KEEP TABS ON YOUR BOOKS WITH THESE READING JOURNALS
One of the projects on my never-ending to-do list is to update my reading journal. I keep a notebook of every single book I’ve ever read, and it’s been a few years since I have added to it. I love this kind of record keeping because as much as it is nice to keep reading spreadsheets or track books on Goodreads/The Story Graph, there is something special about the tactical experience of flipping through a notebook to see what I read (& my handwriting!) in 7th grade, 12th grade, my junior year in college (where my now-husband wrote down dozens of titles for me), as a 25 year old, and now, in my late 30s. It’s not a fancy reading journal — it’s an index card size plain notebook — but I won’t lie. Every time I see beautiful reading journals online, I am deeply tempted to grab one.
If you haven’t kept a reading journal, it’s something worth considering. Whether you want a simple record or would like to use a reading journal to track challenges or goals, there are plenty of options out there for you. Book Riot has a pretty rad option with our Read Harder log, of course, but here’s a look at several other fun, useful, and gorgeous reading journals.
Keep track of your TBR, your monthly reading, an annual review of what you’ve read, and have space for book reviews with this soft-sided reading journal. Choose a journal with or without a bookmark, $21-$25.
This reading journal offers you space to track your TBR, the books you’ve read, favorite books, books that you’ve lent out, and the books you did not finish. You can also keep tabs on your reading habits, tracking daily reading, any challenges you might be taking on, and a space where you can color in your own book stacks. There’s a green and a beige color option, $25.
The previous two reading trackers aren’t dated, so you can use them anytime. But if you’re looking for a planner you can use to track one year of your life in books, this one by Novelly Yours is a great option. You can keep tabs on up to 23 books per month, recording: title, author, rating, date started, date finished, number of books read in the month, numbers book read in the year (for a running total), source, genre, format, number of pages, and owned vs. borrowed. There is space for monthly recaps, tracking challenge progress, and more. $30.
