Two ways to get your book tracker
Make your own book tracker
Choose a layout, pick the columns you want, and download it as a PDF. Nothing to set up and nothing to sign up for.
- A books I’ve read table, a bookshelf to color in, or a numbered challenge grid
- Turn columns on or off: author, genre, format, pages, dates, rating
- Set how many books are on the shelf or in the challenge, from a dozen to a hundred
- Choose your theme and print on Letter, A4 or A5
- Ink saver mode for cheaper printing
Free printable book tracker templates
Already know what you want? This ready-made ullet journal style spreads that print as they come. The text is editable, so you can change the headings and the key before you print, and every design comes in Letter and A5.
- Bookshelf trackers where you write each title along the spine
- Books I’ve read logs with space for author, dates and a rating
- A page tracker with a color-coded key, so a year of reading fits on one sheet
- A books to read spread for what’s next
- A library tracker for due dates
- A reading challenge sheet and a favorite quotes page
Print a ready-made spread if you like the hand-drawn look and one of them already fits. Use the maker if you want a specific set of columns, or a shelf sized to the exact number of books you’re aiming for.
Bullet Journal Book Tracker
There are many different printable reading logs below. Find the one you like best and print it.
Books I’ve Read List Template
A book tracker tells you how much you have read. A books read list template tells you what. They sound like the same thing and they are not, and most people end up wanting both: something visual that fills up over the year, and a plain list they can actually search when someone asks whether a book is worth reading.
The list is the one that pays off years later. I have twice bought a book, got forty pages in, and realized I had read it before. A books I’ve read list printable would have caught that in about four seconds. It is also the only honest way to answer the question of how many books you got through last year, because memory rounds up.
What belongs on it is less than people expect. The title and the author are doing most of the work. A date finished tells you when you were reading what, which turns out to be surprisingly evocative a few years on. A rating out of five is worth adding because it is the column you will actually use when recommending something. Anything past that, and you are building a review rather than a list.
The book reading list template spreads below are laid out for exactly that: one line per book, enough room for a long title without cramping, and a column for the rating. Because the text is editable you can change the headings before you print, so if you would rather record the format, the genre or where the book came from, put that in the column you are not using.
One practical thing. Every book list template free to download here can be reprinted as often as you like, so keep one running by year rather than as one endless sheet. A year is a natural unit, it fits a page, and finishing one is satisfying in a way that a list with no end never is. Print a fresh reading book list template each January and keep the old ones together, and by the third year you have something genuinely worth looking back at.
Books I’ve Read Template
This free printable reading log tracks the number of pages you read per day. You can edit the number of pages in the key. You can also write the number of chapters instead of the number of pages.
It uses a simple color-coding system. The key consists of five blocks representing different ranges of pages read: 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, and 40+ pages. First, assign a color to each of these blocks. For example, you might choose red for 40+ pages. Then, for each day of the year, mark the number of pages you read by coloring the corresponding block on the tracker with the color from the key. So, if you read 50 pages on a given day and 40+ pages is red, you will color that day’s block in red. This visual approach makes it easy to see your reading habits over time!
Do you forget how many books you have read? These free editable book reading tracker templates will keep track and encourage you to read more.
Books to Read List Template
The other half of tracking is the pile you have not got to yet. A to be read list template, or a TBR list if you are in the habit of calling it that, is where a book goes when someone recommends it and you know perfectly well you will forget by Thursday.
A books to read list template is more useful than a note on your phone for one specific reason: it can hold why. Recording that a friend pressed a book on you, or that you saw it mentioned in something else you were reading, is what makes the difference between a list you use and a list you avoid. Six months later, a bare title tells you nothing about whether you actually wanted it.
So a books i want to read list template works best with a little more than a book tracker needs. The title and author, obviously. Where it came from or who recommended it. A word on why you want it. And whether you own it, need to borrow it, or still have to buy it, which stops you standing in a bookshop unable to remember whether the copy is already on your shelf.
The reading list template free downloads below leave room for all of that, and the editable text means you can drop the columns you do not want. If your TBR is mostly library holds, swap the ownership column for a due date. If it is mostly recommendations, give that column the space.
The one habit that makes a books to read template work is crossing things off rather than only adding. A list that only grows becomes a source of guilt, and guilt is a poor reason to pick up a book. Every few months, go through and strike out anything you have gone off. Nobody is checking, and a list of forty books you genuinely want to read beats a list of two hundred you feel you ought to.
Book Journal “Books to Read”
Since the text is editable, you can either create a spread for the books you want to read or the books that you already read.
Creating a “books to read” spread sets your reading goals and puts them on paper. When you put your goals on paper, you are more likely to reach them. This is important for those who want to read, but life gets in the way sometimes. It makes reading a priority.
Library Tracker
Reading Challenge
If you want to motivate yourself to read more books then a reading challenge could be the perfect solution. Decide how many books you want to read and within what period of time. Add your goal to the template. If the number of books on the page is not enough, then add more. You can also delete some.
Favorite Quotes or Book Quotes
Use this template to write your favorite quotes from the books you read. You can also add some book quotes / reading quotes.
Benefits of Keeping a Reading Log
Read more
The concept that “what you focus on grows” is well-recognized in psychology and personal development. It suggests that by dedicating attention and energy to a specific activity or goal, you increase the likelihood of achieving it and enhancing its presence in your life. This principle applies to various behaviors, including reading.
When you track your reading—whether by noting down titles read in a reading log, maintaining a reading journal, or using a digital app to monitor progress—you inherently increase your focus on the activity of reading. This heightened focus can lead to a natural increase in the amount of reading you do. Essentially, tracking introduces a systematic method to reflect on what you are reading, how much, and how often, which can motivate you to read more. It also helps in setting clearer goals around reading, such as aiming to finish a certain number of books or exploring diverse genres, which can further amplify your engagement with reading.
Research supports this idea by showing that when students track their reading habits, it correlates with higher academic achievement in reading subjects. The act of monitoring and reflecting on their reading likely motivates them to read more and with greater intent (source: Frontiers and Frontiers).
Thus, by making reading a focused activity through tracking, you’re likely to enhance not only the frequency of your reading but also deepen your engagement with the material, ultimately making reading a more ingrained part of your daily routine.
When you track the books you read, you will find that you read more. If you are looking to read more for literacy development or general enrichment, then set monthly or yearly reading goals. In the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey, the author explains that there is no better way to inform and expand your mind on a regular basis than to get into the habit of reading. Reading provides you with an opportunity to get into the best minds that are now or that have ever been in the world. Covey recommends starting with a goal of a book a month then a book every two weeks, then a book a week.
One of the best ways to develop children’s reading skills is to encourage consistent reading. Nightly reading is a great habit to form from a very young age. Try to get younger children to make reading a part of their daily schedule even if it is only a few minutes a day. If they develop this habit when they are young they are more likely to continue reading when they are older.
If you are using the reading logs in the classroom then you can get a large piece of construction paper and adhere each student’s log or put them on a bulletin board. This will help students read more since there will be healthy competition once everyone’s log is visible.
Remember what you read
When you keep track of the books, you read, you will remember what you read. I can’t tell you how many times I have started to read a book only to discover I had actually read it. My memory, unfortunately, isn’t what it used to be. Keep all old logs in a binder to have records of books read over time.
Remember if you enjoyed the book
You can add a rating system and rate each book from 1 to 5. This will help you when someone asks if you recommend a specific book. It will also probably increase the chance that you remember what you read.
Understand your reading habits
When you track your reading habits over time you will notice how they evolve. Often, we don’t realize that most of the books we read are similar and we can broaden our horizons.
Recognize your achievement
Reading many books is an achievement that you deserve to recognize. When your book log is long and you don’t keep a record of the books you read, you will not be able to create the list years from now.
If you want to give kids motivation to read then you can give them a prize when they complete their book log.
Encourage comprehension and reflection
If you use our book review template and write a few sentences about each book, it will force you to think about the book and what it meant to you. How did it make you feel, and what did you get from it? These are things that we think about when we try to summarize a book in a few sentences.
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These are AMAZING! I love the customization options
So glad you loved them!