How do I track reading in MS Excel?

Quantified Self Apps & Tools
#1

Hi everyone

I’m planning to track my reading in Excel. Listed below are things I’d like to track:

  1. Name of book read - ok
  2. Name of author - ok
  3. Start date and end date - ok
  4. Score on value - ? (need help)
  5. Score on readability - ? (need help)
  6. Score on entertainment - ? (need help)
  7. Any other attribute that you can suggest
  8. Is it a good idea assigning weights? (somehow)

Not proficient in statistics but I’m looking to uplift quickly if required. Thanks in advance.

Arjun

#2

I kept track of the books I read for several years. I gave them grades: A+, A, A-, B+, B, and so on.

#3

Are you going to do something in particular with the data where you need those extra score dimensions? If not, you might consider just tracking in Goodreads instead: http://www.goodreads.com/ – you’ll get a lot of metadata and aggregate review data about the books for free.

#4

I too have been tracking books read in Libreoffice Calc (Excel alternative) since 4 years (and movies seen since 9 years).

4-6: Great idea of you to separate value, readibility and entertainment, that is an excellent scoring system. I actually stopped grading my books because I only gave 1 score per book but found that too difficult because some books are extremely high value, but low on readability and entertainment, or otherwise around.
Regarding ‘scoring’ your books, I also noticed this: manytimes if I would look at the score a few months or more after reading, I would be surprised how high I scored the book right after reading it, because a few months later I would not remember the book as that good. It was like right after reading a book, because I was still ‘into it’ or something, I would feel much more enjoyment from the book, than I later would remember having felt. If that makes sense.

7: I also note

  • where I purchased, or whom I borrowed the book from
  • date of purchase (this is often waaaaaaaay before date of start reading, my yet-to-read pile is always high :slight_smile: )
  • wheter it’s a paperback, hardcover or e-book
  • also interesting to note: how you got the idea to read this book, i.e.: recommended by friend, or because I want to read more of this author I already know&like, or because of an article on internet/paper/magazine, or because I saw the movie…
  • how much I paid for the book, if applicable

8: Don’t really understand what you mean by ‘weights’ ??

#5

Just checked what you get from Goodreads when you export the data (which is super easy).

Data fields: [list]
[]Book Id
[]Title []Author []Author l-f []Additional Authors []ISBN []ISBN13 []My Rating []Average Rating []Publisher []Binding []Number of Pages []Year Published Original Publication Year []Date Read []Date Added []Bookshelves []Bookshelves with positions []Exclusive Shelf []My Review Spoiler Private Notes Read Count Recommended For []Recommended By []Owned Copies []Original Purchase Date []Original Purchase Location []Condition []Condition Description []BCID[/list]

#6

Thanks Ernesto, I’ll give a closer look at GR for tracking purpose. I signed up and so far loved the site. I’ll share the spreadsheet once it’s ready.

Kind Regards

#7

I’ve used LibraryThing.com since 2005 or so. Free for under 200 books. Quite extensive, but can’t add custom fields like readability, for example, if I remember correctly. I’ve also found the process for adding a book somewhat cumbersome.

#8

Hi everyone

Firstly, thanks for all the comments to my thread. This is a great community.

Secondly, I finally managed to eke out some time and finished making my tracker. I’m attaching it here. Feel welcome to use and share and come back with your review comments (if any).

Have a nice weekend.

Arjun

#9

I really like the simplicity of this excel tracker! I uploaded it to a public Google spreadsheet in case anyone wants to use it. You can access that file here.