I've already seen Rachelle Rogers Knight's handy reading journal, Read, Remember, Recommend popping up around the blogosphere. Sourcebooks kindly sent a copy along to me, so I thought I'd give you a little peek inside the book. It's a nifty idea, and while probably a little too big to slip into your purse or backpack, certainly it would be nice to keep on your bookshelf or on top of your bookpiles as a nice reading reference and resource.
My favorite section and likely the part to get the most use is the first section of "Awards and Notable Lists". It's quite comprehensive covering everything from the Pulitzer and other popular and well known prizes like the Booker and Orange to lesser known (at least not well known by myself) awards such as the Kiriyama Prize. All the books are listed by year and there are spaces to add new winners. And there are also lots of lists like Oprah's and Richard and Judy's book club picks. I am only disappointed as genre fiction is not represented--no Edgars, Agathas or Macavitys as well as no science fiction or romance awards. Still, there is quite a cross section of general awards and there are pages at the end of the section to add your own lists.
Considering how long my wish list and 'to read' list is, I'm not sure there are enough pages in the "To Read" section. Still, it's a nice place to keep track of titles and authors with a spot for a note or two.
The "Journal Pages" is just what I needed when I was only keeping a journal with a list of titles read. This would be a perfect place to note what you've read, when you read it, and what your thoughts on the book were. My own paper journal only lists titles and dates, and I hate to admit that over the course of time some titles have faded so far from memory I can't even remember what they were about!
There's a section for "Recommendations". I think I'd prefer more pages for journal entries with only a slot in that area for possible recommendations, but other readers might find this handy. To be honest I'm very leery of giving specific recommendations to friends unless I know their reading tastes well. I figure if I talk about a book that sounds interesting it will be noted down, or alternately passed over for something else.
If you loan out books the "Loaner Lists" would be useful. It's like having a nice little check out card in one place. I've learned that it's better to not expect a book back once you loan it out as I've had too many gone astray. However conscientious readers tend to be very considerate about returning books.
The last section of "Resources" has lots of good information for readers. There are loads of links to explore--book award sites, book blogs (quite a few familiar names there), bookstores, exchange sites, and other bookish resources.
There are even definitions of literary terms! Lots of this information can be found online, but it's nice to have it all together in one place along with places to make notes and write out thoughts on books read or waiting to be read. As much as I like using the computer to keep track of things, I admit I will always like having paper resources as well. Anyway, this is a nice idea and definitely something to keep in mind as a gift idea for bookish friends.