Reading is one of the best hobbies anyone can have in my opinion. However, one of the biggest struggles with being an avid book reader is remembering what books have been read and listened to. So today I am going to walk you through how to start a reading journal for the first time to keep track of the books you have read.
HOW TO START A READING JOURNAL FOR THE FIRST TIME
THE JOURNAL & SUPPLIES
The first thing you’re going to need is a journal or notepad and some pens. I find that picking out a pretty journal makes me want to keep using it more consistently but any journal will work. Here are some of the journals I have made on my Etsy shop (ad) that would make great reading journals.
Printing out the picture of the book you are writing about is also a great way remember what the book actually looked like. You can buy a mini photo printer to print the book images or use Canva and print them out on a regular printer.
WHAT TO KEEP TRACK OF
The first thing to consider is what are the things you want to keep track of. For example, do you want to keep tract of the number of pages you read, genre, quotes, book series, authors, or format? Some people like to write a synopsis of the book before they start writing their thoughts or a full on book review.
Personally, I like to keep track of genre, format, my overall thoughts and my personal rating for the book. I keep the genre, format, and rating at the top and then write my thoughts afterwards. This is the format that works for me. It’s simple, easy and efficient. I find that these things are what help me personally remember what the book was about. Everyone is different, so it might take a while to figure out the layout of your own reading journal.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Adding an index in your journal might be a good idea especially if you are going to be writing a lot in your journal; it will make it way easier to find the books you are looking for.
