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The books collection stores reviews or notes about books you’ve read. Each book is defined as an MDX file in src/content/books/ with frontmatter that conforms to the book schema.

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Schema Definition

The book schema is defined in src/content/config.ts using Zod validation.

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Fields

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title
string
required
The title of the book.Example: "The Wings of the Kirin"
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author
string
required
The author’s name.Example: "Keigo Higashino"
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readYear
number
required
The year you read or finished the book as a number (not a date).Example: 2022
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tags
string[]
Optional array of tags for categorizing books by genre, theme, or other characteristics.Example: ["Honkaku", "Mystery", "Japanese Fiction"]

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Example Book File

Here’s a complete example of a book MDX file:
src/content/books/wings.mdx
---
slug: "kirin"
title: "The Wings of the Kirin"
author: "Keigo Higashino"
readYear: 2022
tags: ["Honkaku"]
---

Very honkaku, the last one I read I believe gave me this level of satisfaction 
was "Journey Under the Midnight Sun", and surprisingly that was more than 10 years ago.

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Field Requirements

FieldTypeRequiredDefault
titlestringYes-
authorstringYes-
readYearnumberYes-
tagsstring[]Noundefined

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Schema Differences

The books schema is unique compared to other content collections:
  • Uses readYear (number) instead of startDate (date)
  • Includes an author field, which is specific to books
  • Does not include description or image fields
  • Simpler structure focused on book metadata

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Year vs Date

Unlike projects, posts, and experiences that use startDate (a date object), books use readYear as a simple number: 
---
# Books use readYear (number)
readYear: 2022

# NOT this:
startDate: 2022-06-15  # Wrong for books!
---
This makes sense because you often remember the year you read a book, not the exact date.

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Usage Notes

  • The slug field in frontmatter is used for routing but is not part of the schema validation
  • readYear must be a number without quotes (e.g., 2022, not "2022")
  • Tags are case-sensitive and will be displayed exactly as entered
  • Common tag examples: genre names, reading challenges, book series, themes
  • The MDX body content can include your review, notes, favorite quotes, or any other thoughts about the book
  • Keep the content personal and authentic to reflect your reading experience

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