The Finished Books Tag

Perfect timing! I spotted this tag which is doing the rounds on Paul’s blog, Half Man, Half Book blog this morning – and it’s perfect to fill the gap before Paul Auster Reading Week which begins on Monday.

Do you keep a list of the books you have read?

Of course! That’s the easy answer. The complicated answer is that they’re in many different places.

  • The most complete list is my master spreadsheet, which I’ve kept since 2006.
  • My book catalogue, including books read is on Librarything – but there are gaps there.
  • This year’s reading is on a tab at the top of this page here.
  • Then the index of everything I’ve reviewed on the blog is here – also tabbed up top.
  • New this year, I’m listing books read on Goodreads too

If you record statistics, what statistics do you record?

My paperback shelves – few finished books here – they’re mostly TBR!

At the end of each year, I publish a post of bookstats (2019 is here). The stats are all collated from my master spreadsheet and include:

  • Number of Books Read
  • Author and Title
  • Publisher
  • Year first published
  • Year and month read
  • Number of pages
  • Nationality of author
  • Language of original
  • M/F
  • New to me author
  • From the TBR
  • Fiction or NF
  • Genre
  • Source of the copy I read
  • Format
  • Pts score

Do you give star ratings for books, and if so, what do you score books out of and how do you come about this score?

I do score books – out of 10. It’s only a snapshot of how I felt about a book at the time. I explain my scoring system on my About & Review Policy page up top – see here.

I very rarely award less than 5/10. I’m slightly generous with my 10/10s probably, but the majority of the books I read would score 8+. Once I gave a book 6.9/10 – I can’t for the life of me remember how I arrived at that score.

Do you review books?

Every single one I read! Whether good, bad or DNF’d (the latter only comments as to why I DNF’d a book). My reviews appear here and also at Shiny New Books, a book review website that I own, co-founded and co-edit with Harriet.

Where do you put your finished books?

My travel guide shelf!

Many places! I am trying really hard to keep fewer of the books I read these days, but those I am keeping go into a variety of bookshelves and boxes or odd shelves around the place. My travel guides live in my downstairs loo for instance!

Of those I’m not keeping, I try first to sell them on Amazon/Ebay, or one of the online bulk companies. Those that won’t sell I take to my favourite charity shop, or I give them away or donate to our Staff Little Free Library. ARCs get reluctantly recycled if I can’t pass them on, as you’re not meant to sell them.

How do you pick your next book?

I find that if I have to make a list of books to read that it turns reading them into a chore. So I’ll alternate my pile of books I’ve committed to review or Book Group reads with whatever I fancy reading from those I’ve bought myself or the TBR if I can. (It should be more of the latter, but those new shiny books call so loudly…)

Do you have any other rituals for when you have finished a book?

I’ll put the bookmark back in my bookmark tin, and take the book downstairs to my workstation where I’ll do the admin, and put it in a pile to write my reviews.

6 thoughts on “The Finished Books Tag

  1. Rebecca Foster says:

    Is that wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in your bedroom?! Amazing! Do you ever feel crushed by the weight of obligation they represent?? Apart from a bedside table housing library books and a few other recent acquisitions, I only keep books I’ve already read and am keeping in my bedroom. The unread books spill out to most other rooms of the house, though, including the landing (but never the bathroom).

    • AnnaBookBel says:

      I had those bookshelves made especially for paperbacks. They’re in the spare bedroom actually. I rather enjoy sitting in there looking at them, and ‘playing’ with the books when a gap opens up – moving books along, up and down so I can fill it. I don’t have any pictures of my finished keepers, as they’re dotted around in other rooms.

  2. Jennifer says:

    I record books on Goodreads (since August 2007). But I have no record of the books I read during the first 45 or so years of my reading life. As for keeping books, I’ve reached the stage where I’m trying to reduce the number of books I have. Not very successfully, I might add. Still, the rate of growth has slowed: I borrow a lot from my library and most review books I receive are electronic copies. I try to review each book I read, and I do keep some statistics.

    • AnnaBookBel says:

      Ditto Jennifer! I wish I’d started recording my reading sooner too. Like you I’ve got over 40 years worth of reading uncatalogued. I can’t get on with e-books though, so it’s far harder to reduce the piles towards downsizing eventually.

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