Best way to keep track of books you want to read?

June 7, 2017 7:50 PM

Other than a simple spreadsheet, what's the best way to keep track of books I want to read?

The ideal setup, and I realize this is a very long shot, would both keep track of the list (and be accessible both on my phone and, more importantly, on my laptop as that is where I tend to come across most of the recommendations;) and check if the book is available from iBooks and from Kindle and at what price; if it's on Kindle Select; if it's available in hard copy at my local library; and if it's available as an ebook at my library or anywhere else I could borrow it for free. It would also move the books to a "read" category when I'm through them, and have a place to keep brief notes.

Not interested in a social media platform for this... Goodreads weirds me out by being so public.

Thanks!!

posted by fingersandtoes to Technology (13 answers total)

Best answer: Just so you know, you can make Goodreads pretty much completely private. I use Goodreads almost solely for this purpose and not as a social media platform at all (not necessarily because I want to be private--just because none of my friends are active on it at all).

If you combine it with Library Extension, this hits the majority of what you're looking for. You'd be able to keep track of the list on both your phone and your tablet; if you click the "Stores" button you'll be able to check if it's on iBooks and Amazon; Library Extension will tell you if it's available at the library as either a hard copy or an ebook and allow you to place a hold; if you click "update progress" on a book you're currently reading and then click "I'm finished" it's automatically sent to your read list; and you can keep notes by page as status updates (visible only to you if you set your profile to friends only and then don't add any friends) which will be linked to the book and shown to you on the book's page in chronological order, or in the general notes section which is completely private by default.

If the public part of Goodreads is your only problem with it, I would definitely say just set everything to "friends only" and just don't add any friends. I've been using it for almost a decade as just a list/record and a way to find new books; it's only recently I even considered the social media aspect (though I've not been able to make much use of it yet). You don't have to engage with that part of Goodreads at all if you don't want to.

Otherwise... I don't have any suggestions, but here is a list of sites Library Extension works on; if one of your solutions involves those, you can use that to check if books are at your library.
posted by brook horse at 8:10 PM on June 7, 2017 [26 favorites]

I also use Goodreads for this, and it does many of the things you want. I use a separate username for mine, have not connected to any friends or linked any social media accounts - I use it entirely as a personal list of what I want to read and have read.
posted by cpatterson at 8:48 PM on June 7, 2017 [3 favorites]

I use GoodReads for this.
posted by My Dad at 8:49 PM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I use Bookdepository (or Amazon) wishlists for this. That way I can keep track of what I'm interested in, and also get a handy reminder if the price plummets!
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:03 PM on June 7, 2017

Best answer: Do you have a Mac? I do, and I have the Bruji suite of software: Bookpedia, CDpedia, DVDpedia for my collections. These apps are basically like what iTunes used to be, a simple library of all the $WHATEVERS you have, which you can then use to make multiple lists of. And yes, they have an iOS app.

So what I do: Every book that passes through my hands or enters my mind goes into the library of Bookpedia titles. Most go into readlists whose sorting criteria are I Do Not Own, and I Want To Read. Whenever I have free time, I check against that list and find a book in it to take out from my local library.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:10 PM on June 7, 2017

Best answer: I use Amazon (list set to private) with Library Extension. The latter was recommended to me here - it didn't at that point work with my local library's database, but I put in a request and they added it within a couple of days. So it's worth doing that if it doesn't currently recognise your library. It does occasionally give false results though.
posted by paduasoy at 12:51 AM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: I use (and love) the Soon app to keep a book list, though it doesn't have a library search as far as I know.
posted by third word on a random page at 1:23 AM on June 8, 2017

I use an Amazon wishlist for this. I maintain a separate Amazon wishlist for books I've already read (as I am one of those is constantly saying "what was the name of that book I read?")
posted by vignettist at 6:14 AM on June 8, 2017

I do the same thing vignettist does--I have a private Amazon wishlist called "Books to Reserve at the Library" that I tap into when I am looking for new things to read. Didn't know about Library Extension though! That sounds very neat.

When I get a new suggestion and am NOT near my computer, I have a page in my planner that is just for book/movie/TV show suggestions from other people that I want to remember later. I'm a little analog though, haha.
posted by helloimjennsco at 6:49 AM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: I don't like using Amazon for this sort of thing because it triggers ad spam across devices and browsers, as well as emails etc etc. I don't feel like investing time tweaking my Amazon settings.
posted by My Dad at 11:30 AM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: Forget Goodreads! :) I had this same question for a long time and struggled with a lot of options I didn't like.

Then I landed on a great solution that I think will fit your needs. I downloaded the Memento Database app onto my Android phone (I think there's a version of this for Apple products as well). With this easy-to-use database-creation app, you can begin a new database from a template (and, yay, they have one for books), add customized fields that you want to it, and then you can sync it to Google Sheets and update it on your PC! They sync together flawlessly. I've loved it.

I took their book db template and added a couple of custom fields, one of which I called "Plan to Read" and made it a DATE data type. I used the first day of any month for this, and made my default view a list a of the 12 months, in a collapsable/expandable accordion format. (This is why I only use the first day of any month -- I just like to break this down monthly.) This allows me to plan my reading. When I put a new book into the database, I can decide to put into my reading plan or keep it out.

You can create categories in addition to the ones that come with the template for super easy organization. Make one for how much you want to read it, for example.

I also created a "completed" field as YES/NO data type so I can mark a book as completed.

It's easy to add books to the db as well -- when you start typing the first few letters of a title the app looks up possible books for you to select, with pictures of the cover, and I can usually add details about the particular edition I'm reading.

You can easily add a Notes field and create multiple views -- for instance a "Completed" view to show the books you've read. I've really loved this, and syncing to Google Sheets has been a great feature, too.
posted by Philemon at 12:21 PM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Trello.

Add the email address for the board to your contacts. Then email any webpage about a book you want to read to that board.

I have the Chrome email this page extension installed. I'm always sending new books I want to read to Trello using that.
posted by tenaciousd at 2:00 PM on June 8, 2017

To go with the Goodreads recommendations, I like LibraryThing. On the plus side, they aren't owned by Amazon, I think.
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:35 PM on June 8, 2017