The reading journal: a window into your reading life
As a reader with both Autism and ADHD (affectionately called AuDHD), my brain constantly pulls me in opposite directions. While my special interest is in books and book culture, my ADHD sometimes makes it hard for me to concentrate on what I’m reading and to read for long periods of time. This is where having a reading journal comes in handy.
Because truthfully—even without the added complexity of neurodivergence—it can be difficult to indulge in books as much as we would like, with so many things competing for our attention.
A reading journal is the perfect tool to help you remember, reflect, notice, and even better understand what you read. I try not to think of mine as yet another thing on my to-do list, or as something “productive.” Instead, I strive to use it as a natural extension of the life I already want to live as a reader.
Here’s the ultimate beginner’s guide to everything a reader needs to decide whether a reading journal is right for them, what to include inside of it, how to get started on your first one, journal spread inspiration, and more.
Some links are affiliate links to Bookshop.org, and I may earn a small commission. A portion of every sale supports indie bookstores, too!
So, what’s a reading journal?
Think of a reading journal as a singular place where you can keep everything you’ve ever wanted to document about what you read. You can keep it simple and use one to only keep track of your book titles, authors, and star ratings, or you can go all in and use your reading journal to write book reviews and gather your own reading data across genres, formats, tropes, and more.
The beautiful thing about a reading journal is that there is no singular, perfect format to copy. You can shape your reading journal based on the topics you find interesting, the insights you want to track, and even whether you’re someone who likes being crafty or just prefers putting regular pen to paper.
Your reading journal can be in a spiral bound notebook or digital reading tracker, to a folder in your Notes app or a reading journal made by a seller whose trackers you resonate with.
A reading journal can even live alongside other ways to track your reading, like book tracking apps. I personally use The StoryGraph to keep track of my TBR (to be read) list and the books I’ve already read, but I use my reading journal as a long-form reflection tool to capture quotes and thoughts that are separate from my public reviews.
Ultimately, a reading journal shouldn’t feel like a chore. You might even be surprised by the amount of benefits a reading journal can offer, too.
Why keep a reading journal?
If you think about it, we have access to more books than any other generation in history. Having an expansive personal library was considered something only wealthy people could afford, and most often, people would reread books over and over again.
So yes, we are extremely lucky to have access to so many books. But it’s unrealistic to think that we can remember everything we read, or even afford every book the same level of depth.
Keeping a reading journal makes the following possible:
Better memory-keeping.
Not only would writing about what you read help you remember details like character names and settings, but it would also help you document the quotes that left an impact on you, how you felt about certain scenes, and more.
Deeper analysis.
Whether you’re actively doing a close reading of a book or you’re someone who naturally connects what you’re reading to the world around you, a reading journal can help you make connections to themes beyond the text.
Develop your own reading taste.
Maybe you already know your favorite authors and genres. But what about your favorite reading moods? What makes you mark a book as “Did not finish” (DNF)? What about knowing the types of conclusions you enjoy? Or even getting better at parsing through book recommendations? A reading journal can help you figure out your reader identity.
Romanticize your reading life.
Being able to reflect on what we read not only lets us hold our favorite books a little longer, but it also expands your world of reading related activities. It might allow you to tap into a colorful, creative side or even enable you to have deeper conversations with other readers over shared experiences.
Improve your writing.
This one’s for my fellow writers. While reading is essential to improving our own writing, it’s also essential that we study writing itself—particularly if you’re self-taught! Noting specific vocabulary, sentence construction and cadence, scene-building, and more from our favorite authors is one of the best ways to get better at our own craft.
What goes in a reading journal?
Anything is fair game to put in your reading journal. What resonates with you while you’re reading? What lingers in your mind once you finish? What do you want to know about your own reading habits?
Here’s a list of ideas for pages/spreads that you can include in your reading journal. Remember, this is just a starting point:
- Your TBR list
- Total pages read
- Formats you read in
- Genres
- Quotes
- Book reviews
- Book rating system
- Reading habit trackers
- Favorite characters
- Themes and book tropes
- Annotations
- Reading mood
- Seasonal lists and pairings
- Reading start and end dates
- A list of books you want to reread
- Best books of the year
- And more!
6 reading journal ideas to inspire your own pages
Need a little visual inspiration? Here are six page ideas, with visuals from Pinterest, to help get you started.
Reading goals
I love setting reading goals, but not in the ways you might expect. While I don’t set a number of books I want to read in a year, I always have an idea of how I want to push myself outside of my reading comfort zone.
For example, in the past I have: read a book in another language, challenged myself to read more fiction by Black authors, and have had months where I only read books that I already own. The best part is that it keeps things exciting for my ADHD brain, too!
Star rating
We’ve all seen the star rating system debates before. Should a book ever be rated 1 star? What’s the difference between a 3 and 4 star read? How often can we really award a book 5 stars?
Documenting your own system, and what your standards are for each, can be a fun way to get to know what you really care about.
Reading stats
If you like to track your reading on a daily, monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis, it’s rewarding to track different reading stats, like the amount of pages you’ve read, your average star rating, the genres you read, and what your favorite book was.
Creating a reading “bookshelf” in your reading journal also gives an artsy spin to the standard TBR or already read list.
Bookshelf page
Why just list the title, author, and star rating of the books you’ve read, when you could design an intricate bookshelf instead? This is a popular spread in the reading journal community, and for good reason.
Book review pages
Choosing a format for your book review pages will make recreating them for each book easier, but you can still make them distinct from one another with a few branded elements.
Yearly reading bracket
If you enjoy choosing a favorite book of the year, a reading bracket might just be the system you need to help you figure it out.
How to start a reading journal in 4 steps
To start a reading journal, you’ll need a few basic items like a notebook, pens and pencils, and markers. There are also nice-to-have items, like stickers, tapes, and other decorative elements which you can buy over time as you figure out what you like best.
1. Choose a journal
While any notebook or journal works, here are some considerations to keep in mind as you shop around:
- Do you want to use pages from a journal you’re already using, or buy a new one?
- Do you want to use blank, lined, or dotted pages?
- Does the notebook easily lie flat?
- Do you care about the thickness of the pages?
I personally love dotted pages for a reading journal, because they provide some guardrails for sizing and spacing.
You can’t go wrong with LEUCHTTURM1917’s signature notebook, which comes in six sizes, hardcover or softcover, four ruling options, and a variety of different colors. The Medium (A5) size is a great choice for everyday use.
If you want even thicker pages, then Archer & Olive’s notebooks may be a better choice for you. They also have a ton of adorable covers!
2.Choose your design materials
If you want to add color to your reading journal spreads, then having markers or highlighters will be one of the easiest ways to do that. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- I would strongly recommend using water-based instead of alcohol-based markers. Alcohol-based markers will seep through the back of most notebooks.
- If you already own or only want to use alcohol-based markers, then buy a journal with 160 GSM paper to help prevent bleed-through. (This is where Archer & Olive’s notebooks will shine!).
- If you care about pen smudges, do a bit of research to find smudge-free options.
I’ve used Michaels’ Tombow Dual Tip markers for years. They’re expensive, but worth it for the quality if you’re looking for pigmented, water-based markers.
Ohuhu is also a wonderful, affordable option. They have water-based markers as well as alcohol-based markers. I have their Ohuhu x Bobbie Goods collab set and absolutely adore it.
3. Invest in decorations (optional)
A good journal and a set of pens and markers are really all you need to get started. But, if you want to personalize your reading journal—or you’re quite artsy and creative—then you might want a few decorative items. Here are some ideas:
- Stickers
- Washi tape
- A way to print book covers (either using a standard printer or a mini wireless color printer)
- Dried flowers
- Scrap paper
- Stamps
4. Design your first few pages
This is where the fun begins! If I was starting a reading journal from scratch, I would do a welcome page, an index/table of contents page, and then I would decide what I want my book review pages to look like.
If you’re not artistically inclined (ahem, guilty), then choosing things like title styles and hand-drawn icons can be a little overwhelming. The good news is, there’s so much inspiration to be found on Pinterest and Youtube.
How to get started doodling books
Remember: focus on building a reading journal that feels interesting and fun to do, rather than something you dread keeping up with when life gets in the way.
If you don’t want to build a reading journal from scratch
Now, if you’ve read through some of these ideas and thought, this is not for me, or the idea of markers, supplies, and art stresses you out, then you certainly don’t have to make your own.
These days, I’m using a reading journal that a beloved friend gifted me, and I’m planning on finishing all of the pages before finding—or making—a new one. This is the one I own:
Kunitsa Co. reading journal
The Kunitsa Co. reading journal is one of the most popular book journal options out there for readers. It’s beloved for a reason, featuring ample space for tracking your books, as well as reviewing and writing about them.
My favorite things about the Kunitsa Co. reading journal are:
- It easily lies flat.
- Its textured, hard cloth cover.
- You can mark whether you read a book or an audiobook.
- The pages are the perfect balance between thick and thin.
- Book review pages have prompts and free space with dotted lines.
They also include the following:
- Index pages to keep track of where to find your book reviews
- Daily reading trackers
- Reading challenge spreads
- TBR lists
- Books finished list
- Favorite books list
- DNF lists
- Books lent/borrowed
- 52 book review pages
- Graphics for coloring and customizing
- Tips and sample layouts for reference
There’s also a larger version for the Avid Reader, with space to review 105 books instead of the original edition’s 52. Either one of these would be perfect options to start your reading journey with.
Digital reading journals and book tracking apps
Keeping a physical reading journal isn’t the only way to log your books. Plenty of readers prefer using digital reading journals, and even book tracking apps!
Digital reading journals are easy to take with you if you’re using your phone or a tablet, and the customization options are truly endless. If you create your own, you can even change the spreads at any time. You can easily buy a digital reading journal online—there are so many options on Pinterest and Etsy!
I also use a book tracking app right alongside my reading journal. My personal favorite is The StoryGraph. If you want to go the book tracking app route, be sure to check out my in-depth guides:
- The best Goodreads alternatives for every kind of reader
- The StoryGraph vs Goodreads: Which one fits your reading life?
Let your reading journal become a record of your reading life
A reading journal doesn’t have to track absolutely everything. Think of it as a memory vault filled with all the items you uniquely love, and what your thoughts are about those things.
If you start your reading journal with the goal of building something you’ll love returning to, then you’ll have an additional hobby to amplify your reading life.
What reading journal ideas or page spreads do you find yourself gravitating towards? What reading journal type do you fit into? If you already have a book journal that you absolutely adore, I’d love to hear about it, too!
