The Power and the Glory
Author: Graham Greene
Started: March 14
Finished: March 28
Rating: 4/5
One line: A whisky priest in revolutionary Mexico, beautifully bleak.
Failed at this for ten years. Finally found a format I can sustain.
I have tried to keep a book journal probably eight separate times in my life. Each attempt died within a few months because I was trying to write thoughtful reviews for every book and I just didn't want to do that.
I stopped trying to write reviews. Now I just record five fields per book and that's it. No prose required.
The "one line" forces me to find the single thing the book was actually about for me. The dates show pacing — books I tore through versus ones I dragged. The rating gives quick reference for recommending.
I've logged 47 books in the eleven months since I started. The longest I've kept any system. Sometimes constraint is the trick.