How to curate the perfect reading list

Life is too short to finish books we dislike. How do you decide what to read next? Today I will discuss how I curate my reading list.

🕯 You'll find links to my other platforms and the 📚 bookclub on my YouTube homepage. Make sure to subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

0:00 Life is short
0:40 Lists and goals
2:30 Re-reading
3:30 Questions to ask yourself
4:30 Mood readers
5:05 How I curate mine
8:19 Giving up on books
9:00 Big books & book club

[bonniewinfield]

A friend of mine is an expert on William Faulkner. Every other year, he reads through his entire corpus, and has been doing this for decades. Another friend reads all of Jane Austin every year. Another has been so deeply engrossed in Moby Dick for decades, that he thinks he knows deeper depths of that novel than even Melville knew. My favorites are letters, such as those of Emily Dickinson, or Hawthorn, or Hemingway. Mary Lincoln’s letters are heart breaking. It is almost too intimate to discover someone’s mind, heart, and soul in letters which they would never have imagined would be published. The letters of George Washington to Martha seemed like that way to me. And his style is stunning beautiful.

[ErnieCT]

One note: I love that you go slow in your videos. There's something calming about how you present your ideas. It doesn't feel too composed. It's genuine, not something to be consumed. I enjoyed it. Thank you for the advice!

[DarrenRosenow]

Tsundoku is a Japanese term of slang that describes the phenomenon of acquiring too many books that a person can't reasonably read in one lifetime.

Thank you for your perspective Emmelie.

Tolstoy's novel War and Peace doesn't seem such a big hurdle for me now after watching this video and you giving some encouragement to read.

[yarabelkisgaas]

When I do my list, I also take into consideration the availability of the books( college library, borrowing from friends, or bookshops) Sometimes I just don't find the books I want. For instance I have the three musketeers and the black tulip on my list( thanks to you hh) but which one I'll read first depends on which I'll find in the library.
I also want to try reading them in French. I lately tried Maupassant im French and it was accessible to me so I'm more encouraged to read in French.(This is one of my non-number goals)

I totally agree that the number doesn't matter but a part of me wants to read more books before I get older and have more responsibilities. Still I try to focus on how much I get from the books. My average reading per month is from 2 to 4 books (mostly classics)

[Yesica]

I love the idea of a daily time goal. That's more manageable/trackable than number of books by year/month/week. And, if you don't reach your goal that day, you can always start over the very next day. That feels more doable than trying to catch up on a month or year's worth of books.

"After all, tomorrow is another day!"
- Scarlett O'Hara, GONE WITH THE WIND

[iloveenglanguage]

I love re-reading books as well! It's like meeting a friend once again and it helps to discover more about the plot. I've never felt the same about the book I read before, there is always something new that I missed the last time.
About giving up on books, I also feel guilty about it. I try to tell myself that at least I tried 😉 (It doesn't always work 😊)

[Ricky-esvg]

I have no problem with rereading too, I am currently reading The Brothers Karamazov for a third time! And surely I will do the same for The Count of Monte Cristo, Don Quixote etc.

I like how you structure your lists, mine is very similar! Not only from reading everything from one’s favorite writers, but also reading what those writers themselves loved!

Good video!

[binglamb]

I am one of those mood readers so I tend to read whatever shiny thing appeals to me at the moment. I, too, read a certain amount of time each day rather than try to work toward a number of books. It is easier to make a habit of reading for me that way. Lastly, I am a completionist so I tend not to DNF books that I should. I need to work on that and adopt more of your approach to reading.

[SevenUnwokenDreams]

I hope you enjoy Middlemarch. I read it a few years ago and loved it, but I have not come across anyone who read it and loved it as much as I did. I want to read it again soon. To me, reading a book and loving it but never reading it again is like watching a movie or listening to a song and telling everyone how great it is, but never watching/listening to it ever again.

[meryuk]

I used to love Kafka once upon a time. And Kafka loved Hamsun. So I ended up reading about 10 novels by Knut Hamsun.
I'm nowhere near as organised as you are. 🙂

[GladysHunnam]

I read on someone's stories a while ago that rereading was a waste of time and I totally disagree. So I discussed this a few days ago also in my stories and a follower told me that that mindset it's like saying that you like a song but that's it, you'll only listen to it once.
I LOVE to reread my favourite books, get back once again to the stories, the characters, etc. Sometimes with a second or a third read you find stuff that you didn't pay attention before.

[MariaVivian-zn]

Thank you for this Emmelie. You are so right when you point out that there are so many 'tools' available when beginning to read a certain book or author. Also let's never forget the good old fashioned library!
When it comes to reading fiction I tend to follow authors and try to read what I can find of that author. A bit like what you were saying about Tolstoy.
An author that I would recommend for you to begin another list with is Sharon Kay Penman. I think you would love her historical fiction! 🙂

[ArthurKain]

Thank you for this type of video! I've been struggling to find the best way to list all the books I really want to read and stick to it, now I'm encouraged and inspired to get my reading list organized!

[nicolycoutinho]

Hi! Such a great video. I love these videos where you give us tips on how to read more/better. I have recently started following this advice you gave about not having to finish a book when you know it’s not good. You’re right: Life is short.

[mellifluouslyanonymous]

You sound so soothing and gentle, the microphone is doing wonders as well. Wonderful video! (Love the topic, haven't seen a video like it and never thought about it this way!)

[ToReadersItMayConcern]

Impeccably filmed and nicely explained (even if I'm more of a mood reader myself). (I'm kind of caught up in how well-shot this is—such a fantastic angle you chose for this video.) Anyway, this is a fantastic presentation on how best to decide what counts and doesn't in our reading life. You're completely right: we don't have unlimited time. We should invest in the works that matter.

[Yesica]

I will watch this when I am done with work stuff. But before I forget:

After 188 pages, I gave up on The Brothers Karamazov. I even... donated the book to a Little Free Library. For some reason, when I read the summary on the back of the book, I missed the part where it talked about "love triangle" or something to that effect. I don't know how I missed it because I know I read the summary more than once.

Romance plots in books are not my thing. Especially drama like that. I can't relate to it. It doesn't engage me. It does not interest me. Now, if I had at least been enjoying/understanding the other aspects of the story, that would've been different. I would have kept pushing through. Gone With the Wind has a bit of a "love triangle" if you want to call it that way, and I adore that book! It's a comfort re-read for me. But that's because there were so many other aspects of the story that I was enjoying. Here, I was barely understanding what was going on. To be honest, it was draining my love for reading in general. I was beginning to dread picking it up. I would even bring it with me to the laundromat because that's where I get a lot of my reading done. There's nothing else to do when you're waiting for the machines to finish.

I feel so bad about this. I know it's a classic. I wanted to push through. But I gave in and gave up. I do leave the option open to come back to it someday. Never say never!


I guess I just needed to get that off my chest. ;)

[margaretwhittaker]

I'm unable to make a list, I think I am a mood reader, but I do have ideas of the kinds of things that I would like to read. And that can get me through a few of the same "style" of book, meaning historical or mysteries or maybe something gothic for the Halloween season. And I give myself at least 50 to 100 pages before giving up on a book.

[Rascal-of-War]

Something that kills my reading habit stone dead is my phone.

Due to work I can't switch it off in case I miss an important message. I incidentally also find myself waiting for something to happen, which leaves me just scrolling on my phone because I don't think I have enough time to start into a new chapter.

I've found I've been able to focus and read a lot more if I can find the time to read in the morning before I've even glanced at my phone.

[rupatiwary]

Miss please do not ignore

Do you need anyone to work for you to make awesome YouTube thumbnails?

Please reply affirmative or negative.

Either way will be good.

P.S video was very good and came at a perfect time when I needed.