We’ve all see the standard year-end “favorite books I read” lists. I’ve written a few myself…though at this point I’m a few years behind! But sometimes all the lists start to blur together. So I’ve been thinking:
What are some other possibilities for summarizing, surfacing, and otherwise digesting the things we read, whether for our own reflection, or to share with others?
A few initial ideas:
- Reading diversity audit: by topic/genre, by author background, etc. — and changes year to year (on my to do list to write a longer post on this!)
- Book acquisition log: all books purchased, found, or gifted; total $ spent, etc. (I’ve made a list for 2019; may share this at some point too!)
- Other alternatives to books read: books you’ve added to your antilibrary? books you’ve abandoned?
One thing I think this can achieve is to help us step back and take a longer view on our reading — looking, for example, not only at what we read over the past year, but at how our reading habits and patterns evolve over many years.
I also think it’s interesting to think about reading, and associated metrics, along other dimensions besides quantity and completion.
I’d love to hear your ideas!
