Do You Actually Remember the Books You Read?

This happens to me all the time.

I'll look at a book on my shelf and think:

"Oh, I loved that book."

Then I'll try to remember what actually happened in it.

Nothing.

Main character's name?

Gone.

That massive plot twist I apparently couldn't stop talking about?

No idea.

The ending?

Absolutely vanished.

I know I read it.

I know I enjoyed it.

I probably sacrificed several hours of sleep because I couldn't put the bloody thing down.

And now?

My brain has apparently deleted the file.

Please tell me this isn't just me

It's particularly bad when I'm reading a series.

Book two comes out.

I'm excited.

I've been waiting for this.

I open it.

A character appears.

"Oh yes... them."

Who are they again?

Someone mentions an event from the first book like it's extremely important.

Apparently it was.

I remember none of it.

Now I'm desperately trying to piece together a story I spent 12 hours reading six months ago.

Was he the bad guy?

Were they together?

Didn't someone die?

Wait...

Didn't YOU die?

Fantasy and sci-fi don't exactly make this easier either.

There are kingdoms.

Magic systems.

Planets.

Wars.

Made-up histories.

People with names containing far too many consonants.

I love it.

But expecting my brain to retain all of that while also remembering appointments, work, toddler things, business things and whether we need milk?

Good luck.

The weird thing is, I remember how books made me feel

This is what fascinates me.

I might forget half the plot.

But I'll remember loving the book.

I'll remember sitting in bed thinking:

"Just one more chapter."

I'll remember being furious at a character.

I'll remember a twist absolutely flooring me.

I'll remember finishing it and immediately wanting to talk to someone about it.

Sometimes I'll remember one tiny scene more clearly than the entire main storyline.

That's the stuff I don't want to lose.

Because books aren't just stories we finish.

For however many hours we're reading them, we sort of live inside them.

Then we close the cover...

and move onto the next one.

I don't need to remember every detail

I'm not studying for an exam.

Nobody is going to test me on chapter 17.

At least I hope not.

So I don't feel the need to write down every character, subplot and important event.

That would turn reading into homework very quickly.

But I do like capturing the bits that mattered to me.

Who was my favourite character?

What did I think of the ending?

Was there a quote I loved?

What surprised me?

Did I cry?

Did I laugh?

Did I want to throw the book across the room?

Would I recommend it?

Would I read it again?

Those little things bring the whole experience back.

And sometimes I don't feel like writing much at all

This matters.

Because I've finished books where I could probably fill pages talking about them.

And I've finished others where my entire review could comfortably be:

"Good. Had dragons. Would recommend."

Both are valid.

I don't want journalling about reading to become another job.

If a book really gets under my skin, I want room to write about it.

If I enjoyed something but don't have much to say?

A quick review is enough.

And sometimes I finish a book at 11:47pm and the only thing I'm interested in doing is going to sleep.

I can come back tomorrow.

Or not.

There are no Reading Journal Police.

This became another big part of Tales in Ink

When I started creating Tales in Ink, picking paralysis was the original problem I wanted to solve.

I wanted games and challenges that could help me stop staring at my TBR and actually choose something.

But once I'd chosen the book and read it, I realised there was another side to my reading life I wanted to keep.

The memory of it.

So Tales in Ink became somewhere I could do both.

Help me choose what adventure to go on next...

and then give me somewhere to remember it afterwards.

There are detailed two-page reviews for the books I have plenty to say about.

And quick reviews for the ones where I don't.

Because I don't want to document books for the sake of having perfect records.

I want to be able to look back later and think:

"OH! I remember this one."

Imagine opening it years from now

This is probably the part I love most.

Imagine filling a reading journal and putting it on your bookshelf.

Years pass.

One day you pull it down again.

You start flicking through.

There's that book you couldn't stop reading.

There's the character you absolutely hated.

There's the book that made you cry.

There's the one you DNF'd.

There's the ridiculous review you wrote at midnight immediately after finishing something.

There's a quote you'd completely forgotten.

There's a five-star read you immediately want to experience again.

Suddenly you're not just looking at a list of books.

You're looking at a little piece of your life as a reader.

And I think that's pretty special.

Maybe that's why I still love paper

An app can tell me what I read.

And that's useful.

But there's something different about seeing my own handwriting.

My reactions.

My terrible spelling because I was writing too quickly.

The giant letters because apparently I had FEELINGS about that ending.

The little things I chose to remember.

It feels less like data.

More like a memory book.

And for something as personal as reading, I really like that.

So here's today's question

Go to your bookshelf.

Pick a book you read at least a year ago.

Don't Google it.

Don't open Goodreads.

Don't read the back.

Just look at the cover.

How much can you actually remember?

And more importantly...

which book do you wish you could experience for the first time all over again?

I want to hear yours.

Because there's a very good chance I'm going to regret asking this when my 150-book TBR becomes 170.

Which book would you want to read again for the first time?