My parents were on vacation last December when my dad needed a password for his computer which was written down at home. Like a good daughter, I entered the battle zone which is my father’s desk; paperwork covering the top of the desk like a layer of fresh snow, a Jenga stack of notebooks on the corner of his laptop, loose coins and random pieces of candy tempting me to pocket them as payment for my mission.
Yet for all this disorder, it was fascinating to open the first mini composition notebook and discover my father had a catalog of computer games he owned, not just logged away in one haphazard list, but with the notebook sectioned off alphabetically with enough space for future items to be added.
The notebook containing his password was equally as organized, both blowing my mind and inspiring me to begin jotting down things I would like to remember in such a fashion.
Thus brought about my “Books I’ve Read” notebook, a teeny little thing dedicated to storing away the names of books I’ve read throughout the year. Instead of alphabetizing, I decided to mark them down according to the month read. The system is still developing. Perhaps one day I’ll switch over to the unbelievable way Dad has been organizing information, but for now I’m testing it out in the ‘by time’ fashion.
So far, here’s what my journal has helped me know: In 2019, I read 20 books.
This is hardly a brag worthy number, especially with the ease of reading level in some cases, but in comparison to the number of books read in 2009*, it’s a step in the right direction.
*One, maybe two? Who knows? I wasn’t keeping a journal then!
My grandfather was a reader. His bookshelves were packed with rows two deep of books he’d read, each with a rating he’d given them with a single letter. One of his books has made its way to my own bookshelf: The Godfather the top right-hand corner of its first page marked with the letters ‘EEE’ of which I can only assume meant it was Excellent times three. I now mark my own books with a single word of rating and the date.
After the first two months of tracking my books read, I decided to start keeping little book reports in another journal as a way of remembering the overall theme of the books and helping myself remember if it was a book worth rereading or recommending. I also follow the practice learned during my middle school years of keeping a list of words learned throughout the reading of a book.
Looking over my little list of Books Read in 2019, I gained glimpses of the past year. Where I was when I was reading each book…who I talked to about them…why I chose to read them in the first place. It has been a snapshot of the past year for me, but it has also set the bar for the future.
Here are my 2019 reads with my one-word rating. And yes, there are a few cookbooks, which I tend to read like novels. The ones I’ve counted in this list were more than simply cookbooks crammed cover to cover with recipes, but rather books with historical background in addition to recipes.
Books Read in 2019
- Watership Down– Good
- Kitchen Confidential– Excellent
- One Day in December– Fair
- Nine Perfect Strangers– Good
- Southern Education of a Jersey Girl– Poor
- French Women Don’t Get Fat– Good
- The Handmaid’s Tale– Excellent
- Whiskey in a Teacup– Good
- The Good Neighbor– Outstanding
- Uncommon Type– Fair
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?– Fair
- Under the Tuscan Sun– Good
- Food of the Italian South– Excellent
- Tasting Rome– Excellent
- Leviathan Wakes– Good
- The Glass Castle– Excellent
- Night– Excellent
- Where’d You Go Bernadette– Excellent
- I Was Told There’d Be Cake– Fair
- My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry– Fair
Links are part of the Amazon Affiliate program. If you click on the book link and purchase one of these books, I get a few pennies. Yay.
Leave a Reply