I want to talk about how I track the books I've read. This is something very important to me as reading is such a big part of my life. Over the years, I have accumulated methods for tracking my reading. I currently have five methods of tracking my reading. Yes, I have five, which is excessive. I will be talking about these methods. This is kind of a sister post to a blog post I wrote last year, in which I talk about my book rating system. You can read this post here.
My Methods
My current methods for tracking my reading are as follows:
- Goodreads
- Reading journal
- Instagram highlight
- Twitter thread
- CAWPILE
I am now going to break down why I use these methods and the pros and cons of each.
Goodreads
This is the method I have been using the longest. I first discovered Goodreads back in 2015/16 and have been using it constantly since February 2016. I go through phases with how I feel about books. Back in 2018/2019, I was using it to post mini reviews on each book I read so I'd have a record of what I thought of the books. I stopped towards the end of 2019 as I had so much on my plate. One of my goals for 2021 was to start posting reviews on Goodreads again. I use Goodreads to set a reading goal, to put my unread books and what I've read. Despite Goodreads flaws, I don't see myself stopping using this method. It has over five years of books read in one place.
Pros
Has everything in one place
Large database
Cons
Ratings aren't always accurate
Reviews are difficult- it can be hard to gage what the general consensus is on a book. I also find I am easily persuaded to feel a certain way about a book due to the reviews.
Reading Journal
This is a much more private method of tracking my reading. I started doing this in 2020 when I needed a notebook to track my blog ideas and it expanded into a place where I write all my creative thoughts. It has my personal thoughts, some of which I keep just for me. It has every book I've read since January 2020 in one place. I like having something physical when it comes to my reading. I really like handwriting things, I don't connect as well with digital methods for some reason. I can tailor this exactly to how I want to track my reading and the only person it impacts is me.
Pros
It's personal to me
Only I will ever see it
Cons
It's a lot of work
I often have to catch up on it- as much as I enjoy physical things and handwriting, it is easier just to put my thoughts in Goodreads etc
Instagram Highlight
For 2021, I created a highlight of mini reviews of every book I read. I thought it would be a nice way of documenting what books I've read and for people who follow me to see what I'm reading. I've seen a few content creators do this. This is often the first place I share when I've finished a book and has my immediate, unedited thoughts on a book. It's a bit messy, but contains a lot of information. I have conflicting feelings on this method and my Twitter thread. They're going to be on the internet forever. Do I keep the threads once the year is over? I'm not sure how I feel about them.
Pros
Nice, easy way to engage with what I'm reading
Has pretty pictures of each book
Cons
It's a lot of work
Sometimes feels very rushed
Twitter Thread
This is my second attempt at a Twitter thread for what I've been reading. I had one back in 2019 that I ended up giving up with. My Twitter profile has the least amount of followers and is the place where I get the least engagements. This thread is purely for me. Similar to the Instagram thread, I'm unsure how to feel about it. I think it's mostly for my benefit and is one I get the most engagements out of (personally).
Pros
Nice way to document things
Gives people a thread of what I'm reading
Cons
It's a lot of work
Not really sure if I'll keep up with it
CAWPILE Spreadsheet
My latest method for tracking what I read. I had heard of this method for a while but finally decided to try it out. I am going to be writing a whole blog post about my thoughts and experiences, which will be coming out later this month. This is a method created by G from BookRoast on YouTube. It's a data driven method of tracking your books, which is something I have become interested in. I'm going to keep my thoughts short because I will be writing a whole blog post about it.
Pros
Love seeing all the data
Very easy to manage
Cons
Sometimes the ratings don't reflect how I feel
There are some features I would add if I could
That concludes my post on how I track my reading methods. What sort of methods do you use to track your reading?
