

That's funny I would actually love a job like that. There's a used book store here in S.F. called Green Apple and they have an impressive selection but their organization is so weak that I practically twitch with the need to systemize their stacks lol!

[Dree]

I actually have kept a list of books I've read since I was about 10. Lets just say it has been decades.

I have only put back to about Jan 1, 2007 in Goodreads. I thought about doing more, but going back just that far I couldn't review or even rate some because I just don't remember. (How would that be for a review? "I read this 2 years ago and can't remember anything about it.") So, I decided that was back far enough. I do get a little frustrated sometimes, because there are some authors that I have read every one of their books and it doesn't show up. I may add more some day if I am bored.

I did add some of my all-time favorite books, though--some of which I read a long time ago.