For the past three years, I have kept track of the books I read in a variety of ways. Most consistently, I have kept a journal where I write down everyday thoughts and keep track of my reading. Today, I’m here to share my 2021 journal setup, plus the other ways I track my reading throughout the year…which now that I look at it is actually quite a lot.
My Journal
I have been using Leuchtturm 1917 A5 notebooks to journal in for the past 3 years. They are my personal favorite since I can fit an entire year into one notebook with monthly and weekly spreads. There is a lot of ghosting (when you can see the writing through the page) since the pages are so thin, but I don’t get any bleed-through with the markers and pens that I use. I don’t mind the ghosting since I like the feeling that I am getting my notebook filled up over time.
My 2021 calendar page was heavily inspired by Pinterest if you couldn’t already tell right off the bat. I mostly use this to help me set up monthly spreads and to have a quick place to see what the day is.
I have yet to fill this spread out completely, but my Series Tracker is exactly what it sounds like. I track the series I’m reading and what books I’ve finished on these pages. It helps me to remember what series I’m in the middle of and gives me a place to go to when I need some ideas for what books I can check out from the library.
I found that keeping a running list of books read per month is the best way for me to track everything as I go. At the end of each year, I like seeing how many books I read per month and compare them. Overall, I like keeping my journal reading tracking simple since I tend to get lazier and lazier as the year goes on to be honest.
Reading Spreadsheets
The other way that I track my reading is with a reading tracker spreadsheet. 2020 was the year that this went straight out the window, but I find that I was missing seeing my stats for the year. There is a plethora of free reading trackers that you can find from amazing creators that have put in tons of time to create them.
The tracker that I will be using this year is by The Hardback Hoarder on YouTube. Check out more info about her tracker here. There are tons of tracking options within the spreadsheet, but I primarily track with the “Books Read” tab of the spreadsheet. Being able to see my stats throughout the year helps to keep me reading diversely in every possible way, which is why I like tracking my reading in this way so much.
Goodreads & Storygraph
I am always keeping track of my reading through Goodreads. Like many others, I feel like Goodreads is somewhat of a necessary evil in the reading community. It is the most popular platform where I am able to see reviews from friends and users that have similar reading tastes to me, which is why I use it even though the app doesn’t work the best and the company is owned by Amazon. Sometimes, you just have to pick your battles and Goodreads serves its purpose well enough.
Most recently, I created a Storygraph account. If you aren’t interested in constantly keeping track of a spreadsheet, then Storygraph is a great option. It allows you to easily migrate your Goodreads shelves to their platform and seems to focus on tailored recommendations. You are also always able to view statistics based on a few factors such as pace, page number, genre, and star rating. I’m super interested to see how the platform grows in the future.
Friend me on Goodreads || Friend me on Storygraph
Now that I see it all laid out, I guess I don’t keep everything super simple! 😅
Do you track your reading? If so, how do you do so or how have your preferences changed over time? Let me know in the comments!
Cool spreads! I use a journal too, and actually, our journals look very similar!
I love that, thanks!
I adore your journal!! (Also, your new header looks awesome!)
I track my readings in a gazillion places, mainly in my bullet journal, but I also use Goodreads (which I hate that it’s owned by Amazon but as you said it, it’s quite unavoidable), there’s also Hungarian bookish website where I track my books and an Excel spreadsheet. Jeeez, writing this all down sounds extreme. 😂
Thanks and thanks! 😊 Haha I also didn’t realize I track everything in so many different places until I wrote it all down. It’s interesting seeing people’s different reading habits, thanks for sharing.
Your journal is super cute! I like the green theme.
Your series tracker is a great idea! I should start one of those instead of remembering that I wanted to continue a series like a month later 😅
Thank you! It has helped me so much, otherwise I would forget every series I’m in the middle of.
Your journal is SO adorable!! I’ve tried to start one a few times and find that I’m just not great at following through with it, so this year I’m going to be trying a Google spreadsheet! I can’t wait to see what your journal and stats look like at the end of the year!! ♥
Thanks Erin! I so get that. Spreadsheets are kind of the best. I’m excited to see yours, too…I love that being excited to see people’s end of the year reading stats is a thing for us readers 😄
I love seeing ppl’s journals!!
aw, i love your journal ali💜 i’m not quite talented to do things on a journal so i’m doing it online (like Notion for example). and i’ve never heard of storygraph but i think i might try it out!
lovely post (;
Oh wow!! U should do journal set up posts or something like that!!! I love it❤️
Ali! Your spreads are so pretty! Ooh I’m also so happy to hear about Storygraph, I have been hesitant to switch to that one since the majority of the bookish community is on Goodreads… but I’m checking it out now and am loving the stats! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks! Same, I don’t think I’ll be switching, but the stats are fun and they give interesting recommendations.
Woah, that journal! Its gorgeous! I keep a reading journal too, although mine does not look anywhere that good 😅
Thanks Cherry! As long as it does what it’s supposed to do is all that really matters!
I love this post and your spread is really pretty! I mainly track my reading through goodreads, but in the past 3 years I started to track using a simple spreadsheets 😀 I have a journal that I used to record my thoughts while reading, but I misplaced it somewhere…