BookstubWhat is a reading log, and what should it contain?
A reading log is a running record of the books you read. Each entry holds a title, an author, the dates you started and finished, and where you are in the book. Many add a rating and a one-line note. Keep it on paper, in a sheet or in an app, and aim for under a minute per entry.
Coming soon to iPhone
What is a reading log?
A reading log is a list that grows as you read. One row or one page per book, filled in as you go, so that at any moment you can answer three questions: what am I reading, how far along am I, and what did I finish this year.
The term comes mostly from schools, where a teacher asks for the minutes read each night and a parent initials the page. Adults keep the same kind of record for different reasons. They want to remember which books they finished, notice how much they actually read, and keep a small habit alive. The Wikipedia article on reading gives the wider background if you want it, but nothing about a log needs theory. It needs a place to write and a rule for when you write.
Which fields are worth keeping?
Start with five fields and add more only when you miss them. Every extra field is a small tax on the next entry, and logs die when the tax gets too high.
Optional fields include format (print, e-book, audiobook), where the book came from, minutes spent and a favorite passage. If you borrow from a library, a due date is worth a column. If you read for a group, add the meeting date.
| Field | Why keep it | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Title and author | Tells you what the entry is | Once per book |
| Start and finish date | Shows how long a book took | Twice per book |
| Page or percent reached | Shows progress and pace | Each session |
| Rating | Helps you choose later | Once per book |
| One line of notes | The part you will actually reread | Once per book |
What does a reading log look like in practice?
Here are three entries written at different levels of detail. The first is the minimum, the third is about the most a busy person will keep up.
Notice that none of them evaluates the book at length. A log is not a review. If you want to write a paragraph about a book, that belongs in a book journal, and the log can point to it.
| Level | Entry |
|---|---|
| Minimal | The Remains of the Day, Ishiguro. Jun 3 to Jun 19. 4 stars. |
| Medium | Piranesi, Clarke. Started Jul 2, finished Jul 11. 272 pages. 5 stars. Kept the line about the tides. |
| Detailed | Dune, Herbert. Started Aug 1, paused p. 210 on Aug 9, finished Sep 14. 612 pages, about 14 hours. 4 stars. Slow middle, strong ending. |
Paper, spreadsheet or app?
Each option works. The difference is how much friction sits between you and the entry.
The honest test is simple. Pick the one you would still open on a tired Tuesday.
- Paper: a notebook or a printed sheet is the fastest to start, and nothing runs out of battery. It is slow to search and hard to total at the end of the year.
- Spreadsheet: one row per book, one column per field. Totals and filters come free, but opening a sheet on a phone at 11 pm is a chore, which is why spreadsheet logs often stop in March. A guide to setting one up covers the columns.
- App: an app wins when logging is a tap and the totals build themselves. It loses if it asks for an account or sends your list somewhere you did not choose.
How do you keep a reading log going?
Four habits do most of the work.
- Log at the moment you stop reading, not later. The page number is easy to remember at that moment and hard to reconstruct the next day.
- Count a page as enough. If one page counts as a logged day, there is no such thing as a day that was too busy.
- Allow late entries. Forgetting is normal, so a rule such as filing yesterday's reading until noon the next day keeps the record honest without guilt.
- Review monthly. Spend two minutes on the first of the month looking at what you finished. It is the only moment a log pays you back, and it makes the next entry feel worth writing.
Should you log pages, minutes or books?
Pick one unit as the main measure and let the others ride along as notes. Each has a weakness, so choose the weakness you can live with.
Pages work best for print readers who like to see a number move. Minutes suit people who switch between paper, e-reader and audio. Books alone is the lightest option, and plenty of people stay with it for years.
| Unit | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Books finished | Simplest to keep and to share | Hides slow months and long books |
| Pages read | Shows steady progress inside a book | Needs a page count, and audio has none |
| Minutes read | Fair across formats and book lengths | Easy to forget to start a timer |
What can you learn from a year of entries?
A year of entries answers questions you would not think to ask in January. How many books did you start and not finish? Which month was empty, and what else was going on? How long does a 400-page novel take you in practice, compared with what you assumed?
A small example shows the arithmetic. If you finished 24 books and read 7,200 pages, the average is 300 pages a book and about 20 pages a day. Divide the pages by the number of days you actually read and the figure gets more honest, because a month away from books stops dragging the daily number down. None of this needs software. It needs a log that was filled in often enough to trust.
How does Bookstub handle a reading log?
Bookstub is an iPhone reading tracker in development that builds its log around the page number. You turn a wheel or tap plus and minus, press one button, and the percentage is calculated from the page. Each save can be undone for 10 seconds, and until noon you can choose For yesterday if you forgot to log last night. The details are on the log a page page.
Reading data stays on the iPhone, there is no account, and each Sunday at 18:00 the app can print a receipt-style ledger of pages, minutes and days. See the weekly ledger for the full list of what it shows.
What should a reading log not be?
It should not be a scoreboard. A log that mostly tells you how few pages you read this week will make you stop opening it. Keep the numbers as information, not as a grade. If a week was empty, the log shows an empty week, and the next entry goes on the next line.
Frequently asked questions
What is a reading log used for?
It records what you read, when, and how far you got. Adults use it to remember finished books, notice their pace and keep a reading habit. In schools it usually tracks minutes read each night.
What is the difference between a reading log and a reading journal?
A log is short and factual: title, dates, pages and a rating. A journal holds longer thoughts, quotes and reactions. Many readers keep a log for every book and write in a journal only for the ones that stay with them.
How often should I update a reading log?
Update it each time you finish a reading session, even if you only add a page number. Logging at the moment you stop is the habit that survives longest.
Do audiobooks go in a reading log?
That is your call. Many people log them with a format column so they can filter later. A separate guide covers whether audiobooks count as reading.
Is a reading log the same as a book tracker?
Close. A book tracker usually means an app or sheet that handles the whole list, including books you want to read. A reading log is the record of what you actually read.