So you’ve heard of reading journals, and now you’re wondering what the fuss is about or if you should even bother starting one of your own? If you’re still on the fence about whether keeping a reading journal is actually worth it, here are seven of the best benefits of keeping a reading journal so you can discover if it will be worth it for you!
The Benefits of a Reading Journal
Keeping a reading journal has many benefits. Here are a few you should consider:
- Helps you track what you’ve read and when
- Increases information retention
- Boosts reading comprehension
- Tracks your progress towards reading goals
- Helps you process your thoughts and feelings about the material
- Helps practice your writing skills
- Improves your future reading
- Can host your TBR List, favorite quotes, and more!
Now that we’ve listed out the benefits of keeping a reading tracker, let’s discuss these in a little more depth to learn why and how a reading log helps.
1. Reading journals help you track what you’ve read and when
Have you ever read a book you loved, and then years later you can’t even remember the title? I used to have that happen a lot…but then I got into tracking my reading, and now I have a written record I can look back on if I want to remember a title or detail about a book I read in the past!
This is so helpful. I can’t emphasize it enough. No matter how good you think your memory is, there’s bound to be at least that one time when you can’t remember something and end up trying to find a book from a vague description. But if you’re regularly journaling the books you read, you’ll have your own little library index of books you’ve read and what you’ve thought about them so you’ll never again have to try to track down that one book you can’t remember!
2. Reading journals can increase information retention
Ever had a teacher in school tell you that taking notes will help you remember more of what you’re learning? Well, it’s the same concept with reading. Taking notes while you’re reading will help you remember and internalize what you’re reading far more than if you just read and move on.
Reading journals are an excellent place to take notes about what you’re reading, and this will help increase the information you retain and remember even after you’re done reading the book.
3. Reading journals can boost reading comprehension
Keeping a reading journal helps you slow down and actually think about what you’re reading so you can write about it in your journal, and in doing so you’ll have more time to process the text and understand what it means. This will boost your reading comprehension, and you’ll likely find that you understand the text on a deeper level by writing about it in your journal!
4. Reading journals track your progress towards reading goals
I’m all about setting reading goals for yourself (it’s one of the best reading habits you can get into!). These reading goals don’t have to be fancy or astronomically difficult, they just have to be specific and measurable. And a reading journal is the perfect place to keep track of the progress you make toward your goals!
By keeping a log of your reading, you’ll have tangible evidence of the progress you’re making toward your reading goals. Reading logs are also perfect places to make sure you record all of your reading wins (no matter how small!) so you can celebrate your progress.
And then, once you’ve been journaling for a while, you can look back on all the progress you’ve made. It’s a great motivation boost to keep you enjoying reading!
5. Reading journals help you process your thoughts and feelings about the material
Ever read a book that leaves you screaming ‘Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” in your head? Either a good “Ahhhhh” or a bad “Ahhhhh?” For the books that leave you feeling all the emotions, being able to journal your thoughts and feelings about it can help you process what you’ve read and sometimes can even help you discover what you’re actually feeling.
But even for the books that leave you feeling less extreme emotions, writing in a reading journal can still help you process your thoughts and feelings about it. It’s almost like the reading journal becomes a friend who can help you work through what you’re thinking after reading!
6. Reading journals can be an outlet to practice writing skills
Wanting to improve your writing skills? Reading journals can also help with that!
If you’re regularly reading books and writing mini (or long!) reports about what you read, you’ll be doing lots of little writing projects and getting a chance to practice and grow your writing skills. It may feel clunky or strange at first to write little reviews of what you’ve read, or to process your thoughts and feelings in this medium, but after a while it will start to become second nature.
It’s especially fun to see your writing progress after you’ve been journaling for a while—when you’ve been journaling for a while and look back at your earlier entries, I’m sure you’ll notice a difference in your writing!
7. Reading journals can improve your future reading
Another excellent benefit to keeping a reading journal is that it gives you a lot of data to pull from in the future, about the types of books you like to read and about what you thought of specific books. This gives you the chance to see likes, dislikes, and more that can help you make decisions about what to read next.
Sometimes we think we’ll like a book or think we like a certain genre, but sometimes looking back at our thoughts and reflections on the books we’ve read we learn that there’s certain things that annoy us or we actually dislike about those books. Knowing this data lets you make more informed decisions about what to read next so you can read more books you love and less that you won’t like!
Additionally, you can also discover how your reading tastes change and evolve over time, which can again aid in choosing your future reading and can also just help you learn more about yourself and your reading preferences.
8. Reading journals can host your TBR List, favorite quotes, and more
Lastly, reading journals are a fantastic idea because they can act as a central location to gather all the things related to your reading life.
Want to keep a TBR list? A reading journal is the perfect place to do so. Want a running list of all your favorite quotes from what you’ve read? Add a page for this in your reading journal! Want a list of your favorite books? Same thing, add it to your journal!
Whatever reading-related metrics or ideas you want to track, the reading journal provides one easily-accessible place to keep track of it all. So if you haven’t yet started a reading journal of your own, it’s time to get started now!
What Kind of Reading Journal Should You Use?
Now that you know all about the benefits of using a reading journal, you might be wondering how to get started or what kind of reading journal to use. There are so many options to choose between!
Whether you want a physical or digital journal, it’s best to learn a little about some of the different options before committing to one you think will work for you. Check out this list and explanation of popular reading trackers to discover some of the best ways to journal your reading!
How to Get Started With a Reading Journal
Want more information about reading journals and how to get started? Check out this quick-start guide to starting your very own reading journal!