I am one of many that can't remember most books I read not long after I close the book. The few books I do remember more things about are books that moved me in some way or are my 5 star reads. The upside of this is that I can re-read a book several years later and it seems like a new book. This has always been this way for me, it's not just a sign of getting older. :)
My reading and books are too sacred to stress over remembering them. Unless for school reading requirements, I give myself grace to forget. I think we are overloaded with information and our "file cabinet brains" are over stuffed and the drawers are jammed. Your writing is remembered by me just as being beautiful, truthful and worth reading. Hope that counts!
I have a cabinet just for the paperbacks I’ve bought twice. And I keep a master list of books read and listened to. But I like to reread too, and with some special books, I read and listen to the audio version.
‘Each book on my shelf has a story to go with it’ you say. That, Beth, is more interesting than a list of books. I suspect I would almost certainly enjoy a podcast of you working your way, unscripted, along one of your bookshelves. Every now and again we would hear you frantically turning pages in search of a sentence or paragraph you would like to share. Telling of how a book found a place in your home, perhaps loaned to you by a forgotten friend, never to be returned. I could go on. Like Gayla, I rediscover books by chance and when I do it’s like spending time with someone I haven’t seen in years and all the more enjoyable for that. Regards Robert.
Of course I forget books (and tv series and movies), that's why I started keeping lists of books read for each year. In the beginning I just listed the books in order to stop buying them over and over. Then I found that even though the book was listed, I didn't remember what I liked about it. So my list changed to include a brief review of every book. (I add those reviews to goodreads too).
For years I have kept email messages in folders in my Mail app to help me remember things. Folders for certain people, a folder for Friends without their own folder, folders for every email group I'm in, folders to remind me who I used for services (housing, gardening, auto, insurance, et al). But last week my laptop crashed and died. Those email folders are not retrievable (according to data retrieval specialist). This makes me very sad. It also teaches me to keep records in retrievable data formats.
I'm still not quite up to snuff. I had to order an external hard drive in order to be able to have everything I had before on my new-to-me laptop. It should arrive tomorrow. Just a few minutes ago I was able to set up my email accounts on Mail on my new laptop.
I guess the good news is I don't even know what all I've lost.
I finish so few books. And I mean very few books, probably 80%. Reading is hard for me and not entertainment. I get bored so fast unless there's something that catches me, and it's not action . . . Maybe the Voice. I think it's the Voice that leads me into the story and keeps me there. A distinctive Voice. The ones I do finish, I remember. And I have a small canon I go back and read again and again. I underline passages and write notes in the margins. Most of them are older, but not all.
Thanks for this. Now I don't feel so alone and yes, even embarrassed that I can't remember plots, characters and in some cases whether I've even read a certain book or not. I do keep a commonplace book though, where I jot down quotes or images or things I want to note as I read. In fact, I have these little notebooks all over the house and always carry one with me. Fun and interesting to page through them every so often, to see what I noticed as I read.
I am one of many that can't remember most books I read not long after I close the book. The few books I do remember more things about are books that moved me in some way or are my 5 star reads. The upside of this is that I can re-read a book several years later and it seems like a new book. This has always been this way for me, it's not just a sign of getting older. :)
My reading and books are too sacred to stress over remembering them. Unless for school reading requirements, I give myself grace to forget. I think we are overloaded with information and our "file cabinet brains" are over stuffed and the drawers are jammed. Your writing is remembered by me just as being beautiful, truthful and worth reading. Hope that counts!
I have a cabinet just for the paperbacks I’ve bought twice. And I keep a master list of books read and listened to. But I like to reread too, and with some special books, I read and listen to the audio version.
I don't know where I'd be without my journal. Enjoy your week off, Betsy!
‘Each book on my shelf has a story to go with it’ you say. That, Beth, is more interesting than a list of books. I suspect I would almost certainly enjoy a podcast of you working your way, unscripted, along one of your bookshelves. Every now and again we would hear you frantically turning pages in search of a sentence or paragraph you would like to share. Telling of how a book found a place in your home, perhaps loaned to you by a forgotten friend, never to be returned. I could go on. Like Gayla, I rediscover books by chance and when I do it’s like spending time with someone I haven’t seen in years and all the more enjoyable for that. Regards Robert.
I forget some books and not others, no idea why. Not necessarily the best books, either. I sure remember Bel Canto!
I love rereading good books, so that's fortunate.
Of course I forget books (and tv series and movies), that's why I started keeping lists of books read for each year. In the beginning I just listed the books in order to stop buying them over and over. Then I found that even though the book was listed, I didn't remember what I liked about it. So my list changed to include a brief review of every book. (I add those reviews to goodreads too).
For years I have kept email messages in folders in my Mail app to help me remember things. Folders for certain people, a folder for Friends without their own folder, folders for every email group I'm in, folders to remind me who I used for services (housing, gardening, auto, insurance, et al). But last week my laptop crashed and died. Those email folders are not retrievable (according to data retrieval specialist). This makes me very sad. It also teaches me to keep records in retrievable data formats.
I'm still not quite up to snuff. I had to order an external hard drive in order to be able to have everything I had before on my new-to-me laptop. It should arrive tomorrow. Just a few minutes ago I was able to set up my email accounts on Mail on my new laptop.
I guess the good news is I don't even know what all I've lost.
xo
I finish so few books. And I mean very few books, probably 80%. Reading is hard for me and not entertainment. I get bored so fast unless there's something that catches me, and it's not action . . . Maybe the Voice. I think it's the Voice that leads me into the story and keeps me there. A distinctive Voice. The ones I do finish, I remember. And I have a small canon I go back and read again and again. I underline passages and write notes in the margins. Most of them are older, but not all.
Thanks for this. Now I don't feel so alone and yes, even embarrassed that I can't remember plots, characters and in some cases whether I've even read a certain book or not. I do keep a commonplace book though, where I jot down quotes or images or things I want to note as I read. In fact, I have these little notebooks all over the house and always carry one with me. Fun and interesting to page through them every so often, to see what I noticed as I read.