Make a year in books ornament from your reading list
Every book you read this year, shrunk down with its real cover and hung on the tree. Make one each year and the tree becomes a shelf of your reading life. Here are three ways to do it, made straight from your StoryGraph or Goodreads list.
Three ways to make it
1. A clear ornament ball full of tiny books
Fill a clear fillable ornament with the year's books at 1:24 scale (8.8 x 5.8 mm each). A dozen or more sit comfortably in an 8 cm (3 inch) ball with room to show their covers. Two-part plastic balls open in halves, so the books just drop in; glass balls have a narrow neck, so 1:24 or 1:12 books go in through it. Write the year on the cap or a small tag.
2. A little bookshelf
Stand the books side by side, spines out, on a shelf cut from a craft stick and hang it by a ribbon from both ends. At 1:12 every spine is 2.9 mm thick, so twelve books (one a month) make a row about 3.5 cm long; at 1:10 they are 3.5 mm each, about 4.2 cm for twelve. The spine is the part that shows, and every label prints the title and author on it.
3. Your favourites, one ornament each
Pick the year's top five, or one per month, at 1:7 (30 x 20 mm). Each is big enough to read the cover from across the room. The free 3D model can include an ornament hook, centred or at a corner, so there is nothing to glue. Write the year on the back with a fine pen.
Step by step
-
Export your reading list
On StoryGraph: Manage Account, then Export StoryGraph Library. On Goodreads: My Books, then Import and export, then Export Library. Drop the CSV into Mini Book Labels; it is read on your device and never uploaded. -
Pick this year's books
Under Filters, tick read, set Year read to this year, and sort by Most recently read for the whole year in order, or Highest rated for the favourites. Set Take top to how many books you want: 12 for a shelf, 5 for favourites. Untick any you would rather leave out. -
Choose the size
1:24 for a ball, 1:12 or 1:10 for a shelf, 1:7 for single ornaments. Open each book to swap in the cover of the edition you read, if it differs. -
Print the covers
Print at 100% ("Actual size") on matte sticker paper and check the 50 mm ruler. At 1:24 the covers are tiny (8.8 x 13.1 mm), so cut them with a craft knife against a ruler. -
Make the books
Download the free 3D model in the app, sized to your covers; at 1:24, copy it a dozen times in your slicer and print a plateful at once. Without a 3D printer, glue card or foam board to the spine thickness and cut it to the book size. -
Wrap and assemble
Wrap each cover from the back, over the spine, to the front. Then fill the ball, glue the books along the shelf, or hang each favourite from its hook.
Missing books from Goodreads? Goodreads only exports a date read if you entered one when you marked the book read, so undated books do not show up for the year. Find them with the search box at the top of the Books list and add them.
Sizes at a glance
| Ornament | Scale | Each book | Spine | Cover label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear ball | 1:24 | 8.8 x 5.8 mm | 1.5 mm | 8.8 x 13.1 mm |
| Bookshelf | 1:12 | 17.5 x 11.7 mm | 2.9 mm | 17.5 x 26.3 mm |
| Bookshelf, larger | 1:10 | 21 x 14 mm | 3.5 mm | 21 x 31.5 mm |
| One per book | 1:7 | 30 x 20 mm | 5 mm | 30 x 45 mm |
More sizes, paper tips and ways to make the books are in the mini book ornaments guide.
Questions
What is a year in books ornament?
An ornament made of tiny copies of the books you read that year: in a clear ball, standing on a little shelf, or one favourite per ornament. Hung each year, they become a record of your reading.
Why are some of my Goodreads books missing?
Goodreads only exports a date read if you entered one when you marked the book read. Add undated books with the search box in the Books list.
How many tiny books fit in an ornament ball?
A dozen or more 1:24 books sit comfortably in an 8 cm (3 inch) ball with room to show their covers.
Does it make good gifts?
Yes: a book club's year, a friend's favourites, or a child's first year of reading. You do not need their export; search for each book by title and add it.