If you really want to jazz things up, you may want to also gather stickers, stencils, washi tape, and such. One fan raved: “I sort of had my own book journal, which was just a blank page journal wherein I kept track of everything I'd read, along with various details about each. So for this idea, you would use a year-at-a-glance calendar and pencil in a reading plan for the year. You’re not only keeping track of the books you’ve read and the books you want to read: you’re also monitoring your reading habits and challenges, keeping an easily accessible log of the series you’re halfway through, and you can be as open as you want without worrying about others finding or judging your thoughts on a book.

I’d gotten out of the habit of journaling in general and I thought Goodreads might be enough, flawed as it was. Because sometimes what you think you know and remember is not exactly how it turned out in the book. At 6 by 9 inches, this 110-page perfect-bound reading journal is a compact and easy-to-carry reference for all of the books you've recently read. This reading journal also has bonus features like reading challenges, lists (books borrowed, finished, did not finish), and a daily reading tracker. This is the perfect log for those who maybe haven’t used a reading journal before, but sure would like to try it out.Make sure you preview what’s offered and decide what you’re looking for (see tip 2) before purchasing.

I enjoy the freeform nature of it and just falling back into my “oh, I LOVED that” whims, but if you wanted to be more organized about it you could separate by genre or age group.

In case of emergency, you can summon her by talking about Ireland, fictional witches, and the Brontë family. I find a paper TBR journal more useful than Goodreads for tracking my TBR because I tend to add books with abandon in Goodreads.

I like the ability to sort by certain characteristics, including page count, dates read, and ratings. And in a busy life with work, family, kids, friends, blogging, and–yes–lots and lots of books, I don’t always remember what I’ve read, or what I want to read. Examples of pre-designed book journals include: Read Harder (A Reading Log) from Book Riot, The Book Lover’s Journal, or this gorgeous looking Reading Journal from Kunitsa Co. There are lined sections for a written review and memorable quotes, as well as a blank box for notes.As you can see, she’s turned a book journal into a bingo card and her chips are cute little book covers! Some simply ask for the title, author, and genre of the book you’ve read, while others provide sample discussion questions or encourage you to find memorable quotes. There’s space to both log the number of books they read, but also plenty of room to review and put down thoughts or questions they had about what they read. If your journaling style doesn't require prompts or structure, let your imagination run wild with this 12-pack set of 60-page notebooks.