I read a lot. This probably comes as no surprise to you, whether you know me or not, because the one thing you do know about me is that I’m a writer, and writers read. I also work in a library. Temptation in the form of reading material is moving across the desk in front of me all the time. But like most of us these days, I’m getting to the point where I just can’t remember what I have and have not read.
About two years ago I started a journal of all the children’s books I was reading. At first it was a traditional journal, real paper pages and everything. Each book got a page: date read, title, author, publisher, year of publication, CIP summary from the back of the title page, and then my own thoughts about the book. Eventually I got to the point where I wanted to look up a book I had read, but had a hard time finding it in the journal. I started copying all that information into an Excel file. Much easier. I could do a search by author or subject or even by publisher if I was sending out submissions and needed a reminder of who published what.
Recently I found out about a website that helps you do all this electronically. Online. And quickly, too. Check out www.librarything.com. You can create a virtual library of everything you’ve read, and if you want, you can rate it too.
3 comments:
Nice! How did the get-together go last night?
Any writing exercises????
I was souped up on so much cold medicine from my trip to the doctor's, I couldn't see straight. But I am beginning to get better...
With only four of us, it was quiet. We didn't do a writing exercise, but we did talk about word games. I may write some up as a future post. And we critiqued Joan's story.
I'm glad you're feeling better. The tail end of my cold keeps hanging on...
Oh, Michelle, that is so helpful. I've been keeping a tiny little handbound journal for ages and my handwriting keeps getting smaller and smaller as I near the end. I rarely write my thoughts anymore, just stars for the ones I liked a lot and a different symbol for awesome artwork. I think it's time for me to modernize. Thanks for the nudge in that direction.
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