Do you remember ALL the books you've read?

[Sofia]

I pretty much write a review for every single book I read and I am reading through my old reviews and I don't remember many of the books I read. Like, nothing lol - some I gave really good reviews of and I can't even remember what the book was about! Wondering if I should re-read ...

[Marion]

There is not enough space to list all the books I've read. Seriously.

[SherryRose]

I sometimes think of a book or storyline and can't remember what the book is. If I really love or loathe a book I'm more likely to remember it. I forget books though.

[Debbie]

I recently bought a book, started reading it and realized it was one I'd read a few years before! Lol! I blamed it on old age!

[Icewineanne, Moderator]

Remember titles & authors but not plots. Lucky if i remember the plots of books i read 2-3 mths ago LOL

[Sofia]

Debbie wrote: "I recently bought a book, started reading it and realized it was one I'd read a few years before! Lol! I blamed it on old age!"

lol! Did you read it again, Debbie?

[Kirsten]

There is NO way.

[Gram]

Definitely not! Every other day on goodreads I discover books that I've read and don't have on my list(s) - even though some of them are still in my collection marked as "must read again!" Like Debbie, I put it down to old age.

[Pamela]

If you read a lot -- and I do -- I would find it very hard to remember all the books. Somethings it comes back to me if I hear people talking about the plot but I can't always trust my memory for remembering titles. And then, with some authors like Agatha Christie, there are different titles for the American/British versions.

That's why I keep a file listing of all the authors/books that I read (something I started about six years ago, so it isn't complete) and I check it before I buy a book. Also, I've sat down in book stores and read the first chapter if I'm suspicious that its something I've read before to see if it rings a bell. I've bought duplicates far too many times.

[Mara]

I mostly remember what I call HEARTGRABBERS. Cloud Nine, P.S. I Love You, and Me Before You. And of course Stranger in Her Arms.

I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them.

[Amy]

I am adding them to my list, Mara!

[Gary]

I'm 62 I started reading Hardy Boys Books in grade school along with other stuff. I was 7 when I got my first comic book, Superman Annual #4 (1961). Absolutely impossible to remember every book and comic between then and now. Since joining GR all the books I have read are on my read list, plus some that predate my joining GR

[Pamela]

Gary wrote: "I'm 62 I started reading Hardy Boys Books in grade school along with other stuff. I was 7 when I got my first comic book, Superman Annual #4 (1961). Absolutely impossible to remember every book and..."

So true, Gary. I read about 100 books a year — so unless they are particularly memorable, I'd have a hard time remembering them six months later. What surprises me is that I seem to remember the nonfiction books better but I do read less of them.

[Rowena]

I had to quickly tot up roughly how many books I've read for a poll - and it came out to be around 5000. And no, I certainly couldn't name all of them!
But here's the thing. If I buy a duplicate copy of a book I've already read, then even if I didn't recognise it from the blurb, I inevitably realise before the end of the first chapter (and stomp off in a huff to find something fresh!)

[Steven]

No way. I can't even remember some of the 1k or so now sitting around my shelves or stacks on the floor.

I also can't review any but a few. A rule I've made is to not review books that already have huge amounts of reviews already posted. Whatever I could say has already been said better and these authors just don't need the repetition.

[Marie]

I have read lots of books too in the last 30 years, but I couldn't tell you every single book, author, or plot. I use to trade books with a bookstore about 15 years ago, by buying books real cheap, then trading them back in for more books and I would get a discount by bringing them back. I should have kept a book journal years ago and then I would know what I had read.

Since I have been on GR, I have come across books that the covers looked familiar (so I know that I probably have read them), but when I read the plot, I don't remember it.

The best thing about reading tons of books is that if you have read it but do not remember it, then when you do read the book, it is like reading it for the first time and you can really enjoy it again.

[Pamela]

M wrote: "I have read lots of books too in the last 30 years, but I couldn't tell you every single book, author, or plot. I use to trade books with a bookstore about 15 years ago, by buying books real cheap,..."

Agree! I did start a database a couple of years ago for the books I've read. It doesn't capture all but it does help so that I don't buy a book I've read just because I can't remember the cover or has a slightly different title (which used to happen often with Agatha Christie — a British version with one title and an American version with another).

I do find that for a lot of books, if I start to read the first chapter, I usually remember that it seems I've read before — just like you, Rowena!

[Rona]

Agreed with most. I can close the book and an hour later often couldn't remember much about it -- well that's an exaggeration -- but still. I use Goodreads for this now and then I write a paragraph or two about the book (post that as the review) and often include a favorite quote that I found as I read. I keep the latter items on my PC in a Word document.
Life's too short to re-read any but my top ten!