I use DevonThink. Every reading of a book gets its own text file where I record title, author, start date, end date, why I decided to read the book, and any thoughts or ideas I have while I’m reading it and after I finish it.
When I think of a book I want to read, the first thing I do is open a copy of that template and record the title and what made me think of reading it. Then I put that file in a To Be Read folder. Whenever I’m at a loss for what my next read will be, that’s where I look first.
Not for offline use but a replacement for GoodReads, I use Literal Club.
What I love about Literal is the way you can add your book highlights by using camera, you can add notes and which page and mark it as a spoiler if needed. They are focus on creating book clubs as a recommendation tool. You can also track when you started and when you finished reading.
It’s currently in beta and by invite only, so if you are interested let me know.
I’ve been using Goodreads for years. While it could use a facelift, it continues to serve me well. I like that it’s integrated into the Kindle and that I can see ratings and reviews written by friends (and others).
This thread prompted me to export all of my Goodreads library to a CSV file. I discovered that it’s quick and easy. I also created a repeating action in OmniFocus that will prompt me to export this data monthly…just to be on the safe side.
For a local solution, I like the idea of a DEVONthink database. That said, I started using LibraryThing.com in 2008 and I still continue to use it and rely on it, thousands of books later. It’s one area of tech use that hasn’t changed much for me in that time, which is unusual. I would describe it as a less social but far more robust version of Goodreads in terms of book information and ability to catalog books.
Fun question. I wouldn’t say I’ve solved it, but I’m doing okay. My actual lists are on-hold OF projects (but I could use anything, really)
List for my next ILL items
List for my next ebook borrows
Plus an Apple Note, so I can share it with a few people, of books I wouldn’t mind receiving as gifts (or buying myself, if I get to it)
None of these are terribly long, though. For me, 1,000 unread items is too many because either I’m doing to die or change my tastes before I get through 10% of it.
I also rely on external places for my next books, where I don’t mind what I read so much as it’s a certain calibre or category of book. Places like:
Certain shelves in a local used bookstore. I know I can visit every few months and come away with a great new book.
Knowledge of books I’ve never forgotten I want to read, years/decades later…
Plus I know I’ll receive random book recommendations from friends and family over the years or suddenly want to read up on a subject due to the news, job change, etc.
For cataloging owned and read books, this topic helped me a lot. I was really pleased with the suggestions, corrections and commentary from you all.
Hi, I use “Book Track - Bookshelf log”
It supports importing from services like Goodreads and book collections can also be exported to PDF and CSV as well.
Another plus, the app doesn’t collect any personal data.
Funny enough, I read mostly digital nowadays using Audible, Blinkist, Apple Books or Kindle. I have rarely started a book and thought to myself “have I read this before?” The tools keep good track on what I have read (and when) and haven’t failed on me once.
The main reason I use Calibre is that it gives me full control over book formats and device management.
I was a very active tracker in the analog world: books, CDs, DVDs and BluRays, most of which I do not use or own anymore. I needed my collection with me prior to shopping (especially during sales).
Re-reads in my world seem to only be intentional. More than once a Blinkist read has triggered me to actually buy/read the whole book (despite knowing the plot)
I’ve been struggling with many solutions. Until now Goodreads has always been my main system. My main pain with custom solutions has always been having to enter the book informations manually.
Obsidian however has some great workflows that make it such a joy to keep my reading list in it according to my own wishes. The workflow is explained here: https://github.com/Elaws/script_googleBooks_quickAdd
In short:
Create a template according to your own wishes (I for example love noting where a book got recommended and why it appealed to me)
Set up the quickadd plugin to automatically pull book information from Google Books into your own template
Set up a dataview table to show your reading/read lists in a beautiful table
@Atom mentioned the app Book Track above. I recently started to use it as well, I think it’s a good solution across iOS and Mac OS. Your data stays with you and not on someone else’s server like Goodreads. The ISBN scanner is quite handy to import books. The app is relatively new but the developer seems pretty responsive.
