Magical Book Trackers | Apps & Tools to Try
If you’ve been thinking about tracking the books you’ve read, but haven’t gotten it going yet, now is better never to get all your reading organized for future references. I’ve got a few different ideas so if you’re stuck or haven’t found any methods that have worked for you just give these a try!
DIGITAL TRACKERS
I’m going to start off with the very obvious choice that most of us already know of and that is the Goodreads website. I cannot recommend this virtual bookshelf enough due to his awesome capabilities to let users create their very own personal shelves along with the option to make books tagged as mutually exclusive. This is a total game changer. Many people use these shelves to organize their books digitally into sections for genres, multiple book club reads, and the most important one - the “Want to Read” list. If you want a step by step tutorial on how to use the Goodreads app to scan/upload info. onto your shelves with books from your personal library be sure to read my post!
Bookbub allows you to mark which books you've read as well as rate them, but the thing that makes it so great is how you can keep yourself updated on all the latests book releases of any favorite authors you choose to set up for notifications.
GOOGLE DRIVE - WORD DOC OR SPREADSHEET
This awesome app is honestly one of the best inventions ever due to the fact that you can access it anywhere you have internet and a mobile device. You can add as many or as little of sections as to what you’d like to track within your readings. Need somewhere to start? Go check out my template and make yourself a copy to start your own online book tracker! Also, after I took the time to create my own I found an even better one so if you want all the gizmos and gadgets go download the new and improved 2019 Book Blogger Spreadsheet from the lovely Reader Voracious which is hot off the press! :)
If you’re a visual and list kinda person Trello is a great choice for you. You can make as many boards, lists, cards, checklists, and details as you’d like. Here’s a sample Trello board from the Trello team and feel free to make a copy of that if you’d like it as a start off point!
If you love the idea of an infinite and never ending notebook, then Evernote is the way to go. Similar to Trello, you can make as many sections or “notebooks” as you’d like. On top of that you can create tags for all your documents so you’ll never lose sight of your reading log when you’re trying to find something in particular.
Are you a completely visual person? Pinterest will be your best friend. Simply create boards and pin an image/link of the books you’ve read, want to read, etc. You’re also free to create a description for each pin or “book” as you see fit.
Though Pinterest seems to be in the works of trying to make their platform more social, Instagram tends to be one of the best for being the most engaging. If you’re in love with the idea of sharing your thoughts with the world on a particular book or chapter you’ll want to get posting about your current reads ASAP with this app. A lot of people treat their Instagram profile much like an online bio and open journal to the public. Write your opinions, frustrations, and loves with the bookish world!
BLOG INDEX PAGE
Another cool way to display your reads is by creating a comprehensive index page on your blog of the books you’ve read as well as the ones you’ve reviewed. The easiest way to make this is to list your books in alphabetical order by title, author, and/or genre.
PHONE NOTES APP
If you have a more minimalist lifestyle your best bet is to just go with the general notes app on your phone. Short and sweet.
PHYSICAL TRACKERS
I’ve been on and off again when it comes to the bullet journal, but there are so many ways to use one of these bad boys! Honestly, you could google and pinterest a million different spreads to find one that works for you!
This method is for you if you have a terrible memory like myself (though make take some more time to accomplish. I tried this way of book tracking with book notes much like an art journal. I’d save pictures that reminded me of scenes in the book and then write notes next to them. Let me just say that this is perfect if you have trouble remembering plot points in books after you’re done reading them and need notes for reading the next in a series.
REGULAR NOTEBOOK
Another way to keep track of your books is to just list them in a notebook if you prefer handwriting them. It’s scientifically proven that you’re more likely to remember notes when you write them by hand, but to each their own!
BINDER
If you like the idea of writing your books down, but want to keep them super organized and easy to look back on then using a binder is the way to go. You can go all out by buying tabs, paper clips, flags, etc. to separate your books by genre or different “shelves.”
Do you have any other cool ideas to keep track of your TBR? Mention them in the comments so we can use them and share the knowledge with others!
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