Thanks for sharing this. It's funny, I myself did the same commitment (30 minutes a day of reading for me) 4 months ago. I've already read 12 books, including some classics I'd always wanted to read (Anne Franck, Lord of the flies, etc.). That's the real beauty of this habit: you read things that you always had planned for later because now that you read a lot, every 3 to 10 days, you have to pick a new book and it's easy to pick an old classic because you know that even if it doesn't tempt you too much, you'll only read it in a few days before moving on to a book that was more tempting.
For my part, I've put everything on a Google Sheet (including when I started and finished the book, my review, etc.). I included a column for if the book appears in at least two lists of Great books to have read in your life (or the 100 greatest books, whatever), and I've skimmed many of these kind of lists. I also give a note out of 10 so that I can recommend books quickly. And I've put a dropdown list to indicate if it's a Fantasy book, a Self help book, a Biography, etc.
I have yet to plug my Google Sheet to an API like Goodread to be able to retrieve more info easily, like books cover or publication date.
Last but not least: it's such a pleasure to pick the next book, it's amazing. And you feel great by having an habit that make you happy/smarter/more confident.
Wow, awesome! The google sheet is indeed an easy and effective way to track everything :)
As much as I agree that picking the next book is a great feeling, I must admit it also became a burden in the past months. Finding original books is hard when you read a lot, and it takes some time! I usually try to keep a backlog in case I finish a book faster than expected and don't have the time to research another one.
I am reading on an e-reader (I use Calibre to manage the library btw). This is maybe why it is so hard: when switching to digital, you basically have everything at hand, which is quite overwelming compared to going to your favorite bookshop. And you, do you read paperbacks? Any good book to recommend?
Hello Lucy!
I read paperbacks for now because I have acquired lots of them, and my wife told me that as long as I had not read all of the books at home, I wouldn't get a Kindle ;)
That's perhaps why it is indeed easier and fun to pick each next book to read: my personal library is filled with book I've been dying to read for a long time, and I have scores of them. When I'll switch to Kindle, my google sheet list with books that I've been advised to read or coming from the Top books lists that I've reviewed, will help a lot.
To find great new books, the other advice I would give is to ask some friends, colleagues or library sellers what are the 3 books they love the most, or the ones that changed their life or were just mind blowing or too fun to put down.
Thanks for sharing this. It's funny, I myself did the same commitment (30 minutes a day of reading for me) 4 months ago. I've already read 12 books, including some classics I'd always wanted to read (Anne Franck, Lord of the flies, etc.). That's the real beauty of this habit: you read things that you always had planned for later because now that you read a lot, every 3 to 10 days, you have to pick a new book and it's easy to pick an old classic because you know that even if it doesn't tempt you too much, you'll only read it in a few days before moving on to a book that was more tempting.
For my part, I've put everything on a Google Sheet (including when I started and finished the book, my review, etc.). I included a column for if the book appears in at least two lists of Great books to have read in your life (or the 100 greatest books, whatever), and I've skimmed many of these kind of lists. I also give a note out of 10 so that I can recommend books quickly. And I've put a dropdown list to indicate if it's a Fantasy book, a Self help book, a Biography, etc.
I have yet to plug my Google Sheet to an API like Goodread to be able to retrieve more info easily, like books cover or publication date.
Last but not least: it's such a pleasure to pick the next book, it's amazing. And you feel great by having an habit that make you happy/smarter/more confident.
Wow, awesome! The google sheet is indeed an easy and effective way to track everything :)
As much as I agree that picking the next book is a great feeling, I must admit it also became a burden in the past months. Finding original books is hard when you read a lot, and it takes some time! I usually try to keep a backlog in case I finish a book faster than expected and don't have the time to research another one.
I am reading on an e-reader (I use Calibre to manage the library btw). This is maybe why it is so hard: when switching to digital, you basically have everything at hand, which is quite overwelming compared to going to your favorite bookshop. And you, do you read paperbacks? Any good book to recommend?
Hello Lucy!
I read paperbacks for now because I have acquired lots of them, and my wife told me that as long as I had not read all of the books at home, I wouldn't get a Kindle ;)
That's perhaps why it is indeed easier and fun to pick each next book to read: my personal library is filled with book I've been dying to read for a long time, and I have scores of them. When I'll switch to Kindle, my google sheet list with books that I've been advised to read or coming from the Top books lists that I've reviewed, will help a lot.
To find great new books, the other advice I would give is to ask some friends, colleagues or library sellers what are the 3 books they love the most, or the ones that changed their life or were just mind blowing or too fun to put down.
Books I would recommend to anyone (read sometimes many times):
Musk biography (by Vance, I think)
The name of the wind (Rothfuss)
Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
Rhapsody (Elizabeth Haydon)
Harry Potter (1 to 4, disliked the 3 last ones)
Sapiens (Harari)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
The Ice People (René Barjavel). La nuit des temps in french (I'm French by the way)
Atlas shrugged (Ayn Rand)
The road to serfdom (Hayek)
Not without my daughter (Betty Mahmoody and William Hoffer)
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
Wizard's first rule (Terry Goodkind)
1984 (Orwell)
Don't hesitate to share your favorites too!
Happy reading!
Frédéric