AAR

[HEAreader]

I read a lot and often don't remember what I've read. Let's face it, if you read certain types of books/tropes, they all begin to run together. I've tried cards and dedicated notebooks - didn't work for when I'm buying books in Target, etc. Now I have an iPhone. Is is possible I can keep track there with one of the many thousand apps available?

I just spent $8 at the grocery store today on a book I had already bought in e-book form. I don't mind trying one more time to find a system that works. Who has one?

TIA,
Carole

[LordRose]

Well, if you have an iPhone, you could record all your books on Goodreads and then look them up as needed.

[KayWebbHarrison]

My first method is to record the books I have read, with appropriate info and comments in a notebook. Then I added a notebook for books to "Look For" or To Be Bought/Borrowed. I keep the category romances [Harlequin, Silhouette, Loveswept, Candlelight, etc.] in those too.

Once I became more skillful on the Internet, I subscribed to Fiction DataBase, which has a system to keep track of books wanted, books available at home to read, and books read. I went through all my lists and entered my books there. One of my long range plans is to print out copies of my FictionDB records.

One of my nieces told me about Goodreads. I joined it. It is more of a community that shares info about books read.

I still use my notebooks. I am a firm believer in pen and paper.

Kay

[Marilyn.K]

Goodreads.com is what saved the day for me. You also get to meet others in forums that appeal specifically to you as to genre, etc. Until I joined, I, too, discovered unhappily that I had bought several books twice. Of course, you must meticulously enter your books in order to make it work. They offer "Books Read", Books-To-Read", and "Currently Reading." You can add a review if you like to help you remember what the book was about; read reviews by others to determine whether you'd be interested in a particular book; all that, plus it counts all your books, too. I love it.

[Blackjack1]

Keeping records and being organized is a true passion for me and so I love this question. I use Goodreads too and once you enter your information, which can take some time if you are an avid reader with a long history, updating your information is quick and easy. You can link the various categories you set up and so searching categories and data is easy. In addition to the Currently Reading category, I have a number of categories including my favorite, which is "Soon to Be Read." I shuffle books around in here frequently, which is almost as much fun as actually reading them I also though keep a short version of "books read" through an Excel spreadsheet in which I create columns for author name, book title, character names, grade book received from me, date started, and date ended. I like having this spreadsheet so that I can do a quick check, especially for AAR best-of lists. Happy organizing!

[Danielle D]

Besides Shelfari, I keep track of my books on Word. I have a Dropbox acount and have the word document on there so if I can't remember what I read I just open the document. I have kept track of my books on Word docs from 2009 with each year being a different document.
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So many books, so little time

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Now a Lady of Leisure

[MrsFairfax]

Goodreads has an iphone app with a bar code scanner - scan the book, you can tell if it's already on your GR shelf.
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[Judyblueeyes]

OMG, I am just amazed at the level you all are organized. I am deeply bowing toward you all and your Black Belt level of devotion to reading.

I just looked at this thread thinking Goodreads. I just started using it a few weeks ago and I can see it is going to be wonderful. But now my eyes have been opened to the fact that it is so much more than I have used or thought I would use. Wow, I am glad HEAreader asked the question that I didn't realize I was in need of an answer too.

[KayWebbHarrison]

Forgot to mention in earlier post:

I divide my notebooks into pages for letters of the alphabet; then I list books according to the authors' surnames. For category romances, I have a page dedicated to each "line" [Harlequin Presents, Intrigue, Blaze, etc]; then I list books by the number in the line.

Once a page fills in front and back, I go to the first blank page and designate it for the alphabet or category that needs a new page. I keep a table of contents in the front of the notebook. I use the "marble" covered ones that have a hardback cover with an inside front cover on which I can write.

Kay

[Mark]

I keep track of book buying in three documents: one for nonfiction, one for F&SF & one for Romances (with small sections for other genres). I catalogue new purchases in these documents right away. When I used to have a regular circuit of physical bookstores, I kept reasonably current printouts in the tote bag I use to carry empty tote bags. Now that with rare exceptions I only buy ebooks, I check the documents on my computer before buying any ebooks.

[Jane A]

I used to use Byron when I was reading MMP, and still enter books there when I read a paper copy. But since my reading is almost exclusively ebook now, I use Calibre. I highly recommend this free software, I can't imagine what a disaster my digital library would be if I didn't have it.

[Eggletina]

I use LibraryThing to catalog books I own. I use GoodReads for keeping track of Romance novels that I read. I found I got better recommendations if I kept Romance separate from everything else. I also keep a running spreadsheet. I can access my online accounts via my iPhone. If I need to remember what I've bought, etc., I just look it up from my phone. I don't do much updating via my phone. I use my iPad or laptop for that.

[goldberry]

I've not ventured into the world of online sites for my reading database. I use Calibre. For audio or 'real' books I create a blank entry, and create a catalog in EPUB that I refer to from my phone.

[HEAreader]

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to help. Here is my progress so far:
1. Bought Book Crawler but had a lot of trouble with scanning in the books I own. Love the features and flexibility but the entry is a big problem for me. (Note: tried 2 different scanners w/ little difference).
2. Found the Goodreads App (not readily apparent on their website, for some reason, or maybe it's just me . Scanned in about half of the books I have on my shelves. Easy-peasy. The only bad thing is that I have to go through all the "read" shelves and add them individually to my "owned" shelf. If there is a better way to do this, please let me know. I don't intuitively pick up the short cuts. I'm considering just using GR for owned books.
3. For those who recommended Calibre for e-books, it looks amazing. I do have a question re Calibre and nook. Will Calibre pick up the books on my nook that I have downloaded from other sites? They are listed in "My Documents" as opposed to "My Library" which holds the B&N books - all on the nook but not integrated.

Again, I really appreciate the help. To those of you devoted to your pen/paper way, I just got too far behind for me to ever catch up. I applaud you for your diligence but am looking for a quicker way out.

Carole

[LordRose]

With the nook and Calibre, as long as the books are not from B&N, you should be able to add them to your library easily. You just have to view the books on your nook in Calibre and send them to your library. (It's really quite easy.)