A Look Into My Reading Journal
What I track, why + how I track it, plus new features I've added in 2026!
For as long as I can remember, I have tracked and taken notes on the books I read. In college and grad school, this came more in the form of bibliographies and reference lists; now as an adult free-range-reader, I do this in my reading journal - which I commonly refer to as my ‘book bujo.’ This has become such a vital part of my experience that I almost don’t feel like I’ve finished a book until I’ve updated my reading journal!
I’ve written about my reading journals previously (I will link those articles below), but I’ve made some changes and additions to my 2026 setup which I am already finding valuable. Today I thought I’d share a bit about why I use a reading journal, give you an overview of what I include, and update you on those recent additions.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea - and maybe a pen and notebook - and let’s chat reading journals!
The Purpose Behind My Reading Journal
My general purpose remains the same as stated in a previous article:
The overall purpose of my reading journal is twofold: a functional record of what I read and my initial thoughts about it, and a creative outlet combining two of my favorite hobbies (reading and journaling).
As I’ve updated its features, however, as well as added in my study book, I’ve landed on another significant aspect: This form of tracking invites me to engage more fully with the text itself. It also helps ensure I’m thinking critically and forming my own opinions, which I value highly in this age of information/opinion overload.
I’ll get into this a bit more as we go, but as a quick example, I enter my book into my reading journal - including my rating (on a 5-star scale) as well as a few sentences capturing my thoughts - before I hop online to read others’ reviews and opinions. I even did this with the wild ride that was Audition by Katie Kitamura, and I was so glad I had captured my own thoughts first because the recaps and reviews for that book were enlightening, widely varying, and absolutely all over the place!
However you track your reading, I encourage you to give some thought to how you can record your own impressions before weaving in those of others. This can be a simple yet powerful way to help keep your self-reflection and critical thinking skills sharp.
General Sections
Nearly all my reading journals from the past several years include some common sections and features. I’ll overview these briefly here before delving into the new additions:
All-Time Favorites
Here I list both my top fiction and nonfiction reads of all time. I usually struggle quite a bit narrowing down my top ten lists each year, but aside from periodic additions, my all-time favorites have stayed fairly consistent. I also have a list of all-time favorite authors (three new additions in 2025!) and favorite series, too.
Yearly Favorites
In my new reading journal, I have a page for my top ten(ish) fiction and nonfiction reads each year since 2021. I’ve actually got pages reserved through 2030 for these lists going forward too, since my reading journals tend to last me a while.
Bookish Orgs, Stores, Adventures
For most of the years I’ve owned my professional coaching business (celebrating 23 this month!), I’ve contributed to various literacy and reading organizations, so I like having a good list of those wonderful orgs at the ready. I also love attending author events, seeking out independent bookstores when I travel, going to book festivals, and so on, so I track those here as well.
TBR (To Be Read) List
This may be a bit controversial, but I decided to start fresh with my TBR when creating my newest reading journal! I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the number of books on my earlier list so, with a few exceptions, I started this year’s TBR with a clean slate. I can always refer back to previous reading journals if I run out of books I want to read, which has happened exactly zero times in my life.
2026-Specific Sections
Now we get into features dedicated to the current year:
At-A-Glance Bookshelf
The first photo at the top of this article shows you what my hand-drawn, at-a-glance bookshelf looks like. FYI, there is no rhyme or reason to the placement of books here, other than trying to make sure the title and author will fit.
2026 Monthly Stats
Here I summarize a few things each month including the number of books I read, what format (usually either print or audio for me), how many were fiction and how many nonfiction, and my favorite fiction and nonfiction title of the month. This last part has proven fascinating when it comes time to do my year-end favorites list, because my monthly favorites often don’t make the cut!
Bookish Intentions
A new addition last year that I have loved! I don’t set a yearly number goal for my reading, but I do sometimes create intentions for certain genres, topics, or types of books I want to intentionally focus on in the year. I don’t often write about these, but paid subscribers saw (and can still see) what my 2025 reading intentions were and will soon see my 2026 ones, too.
Index
This includes the title, author, my rating, and the page number where my mini book report can be found. If a book warrants more than a few sentences, I put an asterisk next to it in this index, indicating that I’ve expanded on it in my study book.
Reviews/Mini Book Reports
When I finish a book, I come to this section to record basic details (title, author, year published, genre, etc.), as well as a few sentences with my thoughts and takeaways. You can see an example or two here.
New Additions
Can you believe there’s still more? :-) This year, I’ve dedicated a page or spread to each of the following - which in most cases were things I found myself jotting down in random places often enough last year to warrant giving them their own space this year.
Prize Lists
I’ve really enjoyed keeping up with some of the annual book prizes in the past few years - a fun bookish angle on which I haven’t always focused! And while I don’t read an entire long list or short list for any of them (yet, anyway), I do like making note of ones I find particularly interesting. I could just list these titles on my TBR, but I’m enjoying categorizing them on a dedicated prize page - plus I can more easily see if a book is being nominated for multiple awards this way. If you’re curious, a few of my favorite prizes to follow include the Women’s Prize For Nonfiction, Women’s Prize For Fiction, Pulitzer, National Book Award, Carol Shields Prize, Booker, and International Booker.
DNF (Did Not Finish) List
If I’m finding a book boring, offensive, or just not resonating with me for some reason, I am fine closing it up and returning it to the library - even if I’m 50 or 100 or 300 pages in. I don’t write a mini book report about these nor include them in my monthly wrap-ups for you, however, so until recently I haven’t done a good job of recording why I DNF’d - which I’m finding can be really valuable information in further clarifying my reading tastes. I now have a dedicated section with space to record the title, author, how far I got into it, and a sentence on why I DNF’d.
Reading Projects
If you’ve been with me for a while, you may remember how I discovered the writing of Hanif Abdurraqib last year - then went on to read everything he has ever published. I didn’t set out to do that, but his writing speaks to my soul and I loved reading his entire catalog. Later in the year, I realized I’ve read Emily Henry’s six newest releases and wanted a place to tier-rank them. Voila, my reading journal now has a space to record dedicated projects like this! And this year I’ve intentionally chosen an author whose backlist I am aiming to complete, which I mentioned in my January wrap-up.
Publisher
While not its own dedicated page, this year I’ve begun noting the publishing house for each book within my mini book reports. I’ve heard different podcasters mention doing this in recent years and always thought it sounded like a great idea, particularly to show me if many of my favorite books tend to come from a certain publisher. It’s literally a one- or two-word addition to my tracking, but it’s already been enlightening!
Reading Journals = Endless Possibility (and Fascination!)
So, what do you think: Inspiring? Too detailed for your tastes? Not detailed enough? Some things you’ll add to your own tracking? Categories I’m missing? Please share your thoughts and questions below, as well as how you track your reading. As you can probably tell, I could chat about this stuff for days, and I’d love to hear your reading journal adventures and insights!
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Additional articles you may find helpful:
The 2026 Reading And Purpose Nonfiction Book Club!
A Peek Inside My Reading Journal
A Deeper Dive Into My Reading Journal
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Dr. Christi Hegstad is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and self-proclaimed book nerd, here to help you work with meaning, live with purpose, and reach bold + difference-making goals! Peruse coaching opportunities at ChristiHegstad.com, email questions to ReadingAndPurpose(at)gmail(dot)com, and check out book recommendations at the Reading And Purpose bookshop.org store (your book purchases through the links provided may earn me a small commission, at no extra cost to you).
Thank you for being here!
I loved reading this. I keep some of this info in my bullet journal but extensively track things digitally in Notion. This is making me want to do a dedicated reading journal next year!
free range reader omg :D