Old Book Lists

Longtime book list maker here. And now I have the evidence to prove it! A few weeks ago I found a couple of trusty notebooks that have traveled with me for a LONG time!

The video above is the notebook that I started the summer of 2000, which would have been just before my junior year in high school! It’s so cool to see my handwriting change over the years. Isn’t that strange? It’s always basically the same, but little changes can make a huge difference!

This notebook lists all of the books I read from 2000-2009. (!!) What a treasure chest of memories, no kidding. I’d forgotten about most of these, to be honest. But I see The Glass Castle that I read in 2008, and the movie is about to come out. My entire VC Andrews phase. My read and then re-read of all of the Harry Potters. The entire year that I devoured every Margaret Atwood book that I could find. It looks like June and July have historically been big reading months for me! (and yes, I started reading the Left Behind series, don’t judge me!)

I started this notebook listing only the book and author read, but as time went on my list sophistication grew. I started adding month/year finished, number of pages, number within the year, etc. I’ve never been one to start something and expect perfection – I’ve always tweaked my methods as I go, which I’m thankful for.

This next video is a notebook that I must have started somewhere around 2007-2008. It’s basically my first TBR list! I had all sorts of sources that I meticulously recorded and looked up all of the library call numbers (ha!). And as I glance through this, there are STILL some books that I want to read!

This is why I’m a list keeper. I can’t tell you how much fun I had going through these notebooks. I’m telling you – it’s never too late to start keeping a list of anything. Start TODAY! When you come across some of your old entries, you’re going to be glad that you did.