One of the unexpected pleasures of Books on the Table has been reconnecting with old friends. I recently heard from Gloria, who worked at Lake Forest Book Store for several years and then moved to Door County, Wisconsin. Gloria, who had a rewarding career as a nurse, turned to bookselling later in life.  Her first job was at Borders back in the days when applicants had to take a difficult test to prove their “bookworthiness”.  In response to “10 Books I’d Save in a Fire (or a Flood)”, Gloria commented:

When I was a child my family home had two devastating fires (one electrical/smoking related and the other set by a sibling playing with matches). No one was ever hurt but many treasured possessions like books and photos were lost. Then as a young mother, I lost my children’s baby pictures to a cold-hearted burglar. So . . . my mind is prepared and my old childhood books are already gone. (After reading two of my current recommendations, Ru and A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, I place my losses in the perspective where they belong.) What I would save now are these little ‘What I Read’ journals. For the last several years I write a short synopsis of everything I read; include the date, my reaction, little tidbits like “bought off the table at LFBS(!)” or “read during January 2014 deep freeze”. As I get older I sometimes don’t remember what I had for dinner last night….these journals refresh my memory of all the many great, and occasional not so great, books I’ve read. I know people who’ve done this much of their lives. Lucky them!

Gloria has met many other book lovers in Door County, including one who has little boxes filled with index cards with information about books she’s read, and one who has a list of all the books she’s read going back to high school. That’s impressive — although when I was in high school, I did have a little journal full of “meaningful” quotes from poems and songs. I would be embarrassed to read that now, especially when I recall that one of those quotes was from the Grateful Dead: “What a long, strange trip it’s been”.

I’ve never kept a book journal. I have a collection of  lovely blank books that I bought with the intention of keeping track of the books I’ve read (and want to read)  but those books are still empty. Every time I bought a beautiful hardbound journal, I thought that would be the one that would inspire me to record my reading. Now, I’m trying to remember to list my books  on the “Recently Read” and “In My Stacks” pages of Books on the Table, but I’m not even doing very well with that. I wish I’d kept a journal of all the books I’ve read, starting in childhood. This year, I’m going to keep track of the books I’ve read, and I’m going to keep a list of books I plan to read. It’s certainly an easier resolution to keep than losing 10 pounds or working out every day!

Apparently, even successful authors have difficulty remembering to use their reading journals. While procrastinating this morning, I found a post called “The Reading Resolution” on the Jungle Red Writers (“smart and sassy crime fiction writers”) blog. Deborah Crombie says:

I have attempted, on numerous occasions, to keep track of WHAT I read. I have a book journal, with, well, maybe three pages filled out.  I’ve put books in my personal journal, occasionally. (And don’t ask how long it’s been since I made an entry in that!)  I’ve made notes on what I’m reading now and again in my calendar.

Deborah’s fellow author, Julia Spencer-Fleming, admits to the same problem:

What I DO want to try in 2014 is keeping a book journal. I get so frustrated when someone asks me, “what are you reading?” or we do

one of our book recommendation posts here on JRW, because half the time, I can’t recall the name or author of the great book I devoured just last month!

Does anyone have any suggestions for a really good-looking book journal to make it easier for me?

I’m sorry, Julia, but I have some very good-looking journals and they haven’t made it any easier for me . . . good luck!

To read “The Reading Resolution” blog post, click Jungle Red Writers. Contributors to the blog are Deborah Crombie, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Hallie Ephron, and several other mystery/suspense novelists.