How to manage the books you've read and want to read with Notion.

December has arrived, and in the blink of an eye, the year is almost over.

Suddenly, do you remember what books you read this year? It's easy to forget what books you've read and what they were about, isn't it?

This time, we will explain the "Book List Template" for noting down books you've read and books you want to read in Notion!

It can be used to record books you've read, as a memo for books you want to read next, and even as a reading journal by writing down your impressions.

Feel free to use the template and incorporate Notion into your daily reading! 

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🎬 Director：Rei
✍🏻 Writer：Minokurumi

1. Record the books you've read

First, let's record the books you've read so far in your "Read Book List".

Try adding books you actually have on your bookshelf or your favorite books that you thought were good or want to reread.

Here's how to record them:

First, create a new page in the "Read Book List," use the book's title as the page title, and insert the cover image into the page.

Next, let's add detailed information to the properties. The template includes the following items as examples. Feel free to customize them.

In the notes section, jot down your thoughts about the book or anything you want to remember. If you want to recommend the book to a friend, it's convenient to include the purchase URL so you can quickly send it to them.

2. Jot down books you want to read

Have you ever found a book you wanted to read at a bookstore, only to forget about it later even if you intended to buy it?

In such cases, it's recommended to jot it down in your "Want to Read List" so you don't forget. You can also register it from your smartphone, making it easy to quickly jot it down even when you're out.

Once you've actually read a book from your "Want to Read List," move it to your "Read Books List." Simply checking the checkbox will easily add it to your "Read Books List."

From here, we'll introduce ways to get even more out of the template, such as planning your reading or using it as a reading journal.

3. How to get more out of your book list

3-1. Keep a reading journal

Since each item in the database can be opened as a separate page, you can also write a summary or your impressions of the book within the page, much like a reading journal.

Notion pages have features such as "Table of Contents," "Headings," and "Markers," which you can effectively use to jot down reading notes just like in a physical notebook.

3-2. Plan what to read this month

The template can be further enhanced by adding properties. For example, it's recommended to plan which books to read this month from your "Want to Read List."

This time, let's add a "multi-select" property and set tags for "Month to Read."

1. From the "+" button on the right side of the table view properties, select "Multi-select."

2. Once the property is added, change the title to "Reading Month" and create tags for the months you want to read.

All you have to do is apply the created tag to the books you want to read this month.

3-3. Display on the home screen with a linked view

If you have a home screen or a page for monthly goal management, it's also recommended to display the "Want to Read List" on that page.

This time, let's try displaying it on the home screen using "Linked View."

1. From the "..." in the upper right corner of the "Want to Read List" database, select "Copy link to view."

2. Paste it where you want to display it.

Furthermore, you can also narrow down what is displayed by applying filters. For example, let's filter to show only "Books to read this month" that we set earlier.

3. Click "Filter" in the upper right corner of the pasted database.

4. From "Add filter" at the top, select the "Reading Month" property you created earlier. Check the tag for the current month.

Now, we can display only the books we want to read this month on the home screen.

This technique of combining "Linked View" and "Filters" is very convenient, so please try using it in various situations!

Summary

That concludes the introduction to the book list template for managing books you've read and want to read in Notion!

Please use the template to incorporate Notion into your reading habits.

Here's "Todotion", the ultimate task management template achieved with Notion!

The complete 2-hour "Notion Master Course" is now available, where you can learn Notion from scratch through videos!

The book "Notion Life Hacks", which introduces 36 ways to use Notion, is also popular and available now!

(Supervised by: Rei, Edited and Written by: Minokurumi)