Musings - Track Your Reading (and so much more)

I have done a few posts of interest for a New Year prior that I'd like to share again:

Create Family Reading Habits and Traditions  

To Be Read Jar  

I am on a few reading/book facebook groups and besides asking for book recommendations, many people ask how they can easily keep track of the books they've read.  What follows are ideas to answer such a question and although not exhaustive, I hope they are helpful and perhaps also fun.

If you only need to track the basics like the following:

Books to read (Notes to remember the many recommendations you get)

Books Completed so you aren't getting the same book in a few months you already bought and read.

Favorite books to know exactly which ones to pick off your shelf on a rainy day.

Then basic tracking is available with Goodreads.com or LibraryThing.com and can handle those tasks for you.  But here are some other options for this as well.

Reading List Bookmark  (click here) is handy and simple.

Book Reading Tracker- Printable (handles 67 books per sheet)

Left column you can set up a color code using markers for the genre of book  (click here).

But if you want to track more, then often times going old school is the simplest answer by using a bullet journal (notebook that has pages with dots or grid) or similar idea like a simple spiral notebook.  

Are there apps that can do this?  Yes, BUT to get the following versatility it will likely cost.  The free features are usually limited to basic tracking like Goodreads.  

A bullet journal is economical and easy, particularly if you find free printable templates.  You can spruce up pages with colored pens, Tombow markers (they don't bleed through), something for drawing straight lines, and some decorative Washi tape.

Following are some ideas of other things you may like to track besides just book titles you've read:

Pages read per day – if you want to make reading a habit and keep you motivated.  (click here) and example (click here)  

Chapters read – Some prefer tracking chapters rather than pages.  Example (click here) and Example 2 (click here):  

Series Books – You can track different book series that you are reading.  You may not want to read through an entire series at once, or you may be waiting for the next one to come out.  You can list out the reading order of the books in a series and check them off as you complete each one. 

Basic example (click here): 

Do you want to track Days you've read? – This helps you form a habit. (click here)

Maybe a reading streak – how many days in a row you've read to reinforce a habit of reading.  Weeks in a row, too.  Maybe note a prize to reward yourself if you read 21 days in a row or similar streak. See above example for tracking days.

Classic Books TBR – I think every reader has a list of "highly recommended" classics that they haven't gotten around to yet.  This makes it easy to refine your list, note which friend recommended it and why, and if it was worth the hype.  Example (click here).  

Reading Challenges – like the alphabet challenge (reading books whose titles start with each letter of the alphabet), book bingo (like regular bingo but with a different book criteria in each square), or others.  If you are into reading challenges make it easy on yourself and track them in one spot.  Example (click here).   

Book Club – You can keep track of all the necessary information.  Create a page that lists things like their website, when you meet, where you meet, when to vote for the monthly book pick, or contact information for friends you meet in the club and want to collaborate with.  Then track how many pages a day to finish, the questions to discuss so you can be prepared before the meeting.

Other examples following

Multiple reading goal tracker (click here)

16 Reading Journal Printables (click here)

Library Due Date book tracker (click here)

Full page per book printable (click here) 

Etsy.com has a lot of creative printables you can instantly download for practically any book tracking need for only a few dollars.  

Check out the many examples on Pinterest too (click here).

Doing your own tracking in a journal can be fun and creative.  I hope these ideas were helpful.  

Happy New Year fellow reading buddies.