Book Journal For Beginners: How To Start Your Reading Journal

Starting a book journal sounds simple, until you’re staring at a blank page with zero idea what to write. Especially in the world of journaling, where you basically have limited options.

Did I need a tracker? A review page? Both?

If you’ve been saving gorgeous reading journal spreads on Pinterest but have no clue where to actually begin, you’re in the right place.

I’m breaking down what a reading journal is, what to put in it, how to set yours up without overcomplicating things, and the prompts that finally got me writing consistently, book after book, for good.

Let me be honest here – even though I’ve been journaling since 2018, I haven’treally had a dedicated reading journal until 2025. I mostly added reading-related pages to my Bullet Journal.

However, in 2025-2026, I decided it was time to put the rest of my notebooks to work, so I created a commonplace book that includes all my hobbies, including reading and watching anime.

I’ll be honest, I have more anime pages than reading pages, but I think the concept is the same, and a lot of layouts transfer very well between the two media.

So, with everything I’ve tried and all the ideas I could think of, here is my most detailed guide on how you can start a reading journal yourself, or use this guide and ideas to create a journal around any of your other hobbies – be it movies, TV shows, books, or theater.

And be sure to scroll until the end to get some FREE printable book journal printables, so you can start with your reading journal right away.

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What Is A Reading Journal?

At its simplest, a reading journal is a notebook (or app) where you keep track of what you read and how you felt about it. Think of it as the space between your bookshelf and your memory, the place that holds all the little details you’d otherwise forget by your next read.

I realized I needed one when we were discussing a book I read several years ago, and the only thing I could say about it was that I read it. Everything else left my memory.

In that way, a book journal is a place where you can store all your fresh impressions and ideas, so all the reading you’re doing isn’t just lost in the black hole of your memory.

Quick note if you already keep a book tracker in your Bullet Journal: a reading journal is the same idea, just with room to reflect, not just log.

Reading Journal VS Reading Bullet Journal Pages

As I mentioned previously, I’ve mostly been adding reading pages to my Bullet Journal rather than creating a separate journal. And if you are also a Bullet Journaling person, I wanted to share some reasons and examples of when you can add a page to your BuJo and when it might be time for a separate journal.

If you read casually, a few books a month, keep it in your main Bullet Journal. A tracker spread and the occasional reflection page won’t crowd your planning, and it’s honestly kind of motivating to see “finished a book” sitting right next to your other habits.

Spin off a separate journal if you’re reading heavily, or your planning pages keep getting pushed back by book spreads. That’s exactly what happened to me. Between reading and my anime habit, I had so much “content” to track that it started eating into my actual planning, so I gave it its own notebook entirely.

There’s no hard rule here, just a sign to watch for: once reading starts crowding out your planning, that’s usually your cue to split it off.

Ok, now that you know what a reading journal is and have decided whether you’ll start a new one or add ideas to your existing BuJo, it’s time to get started.

Reading Journal Supplies

Of course, when it comes to journaling, we will need some supplies. Of course, you can use any pens and notebooks you already have.

But I wanted to share some of my favorites still, in case you’re looking for something special to add to your collection:

Archer & Olive journal. You can add reading-related pages to your usual Bullet Journal, but since I have so many notebooks, I decided to use a separate one for all my content-consuming habits (right now, it’s anime and reading). If you want the same journal, use my code MASHA10 for 10% OFF.
Fineliners. These are the working hours of all my Bullet Journal pages. I am switching between Sakura Pigma Micron and Altenew Fineliners.
Markers. I love colors, so of course, all my pages have plenty of them. My forever go-to is Zebra Mildliners.
Book stencil. An easier and definitely faster way to add book doodles to your Bullet Journal.
Letter stamps. I feel like it fits so well with all the book pages. They also let you create lots of fun, unique headers.

And that’s all you need to know; now you are ready to start your journal. To make it easier, simply grab the free printables below!

How To Start A Book Journal: What To Put In It, Step By Step

Now that you have your journal, how do you actually start, or more like – what kind of pages do you start with?

I would say you shouldn’t overthink it and start simple; here are a few basic ideas:

Title Page & Index — just a spot to name your journal, and once you fill a few pages, jot down where everything lives. This will help with navigation and will be very helpful for archiving – the first page will already tell you when this journal was made.
Book Tracker Spread — a simple bookshelf or list layout where you log every book you finish. Title, author, date, rating. That’s the most basic page for a good reason – I feel like you have to have a list of books you read.
TBR List — one running page for every book you want to read next, so you stop losing recommendations to your Notes app.
Book Reflection Page — one page per book (or one for every few, if you’re not a big note-taker yet). I think this is one of the most important layouts, since I struggle most with remembering books. And I think it’s very interesting to look back and see how you saw a book and feel the difference in how you feel about it years later.

The truth is, the best pages to start with are the ones that you feel you need. Think of your reading and what moments you’d like to record in your journal, and it will give you a hint of what kind of pages you’ ll want to create.

And remember that what I share are just suggestions; your journal will look and be organized the way that fits you. There is no right or wrong way to journal.

Think of something simple that will get you going, like maybe writing the current year on the first page and start there. I think once you start, it will be easier to continue.

For example, my journal has no cover page or title; I just started creating pages. I also don’t separate them; my reading pages are right next to my anime pages.

Start simple, and once you’ve got a few weeks of journaling under your belt, you’ll have a much better sense of what to add, whether that’s a genre tracker, a monthly wrap-up, or a quote collection page.

Scroll until the end to see some of the other posts with page ideas that will share with you more inspiration on what you can do in your reading journal.

Reading Journal Prompts To Get You Started

I gave you several ideas on pages, but there is so much more to journal about than just tracking your reads.

If you want to write more, preserve more memories, and generally review books in more detail, I would recommend using prompts. At least at first, this can help you overcome the blank-page freeze and give you direction on what to write.

Here are a few simple prompts you can get started with:

What made me pick up this book in the first place?
What’s one line or scene I don’t want to forget?
How did this book make me feel, in one word?
Would I recommend this, and to whom?
What did this book remind me of — another book, a person, a memory?
Star rating: does it earn a re-read?

These are more generic, but if you want something more specific, here are the prompts I used for my book review page (the one you’ll see below is a review of a manga I just finished reading):

Writing style notes (and in this case notes on the drawing style)
The world-building
Characters – what characters I liked, how they were written, and how the creator approached representing the protagonists and antagonists of the story
Main theme of the book
The ending (since I believe writing a good ending can be hard, so it is always something special I note about every book I read)

So, as you can see, it depends on what you feel like journaling about. Often, as you read the book, you’ll get an idea of what you want to notice and write about in your review later.

How To Actually Stick With It

A new journal, like any new habit, is very exciting, but it’s easy to drop off and slowly leave your half-empty journal on the shelf where all the other notebooks go to die.

So here, I wanted to share some tips and tricks for staying consistent with your reading journal, sicne I think it helps you enhance your reading experience and build better reading habits.

If yours has stalled before (mine has, more than once), here’s what actually keeps people coming back.

Pair it with a habit you already have. Journal right after you close a book, or right when you sit down with your morning coffee, not “whenever you get around to it.” Attaching it to something you already do daily is what makes it stick.
Keep it within reach of wherever you actually read. If it lives in a drawer across the room, you won’t use it. Nightstand, tote bag, wherever your book usually is- that’s where your journal belongs too.
Lower the bar for what counts as an entry. “Loved it, cried twice” is a complete entry. You don’t need a full spread every time, and waiting for the energy to do one properly is how journals go quiet for months.
Separate writing from decorating. Jot your thoughts down first, messy if needed. Go back and prettify it later if you feel like it, or don’t. The words matter more than the washi tape.
Give yourself permission to skip books. Not every read needs an entry, especially rereads, DNFs, or the beach thriller you finished in a day. Save the energy for the books that actually moved you.
Do a two-minute monthly check-in. Flip back through what you’ve logged so far. It’s usually what gets you excited to keep going, and it catches you before a month turns into a year.

And if you do fall off for a week, or three, that’s not a reason to start a whole new journal. Just open it back up and keep going.

Free Printable Reading Journal Pages

If you want a head start, my Resources Vault has a free printable book tracker and a reading log page (plus 50+ other Bullet Journal printables) ready for you to print and drop straight into your new reading journal.

If you don’t have access yet, you can always sign up in the form below.

Once you confirm your subscription, you’ll get the password to get 50+ free Bullet Journal printables, stickers, and worksheets to use right away.

If you’ve never used printables before, be sure to check my post How To Use Printables In Your Bullet Journal.

It’s pretty basic, and you can find all the supplies you need in my post Supplies For Using Bullet Journal Printables.

More Resources

As I mentioned before, there are so many more different ideas and layouts you can try in your reading journal, and I have plenty of inspiration for you here on this blog.

Check these posts next:

>>> What pages will you be starting with in your reading journal? Share with us in the comments!

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And remember: Keep Journaling, and Don’t Be A Blob!