Books...

[fajrdrako]

From Booking through Thursday:

1. So, last week we asked you if you kept a list of books that you're interested in, wanting to read, wanting to buy, etc. This week, we want to know--do you keep a list of the books you've READ? If so, how? In a journal? A notebook? On the computer?

   Easy answer: no.
   
   Sometimes I talk about what I read on LJ or in Apaplexy, but I don't make a list. I wouldn't even want to. That's way too organized for me. If a book is memorable, I'll remember it. If not... why bother?
   
   Okay, sometimes this laissez-faire attitude comes back to bite me, such as when I have a terrible time remembering a title or an author of a book whose content I recall quite well. But do I mend my ways? No. Never will, I'm sure.

Comments

[wijsgeer.livejournal.com]

I so agree.

1 exception. Books specifically needed for study.And then, mostly articles and not books. Books I can remember, but articles...
But I guess this is not what is meant, for it is only for study purposes and may get lost in a ditch for all I care as soon as I have a finnished product.

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

I'm like you, not organized. If I made a list, I'd lose it instantly. What I do (and this only works if I'm online) is I just jump over to Amazon (easy if you have Mozilla Firefox, because you can plug the book's name or author into the Amazon search box) and I save it on my Amazon wish list.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Yes. Unless I'm writing a bibliography and footnotes, why do I need a list? Besides, many of the books are on my shelves: I can go to them if I need them.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Bibliographies and footnotes are a special category - not reading but research - that, I keep careful track of. But anything else? If it's a superbly good read, I'll get my own copy anyway.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Listing things for bibliographies (or ease of research) tends to be goal-oriented. If I think I might need to find a citation again, or if I might need to order a book on interlibrary-loan, or have any other reason to need a written reference, I'll do it. But reading for pleasure? That's another thing.

If I list the books I read, it has a diferent psychological resonance. It feels like work, not relaxation. This doesn't mean it can't be pleasurable - I actually love doing research - but it's a different mindset.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I've been known to lose lists. I've been known to make shopping lists, then leave the list at home when I go to the store. I love making lists of things I like, things I'm going to do, thinks I'm thinking about - but it's really a way of setting up my thoughts on the subject, and once the list is done, its physical form is then then more or less irrelevant.

Aren't Amazon wish-lists wonderful things? I do a lot of cross-referencing between them, and my online library requests, and Interlibrary Loan forms.