TBR & Library-First Manager

A to-be-read queue with a default: the library. Every book gets a source, and a purchase is the case you have to argue.

The queue holds the source, the hold date, the due date, renewals and status for each title, and anything due inside three days is flagged. Books you think you might want to own do not simply sit in the queue looking reasonable; they go on a short list with a condition attached, written by you, in your own words.

WHAT'S INSIDE

Dashboard - the queue in numbers, what is due, and where the books come from

Start Here - how the file works and which cells are yours

TBR - the queue: source, hold, due, status

Buy Only If - the short list that assembles itself from the queue

THE PART NOBODY ELSE BUILDS

Buy Only If is the whole idea. A book moves there with a condition you write yourself, something like: if the library still does not have it by March, or if I finish the other two by this author. The condition is in your handwriting and dated, so three weeks later you are arguing with your own stated reason rather than with a want. Most reading trackers quietly assume you will buy the book. This one assumes you will borrow it, and makes buying the exception that has to earn its place.

WHAT YOU GET

Excel workbook (.xlsx)

Google Sheets template - one click to copy

Setup instructions (PDF)

Free updates for life

BEFORE YOU BUY

Works in Microsoft Excel 2016 and later, and in Google Sheets. It does not connect to a library catalogue and it cannot renew anything for you; you type the dates and it flags what is close. Digital download, all sales final.