My 2022 Reading Journal (+ Downloadable PDFs)

Last year, I journeyed into the world of reading journals for the first time, and if you needed any indicator of how well it went, here I am again, introducing you to my reading journal for 2022. The journal turned out to be the most effective and enjoyable method for keeping track of my reading that I’ve ever tried, and without it, I would hardly be able to list more than four of the books I read last year.

If you’re interested in comparing my setup for last year’s journal to this year’s, you can find my 2021 reading journal here. Or I can spare you the click and tell you it worked so well that I’ve only made a few changes to it, and I’ll explain those here. To clarify, I did not use that many pages for my reading journal last year, so I decided that instead of buying a new notebook altogether (as if I need more notebooks) I would just continue in the same journal.

2022 Bookshelf

The Bookshelf was by far the most enjoyable page of my reading journal in 2021. Though I only read thirty-two books last year, watching the number of coloured spines on my shelf increase brought me a little joy every time I looked at it. The bonus is that though the spread looks good (even if I do say so myself) it’s easily achievable with a ruler and a pen, and the doodles and fancy writing aren’t necessary.

I am looking forward to filling this out in the coming year, especially if I manage to read more books than last year. Last year I numbered the books and highlighted the spines with a different colour for each month, and I plan to do it again, but maybe with a more muted colour scheme if I can decide on one.

Books I Read

This spread is rather self-explanatory, but here I’ll keep a note of the titles, authors, page numbers, and star ratings of each of the books I read in 2022. I liked this more detailed recap in conjunction with the bookshelves which are mainly visual, so I’m looking forward to doing it again.

The 2022 TBR Wishlist

I’ve seen other people do these with the title ’22 books for 2022’, but to me, that seemed like more of a commitment than a ‘Wishlist’ would be. I would like to read the books in this spread, but I’m not married to the idea that I must get to them. I hope to get to them, but it’s not essential. For me, it will serve as a reminder that there are a lot of things I want to read and keep these books firmly on my radar if I’m struggling to decide on what to read next.

2022 Favourites

In the future, I may move this spread but here I intend to jot down, or maybe even glue in pictures of the books I read this year that I give 5 stars to, or really enjoy, in no order. This one will make more sense when it’s completed, so I’ll do an update in the future.

Series to Finish

This, like the wishlist, is another attempt to keep the books I feel I should be reading on my radar. Have I started a series that I would like to complete or keep track of the number of books I’ve read from it? This spread will let me know. If you ask my 2021 reading journal, instead of ticking off the series I’ve started, I’ve mainly been adding new ones, but we’ll see how I do in 2022.

Owned TBR

I have conveniently not filled this spread in for the photos because I know it will take me a while. It will contain a written record of all the titles I own, not just things I would like to read. I have upwards of 80 unread books in my possession between physical and Kindle books, which is kind of ridiculous but by no means uncommon in the reading community. Having only read thirty books last year and most likely bought and received a similar amount, my TBR is no smaller than it was at the beginning of last year, or the middle of last year, but hopefully I can stop buying as many books and focus on reading what I already have.

Mid-Year TBR

This page will be similar to the last one but hopefully smaller. If I want to read about fifty books next year, I should have reduced my TBR by at least twenty-five books in July. There may be some irresistible deals or things that crop up that I really want to read before then, but if I want this spread to have any changes, I’ll have to avoid the allure of new books as much as possible.

2022 Stats

The point of this spread is to keep track of the trends in my reading including the ratings, genres, formats, and number of books I read each month in 2022. Last year I did this page with tally marks but I’m wondering if I should colour in each square this year for a change.

Rolling ‘Books I read’ spread

Again, this is the most important part of my reading journal, as it’s the reason I wanted one in the first place. Sometimes, two weeks after I’ve read a book I can barely remember the main character’s name. This spread will contain the names, starting and finishing dates, star ratings, and my thoughts on each book I read throughout the year. The idea is that I fill it in after finishing each book, so my opinions are fresh in my mind.

Without this spread last year, I would have forgotten the details of my opinions on the books I read. I also find that really thinking about the good and bad aspects of a book can help you to fine-tune your reading tastes and learn a lot about writing, so I think it’s always worth thinking a little bit about the books you read once you’ve completed them, even if they aren’t particularly ‘literary’.

I’ll most likely provide updates on the spreads of my reading journal via Instagram every now and again, so make sure you’re following me there if you’re interested. As ever, I’m excited for another year of reading but I’m trying to balance making progress on my huge TBR whilst also being kind to myself, so we’ll see how it goes.

This time, I have two downloadable PDFs for you, just in case you’d like somewhere to record the books you’ve read with minimal effort, or you want to gain some inspiration for what to read this year based on my Wishlist.

If you’d like to let me know what you think of the reading journal or what you’re looking forward to reading this year, I’d love to hear it, so don’t be afraid to contact me!