My Favorite Books

I’ve been an avid reader for most of my life. Shortly after college, I started a notebook keeping track of all the books I read every year. I filled up the entire notebook a number of years ago and started a second notebook. Keeping track of the books I’ve read has been handy because I can go back through the years to see if I’ve already read a book when it’s familiar. But the downside is that the notebooks are in chronological order and not in any order by author or title, which means I have to look through both notebooks.

My friend Annette told me that she started a notebook keeping track of the books she’s read but in order by author. I thought that would be a great idea so I started working on ways that I could redo both notebooks in author order. I knew this would be a huge undertaking, but I didn’t realize just how big it would be.

I started with a small notebook that had loose leaf paper. This way I could insert pages as needed. Then I had to order another pack of papers… and then a third pack of papers. I quickly outgrew that little notebook. I came to the realization I would probably have to make a notebook cover to accommodate the number of pages. My notebook is already 2″+ thick and I’m only about 3/4ths of the way through my first notebook copying over the authors and books. Now I’m thinking I will need to make a second notebook and split this up into two books.

It’s been kind of neat to go back through all the books I’ve read through the years, remembering some really good books and favorite authors. It’s kind of like checking in with an old friend. Plus seeing the count each year has been interesting. Some years it’s been low around 40-50 books and my highest year was just under 100. When you binge read a favorite author, it’s really easy to read a number of books in a short time frame.

Are you a reader? What’s your favorite genre? Comment below… I’d love to hear some suggestions.