I’m a list-maker. When I get stressed out about the five thousand things I have going on — like, you know, right now — I begin to draft lists upon lists of what I want to accomplish, things I need to do or purchase, and obligations I’ve made. I update my Google Calendar religiously. My desk is littered with scraps of paper and scribbled notes: shopping lists for the grocery store and Target; discontinued car brands I can’t feature on the front of my Automotive section at work; recipes I want ot try; appointments; addresses of friends I want to send Christmas cards this year.
It’s basically a hot mess, friends. While some of my lists are typed up as carefully-crafted Word documents — like the one outlining everything I’m buying for Christmas, the recipient, the price tag, whether I’ve already purchased it, etc. — most are on Post-Its, receipts and scratch paper. I’m “organized,” yes, but it’s a messy chaos. It’s organization on crack.
The only list which is quite organized, it seems? My book wishlist. Scrolling through the countless blogs I enjoy every day, I add titles like an addict getting her fix. Maybe the novel features a dynamic main character, a fun love story or winning female friendships — and comes highly recommended by a trusted blogger friend. Or perhaps I just dig the cover. Whatever the reason, I keep meticulous track of what I want to pick up on Goodreads, carefully “tagging” and categorizing my entries.
Is it a little obsessive-compulsive? Maybe. When I’m hanging out in the blogosphere, I keep my Goodreads account open at all times. I can’t risk missing something, you know.
One of these days, I’m going to get really crazy and re-order that massive list — which currently holds 156 titles — into what I most want to purchase/borrow next.
But, you know, I’m not quite at that level yet.
How do you organize your wishlist? On Goodreads, LibraryThing, etc.? On a spreadsheet? On scrap paper — or just in your lovely head?
write meg! 
It’s all about Amazon for me. If the book is available on Kindle, I have a sample sent – even if I don’t intend to purchase it, I can keep track of it. If not, I put it in my wishlist. Then as I read things, I either erase them from my wishlist/Kindle or if I want to purchase a copy, I put it in a subcategory on my Kindle – the “Please Buy Me!” category.
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I try to get organized on goodreads, but I forget to update sometimes and then end up with things on to-read instead of wishlist and then I get all confused. I need a better system, too 🙂
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I am such a list maker too…I just made my to-do list for the weekend!
I keep my book wishlists in two places – on goodreads and on a spreadsheet. I use the project to track books i have read, so it is easier to have it all together. Sometimes, I also like to make myself read something random from my lists, and I have found the best way to do that is random.org, so the spreadsheet ensures every book has a number!
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Sometimes I need lists for my lists too! And without the lists I don’t function. Like yesterday, I knew I had to stop at the store after work, but which one? I ended up going to the drug store instead of the grocery store… because I didn’t make a list! It was only after I got home that I remembered what I needed. And I’m not absent-minded, just too much to remember.
My books are easy, my wish list is on goodreads.
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At least book lists are happy lists — I loathe my to-do lists…
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I add stuff to my Goodreads wishlist, and I also have an app I use on my phone to note things down when I am browsing. I used to be big into physically writing lists, but not so much anymore.
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I have a list on Amazon, but it’s mostly just for books I *really* want to read.
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I have lots of lists, too. I try to have a notebook where I write things down, but I also enjoy the website, http://www.listography.com
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I have a little notebook that I keep my wish list in, but I haven’t updated it in a while.
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I used to keep a typed list on my computer, but I could only update that at home. I’ve now switched to the wonders of Good Reads, though I still keep lists of paper in my bag and typed notes on my phone, whenever I can’t get online. I also enjoy a good Post-It note or index card.
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Ooooh….just added some of your wishlist books to my wishlist! I keep track of my wishlist books on Goodreads and Amazon (just Goodreads these days, but I haven’t had the motivation to bring those over to the Goodreads list yet). And my Windows Calendar? Invaluable for keeping track of blogging commitments. It keeps me organized (and sane!). I also have a list on my library’s site of books that I want to borrow in the future, and a post-it note application on my desktop for all other random notes that I need to keep. Oh- I guess I do have a bit of a list making compulsion, LOL!
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I totally relate to this post! I have lists everywhere – I think I’m a little OCD about it. As for my book wishlist – I am definitely super OCD about that since I started blogging. For me, paperbackswap has a handy wishing tab and that’s where I store all mine because you export it to excel easily and sort alphabetically by author or title.
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I often actively browse blogs without anything to hand to note down books. That way if I do end up wanting to afterwards it’s only the one or two of utmost interest that get noted for lack of remembering the rest. I used to be sad when I forgot titles and lost them but it keeps the list down.
Lists are useful, and when you’re working towards something they keep you organised and on track.
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i wish i was as organized as you are with your book wishlist. i normally write the books i want down on whatever piece of paper that is lying around (usually the back of a receipt) and hope i can hang onto said paper long enough to get to a store and purchase the book before losing it. i also started to write down books i want in a journal but i didn’t carry the journal with me everywhere so i would still use the old method of writing down book titles on anything i could get my hands on. so now i have a journal with random pieces of paper taped into it.
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I wish I was that compulsive about my bookwishlist. There is simply too much on there, it seems. And I have 5 wishlists scattered around this room, my apartment at home and my computer. I am trying to get them all organised into one on GoodReads, but I fear I’m unsuccesful.
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I’m not as good keeping up my wishlist, but that’s probably because I’m pretty quick to buy ones I want after I preview them from the library. That’s left me with very little on the wishlist right before Christmas…sigh.
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I recently started using Goodreads and I like it a lot! I still do have a TBR list in a word doc though that I keep updated and highlight once I’ve finished a book. Mainly though, when I’m lazy, I just star a post in my Google Reader of a book I want to check out and scroll through there when I want to get organized and add them to my list.
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