Whether your reading list has three books or three hundred, it serves as a goal. It is a practical solution for remembering what titles you want to read next and a reminder to read more. If there are only a few books on it, it's pretty easy to manage. But once you get beyond about 50, it starts to get a little overwhelming.

If your reading list is out of control, you're not getting as much out of it as you should be. Here are some ideas for making sure your reading list is helping more than hindering.

Use the Right Tool

If you have the right tool, you'll be more likely to use it, which means it will be more useful. Choosing the right tool depends a lot on your organizational preferences.

reading list sticky note

For example, a sticky note on your refrigerator (or a digital one on your desktop) might be all you need when you have a couple of books on your mind. If you have a larger reading list but still want to keep it simple, a text file stored on your computer or your phone will do. Simplicity works!

reading log sheet

If you prefer to be a bit more organized, you can try using a spreadsheet. Google Sheets can help you keep multiple lists organized in addition to classic data programs like Microsoft Excel. That way, you can put different sections, lists, publishing dates, or genres on different tabs.

Related: The Best Excel Alternatives for Your Spreadsheet Needs

Trello is a great organizational tool. If you have an organized list, you can use it for books you want to read, books you have already read, recommendations from others, review notes, finished books, etc. This is a great option for visual list-makers, as you can add cover images and other image files to your cards.

Goodreads have long been considered one of the best options for book tracking. By inputting your past reading selection, Goodreads creates suggestions for additions to your reading list. It also allows you to connect socially with your friends and an online community of avid readers.

goodreads list

Although it is still popular, there are actually many alternative sites that are better than Goodreads.

Your best option will depend on the details you wish to include. A simple post-it note of book titles is great, but if you're looking to seriously organize your reading list, there may be a better choice for you.

Keep It Up to Date

This is an easy step to forget. There are bound to be books that you read and forgot to remove when you have a long list, books that you've lost interest in reading, and books that—if you're honest with yourself—are at the bottom of the list.

Get rid of them! It can be tough to remove things from your list when you haven't read them, but there is only so much time in the day. If they've been on the list for years, you're not going to read them all anyway. Be honest with yourself.

cross off reading list

Deleting entries off of your list may feel like a defeat, but you should consider it a triumph. It is a rare thing to know yourself and your limitations. Don't try pushing through difficult on uninteresting books to prove a point. Life is short. Only you will benefit from your reading list, so there's no shame in amending it.

Institute Some Addition Rules

When you use Goodreads or a similar service, it's easy to add books to your reading list at an alarming pace. If you don't institute some rules into your reading list additions, you'll soon have hundreds of titles on your list.

For example, you might only add books that average over four stars on Amazon. Or only books recommended by a small number of reviewers whose tastes are similar to yours. Or only books that your friends have read and liked.

amazon book review

Another great option is to set a reading list cap. You're not able to add any more books to a reading list past a certain number—perhaps 25 or 50. This way, you can keep a handle on things before they get out of control.

Related: The Best Amazon Alternatives to Buy Books Online

Setting and sticking with these rules won't be easy, but if you have a tendency to add books significantly faster than you can read them, they might help you keep your unruly list under control.

Keep It Organized

Whether you want to use a manual sorting system or an automatic option like that available on Goodreads, organizing your reading list will help you consume it. That way, you can easily pick a genre—be that true crime or romance—and select a book immediately.

Whether you use genres to sort, or labels like "work" and "home," or even "read these first," keeping your list organized will help make it a lot more useful.

Legs over couch, reading, and book stack

Not only does sorting your reading list help you to quickly select the next title, but it also helps to feel less overwhelmed by its magnitude. Having 100 books on a reading list sounds like a lot, but 20 mysteries, 10 non-fiction, and so on make it much more digestible.

Make It Mobile

The way you use your reading list affects how you browse books at a bookstore or library. Yes, browsing bookstores is a great way to discover new books, but it makes it difficult to quickly add a new title if you keep a physical reading list.

Two Book Stacks with Boy with Glasses on Phone in Centre

By keeping your reading list on your mobile phone, you are constantly at the ready. You can add books quickly whether you're at the library, a bookstore, or a friend's apartment. You can easily do this by creating a list on your iPhone in the Notes tab or trying out Google Keep Notes for Android users.

If you're not a fan of using your phone for storing your reading list, try taking an updated list photo before you leave. This guarantees that you've always got it with you when you spot another treasure read.

Starting Fresh: Scrapping the List

If things are dire, there's always the nuclear option: get rid of your reading list.

Yellow Paper Balled Up with Writing

There are a number of benefits to ditching your reading list. Seeing a nice, orderly list of everything you've ever read, books you're reading, and the ones you want to read is nice, but it's not for everyone. If it's not working for you, toss it and don't look back.

One of the best parts about scrapping a reading list is the opportunity to start fresh. Don't worry anymore about the books from the old list. Anything you find worth reading will stand out and find its way back onto your new book list in no time.

Reading the Reviews

A reading list can serve a lot of different functions, from practical to inspirational. But it can also get out of hand pretty fast. With some of these skills, your reading list will be manageable again in no time.

When organizing your list, it can be helpful to read real reviews to help you decide what should be purged. Plus, book reviews can help you make a decision whether or not something is worth adding to your reading list. If you're looking for high-quality book reviews, there are great book review and rating sites available online.