As a reader, it's a struggle to find the time to read and track what you read, especially if you read a lot. It is a vital part of reading though. While some might not be bothered about tracking their book journey, for others (like me) it is a staple in their everyday life. Here are 5 ways to log what you read!
1. Goodreads
This one is my personal favourite! Also, the most widely known and used in the book community. Goodreads is a website and app you can use to track the books you read with dates, reviews and ratings (no half stars though 😔) It also allows you to interact with the community in groups. There is also a yearly reading challenge as well as statistics. For me, this is just so simple to use. Whenever I'm done reading a book, I just set it as read, put in the date, give it a star rating and maybe write a review. If this is for you, make a free goodreads account here!
2. Libib
Prior to researching for this post, I had never heard of Libib! So, it's a website and an app that primarily tracks your personal library. It allows you to tag your books in whatever way you'd like, just like Goodreads, but with an easier-to-read interface. You can rate books you've read, but you won't find community ratings or reviews on here. You will find cool stats about your library and reading habits, though! The biggest downside: you can import your Goodreads library, but I found that a lot of my tags didn't cross over, meaning I had to manually mark which books I'd already read.
3. Reading Journal
Reading journals!!! The picture of the one on the left is so pretty, a very artistic version of a reading journal. With this method, it's all up to you! You decide what you want to track, whether that's dates, reviews, ratings, quotes, etc. You can set it up in a way that works for you! Some people include this in their bullet journals and do some really nice artsy designs while others do the opposite and write simple like a school notebook. You can start out by purchasing a plain page notebook and just start writing!
4. Don't track at all!
If you're a very go-with-the-flow type of person then you might see no point in tracking your reading. If it doesn't give you the satisfaction of achievement or motivate you, then you might as well just skip it altogether. If tracking the books you read is a hindrance and you just can't be bothered, then maybe you should just read books as you go, with no tracking at all!
Sometimes writing down tasks and plans is simply necessary to clear your head. When everything is only in your memory, it is easy to forget something or get confused about priorities. I use thriftbooks and it helps to structure the day, and it is also very pleasant to see progress - crossing out what has been done! Plus, it is a way to not lose focus, especially on busy days. For me, this is not just organization, but a small step towards greater efficiency and peace of mind.