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I feel like I've read at least one book by the Biggies one mentions when discussing "The Classics" (typically meaning European or American, but hey, I was educated in the US so I'm ok being Amero-centric now ;-)

 

Haven't read War & Peace, Moby Dick, Lord of the Flies. And I know as soon as others start posting, my list will grow ;-) I do keep up with my high school's summer reading list to get ideas of things that might be good to read, but the summer reading list tends to be more modern and not "classics" - you get those in the English classes.....

Edited by Hoyaheel

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Thanks to having both bachelor's and master's degrees in literature (as well as teaching high school English for over a decade), I'm pretty well read in the classics (we rarely taught anything newer than, say, 1970).

 

However, whenever I often fill out one of those "must-read lists," I'm still astounded by the number of classics I have yet to read! And no matter how fast or how much I read, I never seem to make any headway on my TBR!

 

(In fact, I was just saying how I almost wish they'd stop publishing new books for like one year just so I can try to make some progress!)

 

Off topic, but I'm glad to see threads in the Literature Forum being so active! Thanks, book chatters!

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(In fact, I was just saying how I almost wish they'd stop publishing new books for like one year just so I can try to make some progress!)

 

 

Absolutely!! I have kept a reading list in Word for a long time - never felt the desire to move to any of the apps available now. But I don't always remember to update and look for new publications for the authors on the list (finding new authors to add is never hard ;-) Just this morning, as I get ready to start Tom Robbins' new memoir Tibetan Peach Pie, I looked up his bibliography and was happy to note I have in fact read all of them!

 

There was a time my senior year in college when I really REALLY wanted to get a PhD in medieval celtic literature. I opted for a master's in Public Health and then ABD in Health Policy - failed the PhD at the time though I love my career. Who knows - someday, medieval celtic lit could be the right degree for me ;-)

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Speaking of which, I am updating my TBR Word document right now. I'm so unhappy with it. I have it alphabetical by last name but I'm almost thinking chronological would be better, since I'm more likely to read more recent additions than older ones. That being said, my obsessive nature won't let me do anything other than alphabetical.

 

Part of me wants to make use of the "to read" shelf in goodreads but that is wayyy too much work. Not to mention I'd lose my hardcopy.

 

How do you keep track of your TBR?

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I used to keep an excel spreadsheet and then i had columns to review the book and enter in when I read it, etc. The problem is that it was locked on my PC. I do use goodreads, mostly for the social aspect of sharing books with friends. I also use an app called Book Crawler. It has all of the same fields that my excel chart had, and more. I challenge myself to read 75 books per year and I can create a macro to keep me updated on progress, etc. not to mention sometimes I don't want my goodreads friends to know about my addiction to crappy historical romances.

 

My initial idea was to put my whole book collection into Book Crawler so I would quit buying the same book twice. I looked around at my house full of books and got overwhelmed. So I just track purchases and wants from the time I started the app. I can use the iPad at home and send it to the phone for when I'm out.

 

Because I'm a freak, I also use an app called Read More. You track your reading sessions and while it tracks the books you read, it also gives you your reading speed and tells you how much time it should take you to finish reading.

 

I do pretty well with the lists of "must read" books, but there are always books I haven't read. It's a never-ending quest. To add to our "similarities of posters on this thread" I majored in English literature and minored in French Literature. I now express my craziness by taking my kids on day trips to visit all of the Little Free Library locations in my town, leaving Boockrossing books around, and hosting American Girl Bookclub for my daughter. My 10 year old bought me this for my birthday as a serious gift. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0035LYMG4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1405691006&sr=8-1

 

They get me.

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I minored in French too! We are kindred souls.

 

I have my books catalogued via LibraryThing, but enjoy keeping track of my actual reading (now that I use the library instead of purchasing my books) via goodreads. And considering the absolute shit my friends read, I refuse to be embarrassed by anything I read :D

 

I'll check out those apps now - thanks! I hesitate to do too much via technology because then I won't have a hardcopy. I keep a word document that lists in order each book I read per month (I start a new one each year), but I don't keep track of too many details - just title, author, basic summary, and a general rating.

 

It's so overwhelming! :BangHead:

 

(talk about first-world problems, lol)

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Part of the reason for my starting with multiple apps was redundancy in case anything crashed. Now it's just become my own special brand of OCD. All of them backup in some way, but Book Crawler is my favorite. I like having it on my phone in my purse when I find myself at a store/library unplanned.

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I do not keep track of the books I read by year or month. And, considering how OCD I am in most ways, my reading list isn't actually organized by anything other than all books by the same author are with that author, and since I read series in order, series are listed in order. I check them off when I finish reading, books I'm actively looking/waiting for or reading at the moment are highlighted in yellow, and I sort of tried to separate out non-fiction, as well as series that have ended (usually because the author has died) and I've read all of the books (those are at the very end). I keep it in Word and at 9pt font so I can print it and bring to library book sales etc so I don't keep ending up with the same books ;-)

 

I just use the Word search feature when I'm looking for something....And go to Amazon or the author's website if I need to remember the plot...

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PS I started an Access database at one point but decided it wasn't worth it to me and I was going to stay relatively low tech....

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I use multiple book sites to keep track, but Goodreads is my primary. You can export your reading list to your computer at any time if you want/need a hard copy backup. I upload it to dropbox and also import it to Leafmarks and Booklikes so I have it captured on multiple sites. Goodreads has been the easiest to maintain by far for me.

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A year later and I still just keep my list in Word. I keep thinking I need/want/should start on Goodreads, but.....No compelling reason to change (and being a Taurus, I hate change ;-)

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I'm still using my three sites to track as well. I'd migrate it all to goodreads but I have to hide my trashy romance novels somewhere! One interesting thing about goodreads is that my kids are on now (11 and 14). It's the only social network they are allowed to use and they are friends with their cousins. The competitive nature of it and the sharing of recommendations (and the ability to be on a social network) have made them read MUCH more than they have before. My daughter got a kindle recently and she loves clicking that "update goodreads" button almost as much as she likes "liking" everyone's reviews.

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I used to be very active on goodreads a couple years ago and it was great. There were a lot of cool people on there and I found out about so many books I never would have heard of if it wasn't for the community. Also, it motivated me to read more, especially when I participated in the yearly book challenges. It's still a good site but it lost many of its best reviewers due to a combination of author attacks on reviewers for negative reviews (usually indie/self published authors but a few traditionally published authors as well) and Goodreads staff putting policies into place that seemed to favor the authors over the reviewers around the time of the Amazon buyout. Some people are still around but many of my favorite reviewers left or reduced their presence greatly.

Edited by witchkitten

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I use goodreads to keep track of the books I'm currently reading (and have finished--I love the yearly reading challenge), but my TBR is still a word doc. I don't review books there -- reviewing books has left a bad taste in my mouth after running a (moderately successful) book blog for several years awhile ago. Now, I just assign each book I've read a number of stars for my own purposes and move on. Much better this way :)

.

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Aw, thanks! I always love sharing what I'm reading and hearing about what others are enjoying.

 

You wouldn't believe the number of shitty emails and comments I got, though. Like, who even cares who I am or what I think? It wasn't the New York Times, lol. Whatever. Anyway when it became a source of stress rather than enjoyment, I knew it was time to move on.

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I believe that the internet is terrible for manners. It's so much easier to be awful when you're anonymously typing on a computer in your office or basement. I think you must have thick skin to put yourself out there at all these days.....

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