A quiet moment at the library that changed how I track my reading

I was at the main branch downtown, working on my reading log spread. An older woman at my table leaned over and said, 'You know, I just write the date I finish a book, not the day I start it. It feels more like a win.' I tried her way for three months now. My list looks shorter, but each entry feels solid. Has anyone else tried tracking just the finish dates?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_hayden10d ago

Honestly that method would drive me nuts. I need to see the start date too so I know how long a book took me, otherwise it feels like half the story is missing. Tbh tracking just the finish makes every book seem the same, whether I breezed through it in a weekend or struggled for months.

claire_ross6110d ago

Wow, you really keep a detailed book diary, huh? It's just reading, not a science project. I finish a book and mark it done, that's the whole point for me. Who has time to track start dates and do math on how long it took? If a book was a slog, I already know because I remember being bored.

patel.morgan10d ago

Totally get where @claire_ross61 is coming from, keeping it simple is key for some people! For me though, jotting down the start date takes two seconds and it's fun to look back later. It helps me see my own reading speed and remember which books really grabbed me versus the slow burns.