My (Virtual) Bookshelf

Last evening I finally finished entering the books I've kept track of reading over the years into the website Goodreads.com, and it's been a revealing experience!

Since college, I've kept a list of many of the books I've read in the back of whatever journal I was writing in at the time, and I'm so glad I did that! I listed title, author, and date finished, but I didn't add any stars, synopsis, or review. I just know I read those books. While the lists were inconsistent, as my journal writing has been, it was a great walk down Memory Lane to enter all those books into one list. It showed me that I have read a lot of mysteries, several books about education/teaching (from my teacher days), a few books on Type 2 Diabetes (before it became controlled with diet and exercise), a number of books on running (now that I'm a runner again), and a rash of classics and current literature. I don't remember the plots of a number of the books I've read in the past, and I know current list is incomplete, but at least now what I have is consolidated.

As great as technology is, I'm thankful that I've kept paper records, not just of books I've read, but portions of my life through the journals as well.