How do you remember which books you have read?
By vegegirl
@vegegirl (828)
Australia
August 12, 2011 9:42am CST
This may sound strange but over the years I have found it can be a little hard if I have read something or not. I particularly find this with books in a series. An example is books by Michael Connelly who wrote the Lincoln Lawyer, he has written a lot of books about a detective called Harry Bosch and I have read a lot of these as my newsagent used to sell his paperbacks at a low price so I could buy them when I was out of things to read.
I have realised now when going to a book shop with lots of these books that sometimes I am not sure if I have read one or not, which makes it hard when knowing what to buy - because I don't want to buy one I have already read as eventually when I start reading it it might become familiar.
Do you ever have this trouble with books you may or may not read? Do you have tricks you use to keep track of them?
3 people like this
19 responses
@peavey (16936)
• United States
12 Aug 11
When I first read your title, I was going to respond that I remember books I've read with no trouble, but you're right.... there are books in certain groups that I'm not sure if I've read them or not. There's nothing I can do to jiggle my memory of what I've read in the past, but I think it might be wise to make a list of books in a series that we've read. Maybe keep it in one of the books we have, then when we go book shopping, we just have to bring the list with us. That's the only thing I can think of, anyway!
1 person likes this
@vegegirl (828)
• Australia
12 Aug 11
Yes, I have thought of a list, because I want to sell a lot of my books as I need to declutter as my 2nd bedroom has become a bit of a store room. I have been worrying that when I sell a lot of the novels, in a couple of years time I could buy them again as I will forget that I have read them.
I hope I don't lose the list!
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
14 Aug 11
I know that some people write down the titles and the authors of the books that they have read. I have never done that, but I sometimes think about it, because I read a lot of books and I often find it hard to remember which books I have read. Of course there are some books that that are easy to remember especially books that I really liked or books that surpriced me in some way, but sometimes I am not sure if I have already read the book or not. I use the library a lot of sometimes I find an book that sounds interesting and decide to borrow it...but when I start reading it I discover that I already read it.
1 person likes this
@vegegirl (828)
• Australia
15 Aug 11
And isn't it annoying when you discover that you have read it. I have read some books that I can remember a bit about but I can't remember what they were called.
I remember reading some books about a lady private detective who live upstairs in a pub in Sydney, one of the books included the tunnels in Sydney that are for railways and most people don't go into them, so it was quite interesting.
1 person likes this
@zralte (4178)
• India
28 Oct 11
I thought I have good memory, but sometimes I do forget the books I have read. I once bought a book and read it, excitedly, I might add. When it comes to...well, almost ending, I realised I have read that book before. Anyway, it was worth reading again.
1 person likes this
@hushi22 (4928)
•
12 Aug 11
i dont think i remember all the books that i have read. actually it is not only books but also the movies that i have watched.
i had the same trouble when i was younger that is why i was never fond of buying books rather i used to borrow books from the library or my friends. =)
1 person likes this
@vegegirl (828)
• Australia
13 Aug 11
Yes I am not always sure if I have seen movies or not either. Last night there was a Japanese movie on about a blind man who was some type of ancient warrior and I thought I had seen it. I saw bits of the movie last night and it was different to the one I saw before.
The one last night had a really cool finale with all the cast dressed in their ancient Japanese kiminos etc sort of tap dancing in these thong/clog type shoes (the movie wasn't a musical)- pretty amazing some of them didn't seem to be getting much support from their shoes, but were still doing really good dancing. They were sort of like tap dogs, if you have ever heard of them, but dressed totally differently.
@eynjel_1988 (330)
• Philippines
13 Aug 11
I still remember that books that I had read from the past. Simply because almost all of the books that I have read are those books which I really enjoyed. What I really love about reading is I can go to the places which I haven't visit yet. It's like going there through my imagination.I also had a chance to meet people from the past. Definitely reading is my favorite past time.
I suggest that you should have a note where in you can list down the title of the books that you have read so that you cannot easily forgets them.
1 person likes this
@vegegirl (828)
• Australia
13 Aug 11
I also love reading books that make me feel like I am visiting the place in the time. I loved the Alchemist because it was interesting how the young shepherd could just wonder around northern africa ans spain and didn't seem to have immigration issues. Small things like sitting around drinking tea with mint in norther africa, sounded very nice.
I also thought Gorky park was interesting as I have never been to Russia and this book was quite descriptive about parts of Russia.
I do remember some books, but when you have read a lot with the same characters in the same country, these are easier to mix up in your memory.
@Sitakalyani (133)
• India
12 Aug 11
I have understand your problem. You have to make list of read books by you in a note book. You have to write down the summary of your read books in that note book.
@skydancer (2101)
• United States
16 Sep 11
It may seem strange, but I have never had a hard time remembering. I can just effortlessly remember any book I have read dating back to the books I read as a child. I might need to be reminded of the title to refresh my memory if it was years ago though.
Sometimes I have a hard time fully absorbing a book if I am being forced to read it (ie. for school), but if I am highly interested then I can breeze through it and even remember parts of it word for word. But I always remember the book itself regardless.
1 person likes this
@dodo19 (47317)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
16 Aug 11
I can certainly understand your problem. It is sometimes difficult to remember exactly which book you read, and such. I think a good way of doing is making a list for yourself of all the books that you've read. This might help know exactly which books you've read and which you haven't. If you feel that you may need to, you can also add a short summary, which can sometimes jog your memory.
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
31 Aug 11
Not quite sure, I just do I guess :-)
I've had problems once, I bought a book of Ian Rankin and then realized that I had read the year before. Annoyingly, I realized it on the plane :-/ So I finished it for a second time as I didn't manage to fall asleep. But normally I remember that I've read it, possibly a combination of title and cover. It is easier if the covers are the same as on the one I've got.
1 person likes this
@annelisle71 (275)
• Philippines
14 Aug 11
I am a book worm. I started reading books when I was in Grade School and now that I am married I make it a point to read books from my favorite authors if I have time to spare.
I don't have any strategy or tricks in remembering books but whenever I read one which I really like very much I never forget the title or the author. When I was in grade school I enjoy reading mystery stories like Nancy Drew books. When I was in high school I enjoy books written by Sydney Sheldon like Rage of Angels, Bloodline, and The Other Side of Midnight.
You will really surely remember books and authors of books that you enjoyed reading because some part of the story will stick through your mind. I am certain of this.
Now, I enjoyed reading "The Secret" by Amanda Byrne, this book will really make a difference in your life.
@vegegirl (828)
• Australia
14 Aug 11
I read Nancy Drew books when I was young, but I don't remember which ones I have read. I have seen "the other side of Midnight" movie many years ago on video.
I also remember reading April Fool's Day by Bryce Courtney, it was quite life changing, and the Alchemist.
So I remember lots of books I have read, and lots of authors, but not all the books I have read by some authors.
@lctravenisk (483)
• Brazil
13 Sep 11
I read a lot of books too and normally I just remember the best ones, because they have something that struck me. For this, I think that the same happens to you, we don't need a list or anything, we just know what we've read or not.
For the other ones, I prefer to buy and read again. I do it with the books that I have at home and I don't remember the story, because I thing that I can learn something different with that book now. I think that we can learn something different each time that we read a book, because our experiences are different.
1 person likes this
@girl_thinking (1959)
• Philippines
23 Oct 11
Hi vegegirl! I have a collection of books and I also have a hard time remembering which books I already read or own. There are a few times when I buy books that I forgot I already own. Good thing though, I love buying in booksales so it doesn't really cost me a lot.
I used to list all of my books when I first started my collection. There are numerous online bookshelves where you can keep track of your books. I used to have an account in librarything.com
:)
@soulist (2985)
• United States
5 Dec 11
The only time i dont remember if I read a book is if i borrowed it from the library or something. I tend to buy all the books I read. I go to the library if I want to find a new author or something and if i like it then I will buy other books from that author.
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
5 Dec 11
I actually have a book journal. i write down the author i like at the top of the page and then the books or series and books that they have written. As i read them i highlight the title.
If i purchase them i also put a check mark beside them.
One of my friends is a member of a site called good reads. She keeps track of the books she's read there...even makes comments about them.
@allyoftherain (7208)
• United States
13 Aug 11
Nope. Never had that problem. lol I've been pretty good about remembering what I have and haven't read... and about 3 years ago I started using goodreads.com to keep track of all the books I've read. I love knowing exactly how many books I've read in a year! It's so much fun to tell people the number and watch their jaws drop. I don't think I would have trouble without it though, because I didn't have trouble before.
@musicloverfriend (1465)
• India
13 Aug 11
i can really remember the books that i have read. i dont know why this is happened to you and i hope you will get a solution for your answer.
