The ultimate organizing resource for book-lovers and a self-published hit, Read, Remember, Recommend gives readers a one-stop shop to keep track of their reading. Featuring 60 cross-refere

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The book is attractive, and the spiral binding and tabs are a big plus.


I’m not exactly sure when reading moved from personal entertainment to group activity (though I’m half convinced it had something to do with Oprah and the 1990s) but, at some point, it did. Of course, reading is still something that, ultimately, must be done alone. But lots of activities can be organized around the simple, previously solitary act of reading.

It’s possible that no one knows all of this better than Rachelle Rogers Knight, a self-proclaimed “passionate reader” whose very passion led her to self-publish a fledgling version of Read, Remember, Recommend back in 2007. Three years and several improvements later, Sourcebooks introduces a more polished and complete version of that book. Serious bibliophiles will not look back.

In her introduction, Rogers Knight tells readers what she hopes they will accomplish with the book:

•Discover new writers while expanding your reading list
•Keep details about what you’ve read and journal your thoughts, feelings, and emotions about each book
•Keep track of your to-read list
•List your recommendations to share with other readers, friends, and book club members
•Note and keep track of books you’ve loaned and borrowed
•Peruse an extensive list of literary blogs and book award lists
•Expand your knowledge of literary terms
A combination of carefully thought-out log pages as well as lists of awards, notable picks and suggestions as well as a resource section make for a hefty package. Read, Remember, Recommend is a substantial book, which is a good thing as, in many ways, it’s meant to be a book you bring with you for your lifetime.

List makers, book club members and other bookish types who enjoy cataloging their books, sharing them or both are likely to enjoy Read, Remember, Recommend. A young adult version of the book is now available, as well.

The ultimate organizing resource for book-lovers and a self-published hit, Read, Remember, Recommend gives readers a one-stop shop to keep track of their reading. Featuring 60 cross-referenced lists of literary awards and notable picks (Pulitzer, National Book Award, 100 Best Books of the Century), this journal offers more than 2500 suggestions to help readers discover great literature and new authors. The journal also provides room to record books read, jot down thoughts and ideas, and keep track of recommendations, books borrowed and loaned, and book club history.

My Thoughts

I have been wanting this journal since I started seeing it pop up on other book blogs. I was cleaning out my wallet and found an unused gift card (who forgets they have a gift card?). I paired my gift card with a coupon and now I am the proud owner of this wonderful tool! I tried to take pictures of each section but the pictures were blurry and bad. I’m a reader, not a photographer and it showed. I will spare you the horrible pictures. My next purchase should be a book on digital photography.

I love the Award and Notable List section. I have found many books that I have read listed along with many I want to read. I like how on some of the lists spaces were left for the new award winners. Yesterday I added to the Pennie’s Picks-The Costco Connection list. I am having so much fun with this section!

There is a To Read section where you can list what you want to read, what you own, what you recommend and what you want.

Next section holds Journal Pages. I already journal about what I have read. I have been doing that for a few years now. The only complaint I have about this book is there is not enough journal pages. I have read others suggestions that this book be a binder type book in which you could add more pages to. I think that is an excellent suggestion. For now I will keep the journal book I already am using stored with this book. They make quite the pair!

The next section is for Recommendations, books you would like to recommend to others. A very useful section. I am thinking of listing my favorite reads here for those times when someone asks for a good book suggestion.

The next section is Loaner Lists. This is one section I need. Today I have no idea who has my copies of The Help and Snow Flower and The Secret Fan. If I had this book when I loaned them out I might stand a chance of recovering my books. Most books I do giveaway but a few are keepers for me. I do loan them out though so this is another useful section for me.

Next comes an interesting section on Resources. This is a nice section. There are book award websites listed along with sites to many book blogs, some of which I visit and others which I hope to be visiting soon. Also there is an index for the authors listed in this lovely book and also an index for the titles of the books listed.

Okay I must confess, it took me awhile to be able to write in this great book. It just goes against everything I have been taught. Once I started to write in it and started checking off books, there was no stopping me! I love lists! I love making them and following them so I absolutely love this book! I think it is a brilliant idea.

This book would make a great gift idea for that Mom who loves to read. Paired with a book gift card and you could Mom very happy! There is also a teen version of this book. A great gift for the reading teen to use over summer vacation.

Read, Remember, Recommend calls itself a reading journal for book lovers and that’s just what it definitely is! But why do we need it, you may ask. Let me tell you why. This journal is something I or any book lover would love to have because with it, we can keep track of our reading and our thoughts on our favourite books. It sounds like a fact, doesn’t it?

I’ve searched online before for such reading journals as I was interested to get one for myself. Yeah, I’ve visited Amazon to check out the reading journals on sale and Read, Remember, Recommend was one of them. So imagine my ecstasy when Sourcebooks sent me this amazing journal for review.

There are six parts in the journal plus the introduction. You could read the intro section to help you get started with it. However, the bulk of the book would be Awards and Notable Lists where there are numerous lists of books that have won or were nominated in bookish awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Awards, the National Book Critics Circle Awards, the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, Salon Book Award for Fiction and the Richard & Judy Book of the Year Award. If you want to get familiar with award-winning books, this is the place to turn to. Some blank lists are also provided for you to fill in your own favourite lists of books.

Besides, with the To Read section, you can keep track of books that you want to read. Judging by the number of books out there, the five pages available will not be sufficient to write them all.

As it is a reading journal after all, the third section is Journal Pages. But I think you can only fill in around 67 books in the provided boxes and columns. Some of them have more lines for you to write in and I suggest you leave them for books where you have more opinions on.

The sections that follow are Recommendations, Loaner Lists and Resources. You can use the recommendations list to record books that you want to suggest to your family, friends and anyone else. If you always lend out your books, then keep track of them in the Loaner Lists. At least you will know and remember who you lent your favourite books to. A friend of mine lent one of her Harry Potter books and couldn’t figure out the borrower! Finally with the Resources section, check out the book-related websites and blogs. You may even find some of your favourite book blogs listed there! Who knows, maybe YOUR blog is there. Now how cool is that?

The journal is reader-friendly with an attractive cover that book lovers can identify with. Duh, the stacks of books! I also love the spiral-bound feature, which makes it easy to leave the book open without holding on to it. There are also coloured tabs at the sides so you can quickly flip to any section you want.

I will use the journal mainly for suggestions on what to read next since there are more than 2,500 cross-referenced great books recommended in there. Alright, I’m going to continue using this journal by checking off the books which I already own or have read. I am also going to familiarise myself with the best books on earth in the process of becoming a well-read person. Hopefully!


The first section is one I know I will use again and again - Awards and Notable Lists. There are loads of entries, covering well known - Pulitzer, Oprah - as well as lesser known. I was thrilled to see that the compilation covered Canadian and international lists as well. Books that appear in more than one list are marked with a symbol. The symbols are identified in a footnote section at the end of the tab. I did find the symbols somewhat confusing - perhaps a numbering system would have been easier to search. For the most part, the lists have two empty spots for filling in the winners of the 2010/2011 entries. This wasn’t necessarily consistent though. Some entries have blanks for three years, others only two. Some left no space - the Quill and Quire list for example. I would have liked to have seen more blanks left - perhaps up to 5 years. I quite enjoyed seeing how many of the books I had read on the lists. There is room to create your own lists as well.

The second section also features formatted pages to list those books you’d like to read. There’s about 60 entries. (For me - that wouldn’t do a year!) Checklists for own, recommend, to read and want are included with the above two sections.

The third section is journal pages - a place to keep track of your thoughts. As a blogger I find I keep more detailed notes than the journal would hold. The fourth section is a place to record books you’d recommend to others. The fifth is a place to record the books you’ve loaned out (and hopefully had returned!)

The sixth section was one I found very useful. It’s a resource section, listing the web addresses of the awards and lists mentioned in the first section. It also has a great list of blogs - I saw many I already follow. There’s a glossary of literary terms included, which would be useful to those writing reviews or for book club discussions.

I will be keeping this handy on my desk at work to use as a reference tool in reader’s advisory. Personally as a blogger, I wouldn’t use the journal pages - I keep track on my blog and catalogue my books with one of the online sites available, but this would make a great, reasonably priced gift for the booklover on your list.

There is also a teen version of the book. And it looks like electronic versions will be available in the future. Take a peek inside.


What {if anything} do you use to journal, remember or just chart what you read?

I have an ancient Harry Potter journal whose pages never seem to run out {kind of reminds me of the Room of Requirement}. I jot down pages of quotes I want to highlight, the titles, dates, etc. That’s what I use.


This is what I should be using...


Whether we’re naturally organized or we need someone else’s help keeping us in line, this journal is what all we readers should be using.


Knight has handy tabs, plenty of white space for note-taking, a place to chart where your books are going if you’re brave enough to loan them out, recommendations from her and the experts {a.k.a. awards lists} and even an index. Spiral-bound, small enough to fit in most purses (mine anyway) but not as tiny as most journals, and brightly-colored.


This is my favorite reading journal ever.


And I’m giving it away. {sniff}


I’m tempted to enter myself, but I won’t. Because I do still have good ol’ Harry Potter and because I love my readers!


So, to win, just enter a comment before this Friday at 5 p.m., when I’ll select a winner.


I’ll throw in some other goodies with the journal, but that will be the highlight.


If you want more information, check out Knight’s website, a fun little find itself.

I have a confession to make: despite the fact that I live, breathe, eat, and even dream about books, I have never owned a reading journal. It wasn’t until two years ago when I started book blogging that I even thought about reviewing the wonderful (and not so wonderful) books that I had read. Up until now, when I went to write a review I sat at my computer with the book currently being reviewed in front of me, hoping for inspiration on how to convey my thoughts beyond "I liked it", or "I didn’t like it." I found that so frustrating, but all that has changed now; I now own a copy of Read, Remember, Recommend: A Reading Journal For Book Lovers by Rachelle Rogers Knight.

Read, Remember, Recommend is a fairly comprehensive book journal for fiction lovers. Since the world of books is constantly changing, it would be impossible for a book journal to include everything, but this one does a darn good job. The first section is devoted to Awards and Notable Lists. In this section you will find a book lovers dream: pages and pages of lists of books that have either won awards or are notable in some way. Beside each entry is a place where you can check off if you own the book, recommend it, have it in your "to read" pile, or want it. I can assure you that I’ve already spent more time than I’ll admit to perusing these fascinating lists and making checkmarks in the appropriate columns.

The second section is the "To Read" section. There you can make lists of the books that you want to read and why, which is fantastic for keeping track of books that can’t be found on the previous pages because they are too recent but are on everyone’s "must read" lists.

The third section is the "Journal Pages" section, and my favourite section so far. On these pages I keep track of the books I’ve read, and immediately after finishing a book I’ll write down my thoughts. Since I’m rarely able to sit down and write my review of a book while it is fresh in my mind (that’s what being a working mom of three boys is all about!) this section has allowed me to capture my thoughtsright away, and later write a comprehensive and (hopefully) intelligent review when I get the opportunity. No longer am I stuck thinking, "I liked the book. Now what?" when I sit down to blog. Even though this section has quite a few pages, I’m sure that I’ll use them up fast, and would have loved more in this section. How great will it be to look back and think, "Wow! I’ve read all of these books!"

The fourth section is devoted to books borrowed and books loaned. This section will be nice for the rare time that I borrow a book from somewhere other than the library, but since I don’t usually loan out my books, just give them away or donate them, I won’t be using this section a lot.

The fifth section is devoted to references and resources. There are some great websites listed, as well as some wonderful blogs mentioned that I frequent, but my favourite part is the index. There, books are catalogued both by title and by author, which is infinitely helpful when you’re wondering where a particular book is located in the lists.

I can’t recommend this journal enough to those who are like me: you love books, and you wish that you had one place where you could record everything to do with your reading. I’m sure when I’ve used up the pages provided I’ll have to go out and buy an updated version. Now that I have one, I can imagine being a reader and blogger without one!






READ, REMEMBER, RECOMMEND: A READING JOURNAL FOR BOOK LOVERS created by Rachelle Rogers Knight (aka Bibliobabe) is an absolute must-have for all book lovers. I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun I’ve had looking through this book. This book has so much information in it that I hardly know where to start.

This journal is so easy to use. It’s divided into six tabbed sections (and the tabs just happen to be very colorful!) — Awards and Notable Lists, To Read, Journal Pages, Recommendations, Loaner Lists, and Resources. In addition, there are lots of blank lines and pages to fill in additional data as you need to.

All of the sections are beneficial, but I absolutely love the Awards and Notable Lists. Of course, I am a freak about lists — I just love them! My husband pointed out that I could get all of that information off of the Internet, and sure I could, but that would be a major pain. In READ, REMEMBER, RECOMMEND, I have tons and tons of award winners and notable book lists in one place! There are all of the award lists that you’d expect (and more!), but there are also lists of the Oprah’s Book Club selections as well as Pennie’s Picks (from Costco) and Target’s Bookmarked Book Club selections.

I was extremely excited to see that my blog was listed in the Resource section of the book under "Lighter Book-Related Blogs." I swear this hasn’t affected my opinion of this journal in the slightest. Of course I’m very flattered that Rachelle featured my blog, but I’m also thrilled to be part of such a wonderful book resource.

I can’t recommend READ, REMEMBER, RECOMMEND enough either for yourself or another book lover in your life. It is an extremely valuable resource that I know I will use over and over again. I am already thinking of all of my friends who would benefit from a book like this.


I love journals, and I love making lists. (Unfortunately, I’m the type of person who writes lists or scrawls on sticky notes only to misplace them or never look at them again, but I digress.) So as soon as I tore open the envelope containing Read, Remember, Recommend — a new reading journal put together by Rachelle Rogers Knight — I grabbed a pen and settled in the recliner.

Read, Remember, Recommend will help book lovers keep tabs on the award-winning titles on their shelves and more. There are pages of award winners, from the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award to the Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction, and readers can check off which titles they own, want to own, want to read, or would recommend to other readers. There are a couple of lines for readers to insert winners over the next couple of years. I quickly found that I don’t own too many award winners, but no matter. I can see how this section would be useful for those participating in reading challenges that require them to read certain award winners or those looking for book club selections.

Other sections provide pages for readers to list books they want to read; books they’ve completed, with space for comments, the name of the person who recommended the book, new vocabulary words, and passages to remember; books they want to recommend to others; and books they’ve loaned or borrowed. The final section features numerous resources, including Web sites for book awards, social networking sites for readers, book club resources, and even book blogs (though I can’t say I agree with using the term "lighter" to describe many of my favorite book blogs, especially since they provide more detailed reviews than you’d expect from a "lighter" blog).

Overall, Read, Remember, Recommend is a fun resource for readers who like to keep track of what they read. If you’re like me and read numerous blogs on a daily basis, you come across tons of books that catch your eye, and this resource provides a place to keep track of these titles for future reference.

This is the coolest book journal that I have seen and used. I received it from Sourcebooks a few weeks ago and started browsing through it right away. Husband and daughter have also been caught perusing the book lists. I have spent hours reading the lists of award winning books as well as the lists of recommended reading from various sources. Beside each book are 4 check boxes where you can indicate whether you own the book, would you recommend it to others, do you want to read or have read the book, and finally whether you want to purchase the book. Great way to avoid re-purchasing books you’ve already read. Most lists also have blank lines so you can note the award winners for the next few years. There are several blank forms at the back of the section where you can add your own lists. You can also check Rachelle’s website for regular updates to the journal lists as well as tons of other information. I have added a list of the books selected for the ’One Book One Community’ program that my city has run each year since 2002.


My favourite lists at present are: The Governor General Awards from Canada, International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the National Endowment for the Arts - The Big Read. this is not just a journal for American readers, it contains lists from many countries and regions.


The next section is where you can make notes of books you want to read. Again, this section has the helpful check boxes found in the first section.


The third section has space to make notes on the book you’ve read or listened to. Great idea if you find yourself recommending books to friends or need to check back on a series you started reading earlier.


The next 2 sections are smaller. Not sure how much I’ll use them. One is a list of books you would want to recommend and the other is where you can note the books you have lent out or that you have borrowed from someone else.


There is a great Resource section at the back. Websites to check, additional awards not listed in the front, and index of authors included in the front section as well as an index of book titles cited in the journal.


I have have kept several journals over the years, and they are now a mess of notes, pictures, magazine cut outs and comments of library availability etc. This new journal is one place to keep all that information. Everyday for the past weeks, I have picked up this journal and updated information, checked to see if a particular author has won any of the noted awards and for many other reasons. I have even ordered the teen version for my daughter. Can’t wait to check that one out as well. I seem to recall that there are other versions in the works (romance, mystery?)

If you don’t know which book to purchase for your favourite reader I would highly recommend this journal or the teen version. Whatever you do, don’t leave the book as you find it. Add your own titles, make notes, put in stickers, bookmarks whatever and make it your personal journal. The one thing I would definitely add is your contact info inside the front cover so that if you accidently lose it, it can be returned to you.


I was glad to be given the opportunity to review Read, Remember, Recommend by Rachelle Rogers Knight because I love reading books about books, and besides that this is a reading journal where I could keep track of my reading.

The journal is divided into six sections: Awards and Notable Lists, To Read, Journal Pages, Recommendations, Loaner Lists and Resources. These tags are helpful and are easy reference as and when needed.

The Awards and Notable Lists Section consists a wonderful list of literary awards titles including the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Awards, The National Book Critics Circle Awards, Man Booker Prize, Heimingway Foundation/PEN Award and many others. Besides the great compilations, another thing I like is the boxes next to these titles where I could mark them as "Own", "Recommend", "To Read" or "Want". It definitely makes a useful reference/guide to me as I go along with my reading.

To Read and Journal Pages Sections allow readers to keep track and record the books they want to/or read, and you can record the titles where you’d like to recommend to others under the Recommendations Section.

Going through Resources Section is a great delight because not only it provides book-related online sites (e.g. Book Awards Sites, Bookclubs Resource Sites, Social Networking Sites for Readers, and even a few bookblogs which I have already added onto my Google Reader, etc etc). The list for Literary Terms also comes in handy if you want to know the definition of characterization or genre, just as an example.

All in all, Read, Remember, Recommend is a wonderful reading journal which I am sure most bibliophiles would love to have.

Are you looking for a way to keep track of your reading or to discover new titles you want to read? Then I have just the book for you! Read, Remember, Recommend by Rachelle Rogers Knight is an awesome book journal that bibliophiles won’t want to miss! The comb-bound journal is divided into the following sections:

■Awards and Notable Lists – I’m sure this section isn’t all-inclusive, but most major awards are included as well as some awards that aren’t so well-known. In here you can find a little something for everyone – from the titles of the Pulitzer Prize winners to Pennie’s Picks (the Costco Connection). There’s also room to update the prize winners for the next two years.
■To Read – This section of the book is where you can keep track of your wish list. There’s even space for notes, so you can keep track of who recommended the book to you.
■Journal Pages – This section is pretty self-explanatory.
■Recommendations – You keep track of the books you recommend to others in this section of the journal.
■Loaner Lists – Keep track of the books you’ve loaned and those you’ve borrowed in this section.
■Resources – The resources section of the journal lists web sites from book awards to blogs that can help you find more titles you’d like to read. It also includes social networking sites, book exchange sites and book club resource sites. There’s a handy glossary of literary terms as well as an index listing all the books mentioned in the journal in this section. I have to admit that I’m flattered that I was included in the “Lighter Book-Related Blogs” section. I’m sure you’ll recognize many of the blogs listed. I love this reading journal and think it would make a fabulous gift for the readers in your life!

I’m so excited to announce a great new version of an invaluable book club resource: Read, Remember, Recommend! Last year, Rachelle Rogers Knight, the creator of this journal, contacted me about creating a list of “book club worthy” titles and I happily agreed.

I then received complimentary copies of Knight’s previous edition and loved it. I gave my mother, sister, and book club buddies copies for Christmas and we’ve already referenced it a number of times.

The latest edition provides over 150 pages of award-winning works from various genres, followed by 8 pages for you to create your own list (for example, my friend Anna always knows exactly what to recommend, so I would include a list of “Anna Recommends…” titles). Next comes 10 pages to record a “To Be Read” list, then 50+ pages for us to record our thoughts while reading, a section for us to record titles we recommend to others, a few pages to record those books we have loaned to others, and finally a comprehensive resource list of literary webpages, blogs, literary terms, etc…
Who would appreciate Read, Remember, Recommend? Honestly, any reader!


It is a complete guide to award winning books up to this point, with a break down of award by country and genre.


A lovely jumping off point for building your own library, or for sharing titles you might not have thought of before.


This however, is not all that Read, Remember, Recommend has in store, it in fact is a very thought out book club diary. With sections for your ever expanding "To Read" list, your groups "Read" list with discussion pages, the "Recommend" list, a section for keeping track of books you have lent out or borrowed and the final chapter/section is an overview of internet based sites for online book clubs and internet awards.
This is a well researched diary for anyone just starting out with a book club or who might be wanting to look into what sort of writing awards they might be eligible for.


Rachelle Rogers Knight has put hours of dedicated work into her latest offering, and it’s companion diary for teens. The diary is available this week and you can visit her at her website http://www.bibliobabe.com/

As most of you know, as a book blogger, you get dozens of review requests each week. You have to pick and choose, otherwise you might just find yourself under a mountain of books, left for dead. When I received a request to review Read, Remember, Recommend, however, I deliberated for about...three seconds. I like books, I like lists, I like making notes and marks in little boxes (big shocker that I am a CPA, huh?). Hold onto your shorts, friends. This is a reading journal for book lovers!

You want a list of all Pulitzers, National Book Awards, National Book Critics Circle Awards, Hemingway Foundation/PEN Awards, Governor General’s Literary Awards, Scotiabank Giller Prizes, Trillium Book Awards, Man Bookers, Costas, Orange Prizes, Miles Franklins, New York Times Best Books of the Year, (and more but I’m starting to run out of breath) BY YEAR, here it is in one place. With little boxes next to each book that say "Own", "Recommend", "To Read" and "Want". Oooh, I want, I want, I want.

There is a tab where you can record books you want to read. A tab for journaling. A tab for books you want to recommend and to whom. A tab where you can keep track of books loaned and books borrowed. A tab of literary references, including websites for all book awards, literary terminology, and RECOMMENDED BOOK BLOGS. Yes you heard me. And many of these book blogs are some of you, my girlfriends. Kathy, Julie, Lisa, Trish, Natasha, Nicole, Amy, Wendy, Dawn...you are in here girls. So what am I? Chopped liver? I guess you know you’ve made it when you are on the list of recommended blogs! I guess I can aspire to such a thing!

I was so excited when I received this book, I drug it to the book fair and touched it and manically flipped through it (while I was supposed to be working!), giving my adult customers an unsolicited peek at my little treasure. Got a few squeals too, until they found out that no, it wasn’t for sale on one of our tables.

So what is not to love? Happiness is curling up with a pencil and a glass of wine and marking up my little boxes!


Are you an organised reader? I am the absolute opposite. I’m always amazed when I read some of my fellow bloggers describing how they keep notebooks, or card indexes, of everything they have read, are reading, are about to read, or wish to read. I do none of those things — I just follow my nose wherever it takes me. Now and again I might make a note of a book title that sounds as if it would appeal to me, but I usually can’t remember where I wrote it down — and sometimes I may go as far as ordering it from the library. But that’s as far as it goes. Blogging suits me well because of all this, as at least I have a record of what I’ve read and liked (though generally not what I haven’t liked as I usually keep quiet about those). This lack of organisation is one thing that leads me to write about books the minute I’ve finished them, unlike dovegreyreader who apparently keeps them on hold for weeks — which explains why her posts are so well-considered and mine are so off-the-cuff-ish. I would have forgotten all about them if I put them aside, so I have to throw my thoughts down pretty sharpish.

All this preamble is leading up to something that came in the post a couple of days ago, this newly published ’reading journal for book lovers’. If anything was going to tempt me to start writing things down, this would probably be it. Nicely presented with a ring-binder format and coloured dividers with tabs between the sections, this is a very user-friendly book. But it’s much more than a reading journal — it is also a reference book. In fact the first 162 pages, more than half the book, are devoted to lists of the winners of "Awards and Notable Prizes" — so if you wanted to see what won the Booker in 1976 (David Storey, Saville), or the Pulitzer in 1953 (Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea), or the James Tait Memorial Prize in 1920 (DH Lawrence, The Lost Girl) this would be the place to look — the lists are quite wide-ranging and international, and I hadn’t heard of many of these prizes. As in any book of lists these will soon be out of date, but there is space to add the latest winners if you want to. The rest of the book is divided into "To Read", "Journal Pages" (ie what you’ve read), "Recommendations" and "Loaner Lists". Then there’s a reference section at the end. This includes a list of book blogs, but I’m sorry to say that not only am I not on it — I wouldn’t really expect to be — but nor are any of my favourite blogs. Of course this is an American publication, and I think in places it is, not surprisingly, slanted towards US readers. But it’s attractive and informative, so if you are looking for something to use yourself, or to give to a book-loving friend, this would be a good candidate


Anyone who is a compulsive reader, like me, will understand the difficulty of managing the habit. The book buying and reading compulsion that results in manic book buying and lazy days on the couch with nothing to do but read. Read, Remember, Recommend provides so many tools to manage the reading life. It is one of the most useful reading journals that I have found.

The different sections in the book were really useful. I loved the Awards and Notable books lists in the first section. My reading list expanded by at least 30 books. Something I really cannot afford. The list were amazing. There were some that I have never heard of. The To Read section was also really useful. I have been using an Excel doc to keep track of my To Read list. Not the most useful thing when it goes over 500 items. It provided ample space for me to list the books I want and check them off once I get them. The book also provides plenty of journal pages. I also love that you can record where you got the recommendation from because I read so many blogs that I generally forget. I also like to keep track of the books I recommend to other people. I do it so often with my friends and family that sometimes when they bring it up in conversation later, I forget which book I am supposed to be talking about. The only section that is really not very useful to me is the Loaner List. I don’t loan my books out. At all. Ever. I mainly use that to record my library books with due dates.

I cannot tell you how useful this book is to a bookworm. It was a lifesaver for me (there is also a Young Adult version that I am pining after). It really does help manage the illness a bit. I love how it keeps everything organized and in its place. I do wish that some section had more pages to them. Every reader will find Read, Remember, Recommend useful.

Grade: A


This is where I gush like a frickin’ waterfall and demand that you pick up this book immediately if not sooner! Forgive my text-speak here but OMG! Where has this book been all my life?! I have purchased and read several "books-about-books" references in the past: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, Book Lust, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Ultimate Reading List (all of which are excellent,) but Rachelle Rogers Knight’s Read, Remember, Recommend stands out from the crowd.

From well-known awards lists such as Pulitzer and Man Book Prize winners, to lesser known awards such as Indies Choice and Dublin Award winners, Read, Remember, Recommend gives readers almost 150 pages of award winners and books that have made various "notable" lists - something for everyone. To the right of each listed book, the author has given the reader space to catalog books owned, recommended, to-be-read, and to-be-purchased.

One of the best features of Read, Remember, Recommend is the "References and Resources" section in the back of the book. Knight has organized 25 pages of web addresses for all manner of literary prizes and awards, as well as online book club sites, book exchange sites, social networking sites for readers, and - my FAVORITE - book blogs! I am thrilled to tell you that many of my favorite book blogs are listed in the literary blogs or lighter book-related blogs section. My blog is not listed, but I can forgive that because this book is FANTASTIC!

Rachelle Rogers Knight’s Read, Remember, Recommend is the absolute best journal for readers! The copious checklists and reading suggestions are a book-lover’s dream and the literary resources listed in the back of the book are exhaustive and thorough. Bibliomaniacs interested in chronicling their adventures in reading will fall in love with Read, Remember, Recommend!

I am sure most of my fellow bibliophiles are a lot like me–you’ve tested out pretty much of reading journal out there. Everyone I know is aware of the fact that I love to read, so reading journals are a gift I’ve received more than once. In that respect, I was unsure of whether Read, Remember, Recommend would bring something to the table that the other journals wouldn’t.

I realized right away that RRR is, above everything else, a great resource. The first section of the journal deals exclusively and extensively with literature awards. It lists each award with prior winners and spaces to write in this years and next years winners. Some of the awards were obvious–Pulitzer, Man Booker, etc. But then there were awards that I have never heard of. Governor General’s Literary Awards, James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, Miles Franklin Literary Award . . . the list goes on and on. There was also a list of good book club picks sorted by subject. At the end of the section, there is a spot where you can list what books you want to read, own or recommend.

There are also journal pages where you can pen reviews or just general thoughts. This is followed by pages where you can list books you’d like to recommend and to whom, as well as pages where you can keep track of books you have loaned out of borrowed. There is also a glossary with literary terms as well as tons of resources, including book blogs! Some of my favorite blogs are mentioned! BermudaOnion’s Weblog, Booking Mama and Linus’s Blanket, to name a few. How cool is that!!

The journal itself was written and compiled by Rachelle Rogers Knight at Bibliobabe.com. If, like me, you are unfamiliar with this blog, I urge you to check it out–it’s a great blog.

Overall, this journal is a terrific resource. Definitely better than any reading journal I have come across thus far. I will definitely make it a part of my library as well as keeping it in mind as a gift for other bibliophiles.