Reading list
A reading list with ratings and notes. Tell your AI about a book and it files it; ask it what to read next.
For readers whose to-read pile lives in screenshots and browser tabs.
Free. Use template opens Amber Notes and adds the note. No Amber Notes yet? Download it for Mac.
30 September 2026
Reading list
Every book you want to read, are reading or have finished, with a line on why it's here.
| Title | Author | Status | Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four Thousand Weeks | Oliver Burkeman | Finished | 4 | Recommended by Jonas |
| Piranesi | Susanna Clarke | Reading | Maja's favourite this year | |
| The Design of Everyday Things | Don Norman | To read | For work |
Notes
Four Thousand Weeks
You'll never get through everything, so choose what to neglect on purpose. Made me drop two side projects.
The note after a few days of talking to your AI. Tinted lines are what it added, the way Amber Notes shows an AI's changes, with Undo and the earlier version kept in the note's history.
What the prompt does
Your AI creates a note called “Reading list” in your Reading folder, or finds the one you already have, and learns how to keep it. Every book you want to read, are reading or have finished, with a line on why it's here.
Paste it once into a chat in ChatGPT or Claude with Amber Notes turned on, or into Claude Code.
Then just talk to it
- Add Piranesi, Maja says it's the best thing she read this year.
- Finished Four Thousand Weeks. Four stars.
- What should I read next?
Show the full prompt
First, look for a note called "Reading list" in my Amber Notes with search_notes. If there isn't one, create it with create_note in the folder "Reading", using exactly the markdown at the end of this message, the <!-- pane-table --> line included (it gives the table's columns their types).
Then: Use my Amber Notes note "Reading list". When I mention a book, add a row with log_table_row: Title, Author, Status To read, and in Why, who recommended it or why I want it. When I start or finish a book, update its Status (and Rating from 1 to 5 when I finish) with edit_note, after reading the note with read_note. Put my thoughts on a book under "Notes" with append_to_note, under a "###" heading with the title. When I ask what to read next, read the table with read_table and suggest from what's marked To read, based on what I rated highly.
```markdown Reading list Every book you want to read, are reading or have finished, with a line on why it's here. <!-- pane-table: Title=text; Author=text; Status=choice To read|Reading|Finished|Dropped; Rating=scale 1-5; Why=text --> | Title | Author | Status | Rating | Why | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ## Notes ```
The note you start with
This is what the prompt creates in Amber Notes: an ordinary note with the headings and the table ready. Your AI fills it in from there, and you can still edit every line yourself.
Today
Reading list
Every book you want to read, are reading or have finished, with a line on why it's here.
| Title | Author | Status | Rating | Why |
|---|
Notes
How to set it up
- Add the template to Amber NotesChoose Use template. Amber Notes opens and adds the "Reading list" note to the folder you pick.
- Connect your AIConnect ChatGPT, Claude or Claude Code to Amber Notes once, and choose Read and Edit so it can fill in the note.
- Give your AI the promptCopy the prompt for your AI and paste it into a chat. Then tell it what happened, in your own words.
- ChatGPTPlus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu, on the web. A few minutes in Developer mode.Connect ChatGPT
- ClaudeOpen Amber Notes in Claude's connector directory, choose Connect to Claude, then Allow.Connect Claude
- Claude CodeOne command in your terminal, or the button in Amber Notes on a Mac.Connect Claude Code
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