Format of your TBR List

I frequently hear about books that sound interesting or read reviews of books and think, "I want to read that book." Usually I am not in a position to write the name of the book down, and the next time I go to look for a book to start, I've long forgotten the books I thought sounded interesting. How do you keep your list (notebook, spreadsheet, post-it notes)?

I keep mine in Excel. I also note the source and the date I added a book to the list. This led to the depressing discovery that it takes about two years for a book to make it to the top of my list.

I keep mine on-line at bookcrossing.com, which provides a wish list for all members. Mine is in a constant state of flux because I add to it from several review sources, word of mouth, CSpan2 programs, and trips to the book store. I also check my local library and mark my wish list accordingly so I can choose that option rather than purchase if I think it's not a book I want to own.

As a rule, I am not planning to buy stuff on my TBR list. But life happens, of course. I try to alternate reading books on my TBR shelves with things I get from the library.

If I'm on my laptop, I'll add the book to my Amazon.com wish list (which is easy to do if the book is referenced on LibraryThing), or to my wish lists on Amazon UK or The Book Depository for UK books that haven't been published in the US yet. If I don't have a computer, I'll usually write the title down in whatever book I'm reading at that time or on a piece of paper if a friend, colleague or parent refers a favorite book to me.

I send myself a email with the book title I want to check out then when I check my email I can either print it out or copy it in to a note book.
I have a small notebook that has my "To Buy" list. It fits easily into my purse and I can just grab it and go. My "TBR" list in in my book journal. With new books added as I get them.

I jot it down on a slip of paper and add it to LT as soon as I get home. I tag it as unread, wishlist. My actual TBR pile that is at home is tagged-unread, own or if borrowed- unread, borrowed. It's not rocket science but it works for me. My next step is to put books from my wishlist onto my want list on my public library's website. That way when I go to the library I can bring it up or put it on hold and grab it.

I have a Mac and I keep my TBR list in an app called NoteBook. It's nice because I can link book titles to Web pages, so I can look up a title on its Amazon page if I've forgotten what it is. I just figured out how to get the list on my iPod Touch so I can consult it at the bookstore or the library.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I thought having a Kindle would help because it has a "Save for Later" option, but not all the books have Kindle format (yet). I think I will try the email it to myself and put it on an excel spreadsheet. I'm typically not that organized of a person, but I'll try!

I add it to my Wishlist at BookMooch because, as it becomes available, I'll get an email about it. I also keep an another (less complete) list on my Wishlist at Bookcrossing, again, because someone might have that book to share with me.

I keep a list on Bookmooch which I print out occasionally if I'm going to a large bookstore, because once I walk in the door I can never remember what was on the list. I also have a little notebook with a list, unfortunately I can never find it when I need it. I've also been keeping a list on my wiki and did a trial with an excel spreadsheet. Interestingly, none of these lists happen to match.

#9 >>

I have a Kindle, and I download Samples, but the Save for Later option would work just as well. I just downloaded three or four this afternoon as I was browsing through a Borders.

For anything not yet available on Kindle, I just make a note in the back of my 2009 appointment book.

Wow lots of good ideas here. For my work and research interests (I am an academic) I have about three or four word and excell docs on my laptop to which i add titles. If I receive an electronic book review that piques my interest I save it in a hotmail file. Otherwise its dark age pen and paper lists EVERYWHERE! I have been hoping to consoldiate the latter into onenote, but using the Amazon wishlist or bookcrossing looks worth investigating. Thanks for all the great ideas!

I have a second LT site for my wish list/waiting to be read titles. When I am ready to read a book I delete it from there and add it to my main site. I use a free site because I have less than 200 titles. I also maintain wish lists at ChaptersIndigo.com and Amazon.ca

I've tried putting titles in the "To-do" list on my PDA/phone, but it's not been a great success, because I don't use that for anything else, so I rarely look at it except to add things. Generally-speaking, if there's something I really want to read, I order it straight away. Otherwise, I make a mental note to keep an eye open for it in secondhand shops.

I use the "small pile" technique for my TBR list. Ones I own are in the form of a small pile of books by my bedside. For ones I don't own but would like to look at in the bookstore or library, I have handwritten lists on a small pile of index cards I keep in a desk drawer. The lists travel with me when the time is right. Decidedly low tech.

Second the low-tech...I don't have a kindle, ipod, or anything nifty, except my laptop. I have a small notebook I keep in my purse; every time I read a good review it goes in the notebook--cross it out when it's been read. No particular order, but it's right there when I'm at the library or bookstore. I know it's 18th century, but it works for me. :)

I keep a word document with the list of titles that I want to read. This has now grown to 26 pages in length. My LT list is a list of every book I have in my house and those I have read. I mark the books as to be read or currently reading. Once I have read them I remove the check marks from that category and assign tags. This allows me to tell at a glance what I have read. I then print out my list about four times a year. My print copy shows everything I have read and what is still to be read. When I read a book I take it off the list. Like most readers my list keeps getting longer and my read books list is short. It is a case of too many good books and too little time.

I also keep a book diary/journal in which I write down every book I have read and what I thought about it. Sometimes I write quotes or passages from the book that I thought were particularly noteworthy. They are my sort of marginalia.

I have few rules in life, but one is that unless the book is truly outstanding it can't stay in my house after I have read it. I don't have room in my house for keeping books. I give all of my books away or donate them to the local Friends of the Library Bookstore for them to sell. Once I read a book it is out the door but a record of that book stays in my book journals.

I have a Word document with a short cut on my desktop. The document is usually open whenever I'm on LT for ease of adding books I come across in Talk. I also list date added and who wrote about the book or where I came across is. In addition to a books section for titles of specific books, I also have an authors section for authors I want to read a book by or have read a book by and want to read another, a series section for series I'm working on, and a cannon/bibliography section for authors whose whole body of works I want to read.

This is a very interesting & helpful thread. I've tried to keep track of books of interest by jotting them down on scraps of paper and by adding them to my Bookmooch wishlist. I prefer to only add books I've read to my LT library, I guess just a preference. I do like the idea of keeping a word document handy for books ,so thanks guys for the tip, plus when you are planning to go out book-shopping, you have a list ready to take with you!

Ditto #17 theexiledlibrarian method.... that is exactly the system I use as well! I shy away from purchasing new hardcover books by authors I have never read before, so I jot the info down in my notebook and when I next visit the library (in person or on-line) I check to see if they have it and place a hold.

I also keep wishlists on Amazon and also on BookMooch. On Amazon I have them catagorized: two lists of books I want to buy and a list books I want to read (these I plan to take out from the library at some point).

I keep a steno pad by the computer and jot down titles that may be of interest to me. I then go to my library web site and see if the book is there, if it is, I enter it on my Library Wish List that is stored in My Documents. If the book is not in the library, I enter it onto my Book Wish List , also stored in My Documents. and I use it for shopping at book stores and ordering through the computer.

I add books I think I'd like to my reminder list at Paperback Swap. Then I add them to my website periodically, so I can scroll down them as see what's next on my list. It's almost become a ritual for me. When I'm currently reading a book, it's at the top of my list (I show the book cover and title and author). By scrolling down anyone can see what's coming up. Often, I change it up, move a book to way up on the top if it's something I want to read right away or soon. But, I've got about 200 books on this list. I love deleting the top one once I'm done. Like I said, it's sort of ritual for me now. Plus, it looks pretty! *grin*

#24 ktleyed, mine doesn't look so pretty, but I know what you mean about the satisfaction of deleting a book once it's read. Unfortunately, I seem to add books faster than I can read!

#25 - delta - I know what you mean - I'm constantly adding!

#24 & 25...it's interesting that you delete books as you read them. My TBR list has evolved into a sort of reading record as well. Because I tend to read a lot of series novels, I now check off the books in a given series as I read them, so I remember which ones I've read. Which is especially handy since I am sort of compulsive about reading a series in order, I space the books in a series out a lot, and I have a LOT of different series going. I suspect this record will become more necessary the older I get...

#27 - AlaMich - oh, I have another list that I use to keep track of all the books I've read and how many pages they are, etc. etc. Believe me, I'm a real "list" person, plus, I review every book I read on my blog. I know exactly what books I've read, and I too am a series reader, so I make sure I have them in the right order in my TBR list as well. I space them out as well, otherwise all the books in the same series start to run together. This way, I find it easier to differentiate them.

#28...we could be twins! I enter books in order on my TBR list, too! I just discovered George R.R. Martin (a fantasy author) and finished the first book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, which I loved, but I can't start the next book yet, because it's always like ODing for me when I read things too close together. So I'm trying to decide, "how long do I have to wait" before reading the next, so I don't get bored with it. Wow, I really sound like someone who has way too much time on her hands.

Yep, I'm a compulsive list maker as well! Keep track of every book, author, date read, rating etc. Been doing it since way back in the 70's. I also like to try to space out my series, I made the mistake of reading Ruth Rendall's mysteries one after the other when I discovered her in the 80's and now I have trouble keeping them separate in my mind. Did the same with Agatha Christie.

#29 and #30 - how funny, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! I've recently added George R.R. Martin to my TBR list, but it's waayyy down there. Sometime, I'll get to him. I hear he's really good!

#31-I checked out your blog, and I love it. I'm adding it to my Favorites.

I'm so impressed by everyone's well-thought-out and -executed systems. I wish I could be that organized.

#31....I am not a big fantasy reader, though lately I have been reading more of it. But I highly recommend Martin. It was really more like reading historical fiction. Multiple storylines that keep you coming back for more, and interesting, complex characters.

I'm another BookMooch wishlist keeper. Everytime I read about a good book or hear about a good book, I add it to BM. I have 148 books that I would love to have.

#32..I'm not really that organized of a person in general (though I'm working on it). Once you set something up, though, it's really not hard to maintain it.
But something about keeping my TBR list makes me happy. Books have always been a refuge for me when life got difficult, and with my list I know I will never be without a good book to read.

#32 Bridget - thank you, I'm glad you liked it! :D

My TBR list is contained in two large bookshelves. Anything I've read is packed away in the basement!

I keep an Amazon wish list for things that I'm interested in reading but don't own. I have a separate wish list on Amazon for things I don't necessarily want to buy but would like to read.