What is a reading log? Maybe you’ve heard this term before, or heard terms like reading journal or reading tracker thrown around. But if you’ve been hearing all the excitement about reading logs, then you may be wondering what they are, how they differ from reading journals and trackers, and how you can use one in your reading life. Here’s everything you need to know!
What Is a Reading Log?
A reading log is pretty much exactly what it sounds like—a place for you to log your reading. In a reading log, you record the books you’ve read and you’re thoughts, reactions, and responses to them. It can also be used to track the books you read and to set and keep track of your reading goals.
Reading logs come in too main formats: print and digital. But within these two categories, there are sub-formats you can choose depending on what makes the most sense to you and what you think you’ll be most likely to use. You could log your reading in a bullet journal, in a printable journal, in a reading spreadsheet, or in an app.
The information recorded in a reading log might also vary person to person, but in general you’re likely to find title and author information for books read, notes or reviews of the books read, a TBR list for future books to read, book ratings, reading goals, and even sometimes statistics on the books read.
But really, you can record pretty much anything you can think of or want to track related to your reading. This can include genres, gender of the author, years the books were published, and much more.
So what is a reading log? It’s ultimately a tool that allows you to record and remember whatever information you find relevant about the books you’ve read and the books you want to read!
How Does a Reading Log Differ From a Reading Journal or Reading Tracker?
Reading logs, reading journals, and reading trackers are all basically the same thing and are usually used interchangeably. So if you’re keeping a reading log, then you’re keeping a reading tracker.
Reading journals miiiiight be considered slightly different than logs or trackers, in that they put more focus on the journaling part of the reading log…so they might include more longform responses and reactions to books than a reading log would. But this is pretty much just semantics, as in everyday life most readers use these terms interchangeably to mean “the place where they record information about the books they read.”
Benefits of a Reading Log
Ok, so now you know what a reading log is…but why should you keep one? Keeping a reading log offers many benefits for your reading life, but here are a few you should consider:
1. Reading logs can help you remember more of what you read
Writing down titles of books and notes about your thoughts while reading can help you remember more about what you’ve read, simply by the mere act of writing it down. But logs can also act as a second brain and remember details you might forget later on…after all, there’s nothing worse than forgetting the title of a book you loved and now you have to try to find it again from only a vague description!
2. Reading logs can boost your reading comprehension
Keeping a reading log helps you slow down and actually process what you’re reading, which can boost your reading comprehension as well as your processing of the text and its meaning.
3. Reading logs help you keep track of your progress toward your reading goals
By keeping a log of your reading, you’ll have tangible evidence of the progress you’re making toward the goals you set. The log also makes sure you record all of your reading “wins” so you don’t forget to celebrate your progress, which is an important step in building good reading habits and feeling motivated to continue reading!
4. Reading logs allow you to practice your writing skills
If you’re regularly reading books and writing 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. Your growth is especially fun to see after you’ve been journaling for a while—if you look back at your earlier entries, I’m sure you’ll notice a difference in your writing and maybe even in your thinking and processing!
5. Reading logs help you process your feelings
If you’ve ever read a book that made you feel ALL THE FEELINGS and struggle to process it, then a reading log is for you. It can help to get all your thoughts and feelings out onto paper, and in the process you’ll likely discover more about what exactly you’re feeling and why.
How to Keep a Reading Log
Ok so now you know what a reading log is and why you should keep one…but how do you go about keeping a reading log?
1. Choose Your Reading Log Format
Your first step will be choosing what format you want to use. Would you like to keep your reading journal in print format or digital?
Then, do you want to keep it in a printable journal, premade journal, spreadsheet, app, etc.? To decide this, you’ll want to consider what metrics and details you find important to track, as well as whether you prefer more flexibility or more ease of use/ease getting started.
If this all sounds overwhelming, be sure to check out this overview of some of the most popular reading trackers. It covers a lot of popular apps, spreadsheets, and journals to help you compare and find one that works well for you.
2. Set Up Your Log
Once you’ve chosen your logging method, the next step is to set up your new log. Depending on the method you choose, you might have more or less setup to do at this point.
For instance, if you go the bullet journal route you might want to get some fun reading journal ideas for things to include in your custom bullet journal spreads. But if you decide to go with a premade spreadsheet or app, then all you’ll need to do is start logging your books as you read!
3. Start a Routine for Logging Your Reading
Lastly, you’ll want to start and get into some sort of routine for your logging to make sure you actual use your new reading log.
I like to enter the books I read into my reading spreadsheet as soon as I finish a book, because otherwise there’s a really good chance I won’t end up keeping a record of reading that book. And then I’ll be sad later when I try to find it or find my notes and discover I didn’t record it.
Over time, logging your reading will become more habitual and natural, but it’s especially important to plan out your logging in the beginning so you get into a good routine and figure out how logging your reading works for you and how it helps you with your reading life!