Issue 84: My minimalist approach to keeping track of what I want to read
+ some ideas from friends
As I gear up for a month of reading Joan Didion and little less, I thought this would be a good opportunity to share my system for keeping track of what I want to read. This - to be clear - does not explain how I choose what to actually read next, which is largely determined by mood and what I read last. Instead, this is more like an extension of my brain - what I used to simply remember before I had a kid and lost my ability to retain names and titles and started calling all white men Dave. 🫣
My approach is minimalist by design, driven equally by FOMO (fear of missing out on a good book) and anxiety that adhering to a strict reading plan will lead to burnout. Reading is such a salve for me, I absolutely cannot allow it to feel like work or an obligation.
As a recovering perfectionist, I've learned that tending to an overly complex system often becomes an excuse to avoid the actual task – in this case, reading itself. So, as I share my approach, I'm reminding both you and myself that the goal is NOT to have the most perfect tracking system. The point is to have a wonderful life of reading. That's why I prioritize simplicity and aim for a system that's good enough and easy to maintain. If keeping up with the system doesn't require its own bureaucracy, I'm much more likely to use it consistently (ask me how I know).
I chose to do this on the Notes app on my phone (as opposed to a physical notebook) because I always have my phone with me and I can access Notes across my Apple devices. The tracking system itself consists of three main components, all housed within a folder titled Books.
TBR (To Be Read): This note contains a list of book titles and authors I'm interested in exploring or reading more of. This list represents active interests for the near future but it is not an ordered checklist that I am trying to complete nor is it meant to be a comprehensive life reading plan.
Favorite Authors: A small collection of my most beloved authors whose works I intend to read completely. I don’t keep a separate list for each author but I may add that at some point.
Book Series: A recent addition to track series I've started or plan to begin. I used to think I hated series but I seem to have changed my mind. I love it when that happens.
I am low-key considering adding a note for Books Read - by year and Favorite books by year, by month. I already keep a hand-written version of this at the back of a notebook and love seeing the written list accumulate but I see a lot of value in having a digital log of this as well, mostly to share when people ask me for ideas of what to read next.
This process involves two key steps and is inspired by Tiago Forte’s Building a Second Brain:
1. Collection
I gather book ideas from various sources:
Substacks and online publications
Recommendations from friends
Blurbs on books I enjoy
My husband's reading choices
I jot down titles on sticky notes, send texts to myself, type them directly into the TBR note or simply try (and fail) to remember them.
2. Processing
Periodically, I review these collected notes and decide which titles still excite me. Many books naturally fall through the cracks, which helps keep my lists manageable and meaningful. I cull the list fairly regularly as my taste is constantly evolving.
I cannot emphasize enough how important that second step is. I think in the past, I have kept various list that I eventually forgot about and the reason for that was that I wasn’t actually engaging with the information I was collecting. Now I make a point to look through these on a fairly regular basis and I believe that the act of looking and deciding what’s worth keeping is vital in helping me not only be more intentional but also be more clear about what I do enjoy reading.
It's a system that is perfect in its imperfection. It assumes that life will ensure many book titles fall through the cracks, but the beauty of that is that as a result my lists remain relatively short and manageable. If everything is on the list, nothing is on the list.
As I was preparing to write this post, I asked some book-friends how they keep track of what they want to read and here are some other ideas that you might want to consider:
Amelia Wilson takes a photo or a screenshot of the book she wants to read and then adds it to a folder on her phone titled Books To Read. As a visual thinker, I love this system because I tend to remember covers. uses the same system and I tried it for a while when she first told me about it but I got in my head about resizing the screenshots and making everything uniform and … could not keep up. 🫣
is SUPER thoughtful about managing his reading life and I am learning so much for him! He told me he uses Goodreads for TBR management for two main reasons:
First, if I am out and about somewhere and see a book I think looks interesting, it is very easy to use the app to scan the book and add it to my list. Second, I can add private notes on individual books. I can put who recommended it to me, or what the genre is, or if I read something else by the author and really enjoyed it. Then, it is very easy to export the list to a spreadsheet if I want.
I love the simplicity of my Notes system but I see how having the list in an app with actual links to the book is super helpful for extra context when you need it. Desiree Ess told me she uses the Fable App for that same reason.
SarahT shared that her TBR is her Library Holds List, which I thought was a pretty boss answer.
In the end, the key to any system is the process of discovering what works best for you. My minimalist approach has evolved to balance my excitement for new books with the need to avoid overwhelming myself. It's a system that reflects my current reading philosophy – embracing imperfection and prioritizing the act of reading over the act of tracking.
Questions for you:
I'm curious to hear about your own methods. How do you keep track of what you want to read? Share your systems and tips in the comments below and give us all your important reasons and justifications!
A reminder: In October, I will be facilitating The Joan Didion Group Project. If you are curious, please read more about the project HERE and/or sign up HERE.
I am always revamping how I keep track. But the most consistent method for me seems to be wishlists. Wishlist with my library and retailers where I purchase books.
I use Pinterest. Like Amelia's system, it's great for recognizing covers and I do cull titles regularly. I purposely don't leave notes which means why I included certain books is sometimes forgotten and they get ditched (it's ruthless, but there's just too many books!) Books need additional reinforcement to stay on my Pinterest board.