A reading journal can be so much more than a place to write book reviews. You can use it to track your TBR, reading goals, favorite genres and tropes, new releases, reading challenges, monthly habits, and so much more.
Think of it as a record of your reading life, not just the books you’ve finished. You don’t have to track everything; choose what interests you and make your reading journal your own.
Here are 25 things you can track in your reading journal.
Reading Goals
Start your year by deciding what you want your reading year to look like. Maybe your goal is to read 50 books, read more from your physical TBR, try new genres, or finally finish a series you’ve been putting off. Your reading goals don’t have to be about a specific number of books. They can be anything that makes your reading life more enjoyable.
New Releases
Keep track of upcoming books you don’t want to miss. You can organize them by release month to make it easy to reference throughout the year.
Star Ratings
Create your own star rating system to keep track of how much you enjoyed each book. Whether you stick with the traditional 1–5 stars or use half-stars, your rating system can help you look back and quickly see which books stood out.
Spice Ratings
For romance readers, a spice rating can be just as useful as a star rating. Create your own system to keep track of how spicy a book is, a simple scale from 1–5 with categories ranging from closed-door to very spicy.
Your TBR List
Of course, no reading journal would be complete without a TBR. Keep track of the books you want to read, whether they’re books you’ve been meaning to pick up for years or ones you just added to your list five minutes ago.
Preorders
Tracking preorders makes it easier to remember what’s coming, especially when you’ve ordered books months before their release dates.
Bookshelf Coloring Page
Turn your reading journal into a visual record of your reading year with a bookshelf coloring page. Color in a book every time you finish one and watch your shelf fill up throughout the year. There are so many fun ways to use these pages.
Books Read
The most basic and probably most important thing to track: the books you actually finish. Record the title, author, and date you read and the book’s star rating.
Five-Star Books
Keep a separate list of every book that earns five stars from you. By the end of the year, you’ll have your own personal list of the books you loved most and a great place to look when someone asks you for a recommendation.
DNF Books
Tracking your DNFs can actually tell you a lot about your reading preferences. You might start noticing patterns in the books you abandon, whether it’s a certain trope, pacing issue, writing style, or genre.
Duologies & Trilogies
If you love series, keep track of which books you’ve finished in each duology or trilogy. Record each book’s star and spice rating and any future release dates.
Larger Series
For longer series, a dedicated tracker so you can see exactly where you are. Track the books you’ve read, the books you still need to read, and whether you’ve completed the series.
ARC Tracking
If you read ARCs, keep track of the books you’re reading before their official release dates. You can record the title, author, release date, where you received the ARC, when you finished it, and where you need to post your reviews.
Author Backlist
Found an author you love? Start a backlist. Keep track of the author’s books you’ve already read and the ones you still want to read. This is especially useful after discovering an author with a large backlist and realizing you now have 15 more books to add to your TBR.
Trope Tracking
Track the tropes you read throughout the year, whether you’re a sucker for enemies to lovers, fake dating, forced proximity, friends to lovers, or small-town romance. You may be surprised by which tropes you actually read the most.
Genre Tracking
Keep track of the genres you read throughout the year. At the end of the year, you can look back and see whether you really read as widely as you thought or whether 80% of your reading was one genre.
Yearly Reading Stats
Your yearly reading stats are the big-picture look at your reading year.
You can track things like:
- Total books read
- Total pages read
- Hours Listened
- Star rating
- Most-read author
- Number of audiobooks, ebooks, and physical books
Reading Challenges
Reading challenges can make your reading year a little more interesting. Track your progress through yearly challenges, genre challenges, seasonal challenges, or your own personal reading goals.
Reading Habits
Your reading journal can also help you keep track of your actual reading habits. For example, track your pages read, hours listened, or every time you finish a book. Tracking your habits over time can help you figure out what works best for you as a reader.
Monthly Reading Recap
At the end of each month, take a few minutes to look back at what you read. You might record your favorite book, your least favorite, how many books you finished, your average rating, or a few thoughts about your reading month.
Book Mail
Keep a record of the books that arrived each month, whether they were gifts, bookstore purchases, subscription boxes, or books you couldn’t resist buying.
Favorite Quotes
Save the quotes that make you stop, laugh, cry, or immediately want to underline the entire page. Keeping your favorite quotes in one place means you don’t have to go hunting through your books later when you want to find that one line you loved. What Pens and Accessories Work Best With Our Journals?
Book Reviews & Reflections
A reading journal gives you a place to record more than just whether you gave a book four or five stars.
Write down what you loved, what didn’t work for you, your favorite characters, your thoughts on the ending, or anything else you want to remember. You don’t need to write a full review every time. Even a few sentences can help you remember how a book made you feel.
Book Club
Keep track of all the books you read with your book club during the year. Record the book’s details, your star rating and meeting details.
Books You Want to Reread
Some books are one-and-done. Others immediately earn a spot on the reread list.
Keep track of the books you know you’ll want to come back to someday. You can even record why you want to reread them, favorite characters, comfort read, perfect romance, amazing world-building, or simply because you loved it that much.
Frequently Asked Questions About Reading Journals
What is the purpose of a reading journal?
A reading journal gives you a place to keep track of the books you read and reflect on your reading life. Depending on how you use it, you can record book reviews, ratings, favorite quotes, reading goals, TBR lists, reading statistics, challenges, and more.
What should I write in a reading journal?
You can write anything that helps you remember or reflect on the books you read. Some popular things to include are book reviews, ratings, favorite quotes, favorite characters, reading goals, TBR lists, reading challenges, and monthly or yearly reading recaps.
What are some fun things to track in a reading journal?
Some fun things to track include your favorite books, five-star reads, DNF books, reading tropes, genres, spice ratings, favorite characters, book mail, reading challenges, and the books you want to reread.
Do I need to track everything in my reading journal?
No! You should only track the things you actually enjoy tracking. A reading journal isn’t meant to become another chore. Start with a few things that interest you and add more as you discover what you enjoy. Why a Reading Journal Works for ADHD (when a regular planner rarely does).
Is keeping a reading journal worth it?
For many readers, a reading journal is a fun way to remember the books they’ve read, keep track of their reading goals, and see how their reading habits change over time. If you enjoy reflecting on books or looking back at your reading history, a reading journal can be a great addition to your reading routine.
