How to Keep Track of Your Reading Progress
Are you overwhelmed with books? Can’t keep track of your TBR pile? Or your Read pile either for that matter? Worry not, for I am here to tell you all about how to organize your books and reading! I have been tracking my reading since June of 2022. Being able to track my reading habits has really helped me find more time to read and it has given me more insight into what I’m reading. I love being able to see what percentage of my books are what genre, the breakdown of what authors I’ve read, and much, much more.
Excel
The primary way I keep track of the books that I own is simply with an excel spreadsheet! The one I use is super intuitive. It not only helps me keep track of what books I own, but also breaks down the stats of the books I’ve already read! Below is just a small part of my yearly stats page. This page also tracks book genres and author stats like race, gender, and whether you’ve read them before.
My monthly stats page breaks things down even further into month to month stats. I really like this part for figuring out how many books I read in a certain month or how many pages I read for that month, etc. I liked having this option more than I thought I would. At first I thought it was frivolous, but I find myself checking these stats just as much if not more than my yearly stats!
This method of book tracking takes a little more work to input your data into the spreadsheet, but to me it is totally worth it. Something about my little lizard brain loves seeing my stats pages update every time I finish a book. It’s almost like an arcade game for me with all of the pretty colors. What I really love about this spreadsheet specifically is that it also tracks audiobook listening hours. I don’t listen to audiobooks very often, but when I do I would like to be able to track those as well as the books I’m actually reading.
There are plenty of book tracking spreadsheets on the internet if you look hard enough, but if you want this specific spreadsheet you can find it here! I wish for the life of me that I could remember the lovely blogger who I got this from originally, but unfortunately I didn’t write the name down when I got the spreadsheet. I’ll share the original copy that was shared with me. All you have to do is make your own copy of the spreadsheet and you can edit and customize it as much as you want!
Goodreads
I use Goodreads as a TBR pile tracker and book recommender. It’s really good for searching and finding books that you want to read. There is also the option to track what book you’re currently reading and the books you have read. I really like using this site because it keeps track of everything you want to, are currently, or have read in one simple place.
Probably my favorite thing about Goodreads is the social media aspect. I find most of the books I want to read next from my friends on Goodreads! Becoming friends with people who have similar interests with you is one of the easiest ways to find your next great read. You can see your friends' updates and book reviews on the home feed. Goodreads also gives you personalized recommendations that get more accurate after you review 20 books.
Goodreads is an Amazon affiliate, so you can do a bunch of cool stuff like save highlights from your Kindle directly into Goodreads, and connect your Amazon account to your Goodreads account to keep track of the books you have purchased. It also has some fun little widgets that you can use like an email signature that displays your current read and plug-ins for your blog. I am actually using one on this blog! It keeps track of my reading goal and displays it on this website automatically.
I would definitely recommend using Goodreads if you have a Kindle and want to be able to see what your friends are reading and what they think. The experience is better if you have friends, so if you want you can check my profile out here! Go ahead and send me a friend request to see what I’m up to!
The StoryGraph
The StoryGraph is a Goodreads alternative that is independent of Amazon. It does a lot of the same things as Goodreads, but it also does more. It has less of a social media aspect, and instead focuses on keeping track of your reading stats. The stats are really intuitive, and they help me understand exactly what kind of books I’m reading.
I’m not a huge fan of the recommendations on this site, but maybe it’s because I haven’t been using it for very long and it might still need some time to calibrate. That being said, I have found some really good books from their recommendations. It is all very hit or miss. Your home page consists of your own personalized recommendations, your current read, your TBR pile, and popular books this week.
I really like that I am able to have multiple reading challenges going on this app. It really pushes me to read more. It’s like a game. I would recommend this site for people who like the stats of an excel spreadsheet, but don’t want to necessarily put in the data entry work to upkeep the spreadsheet. This site will just do it for you!
This site focuses less on friends and social media, but if you want to see my progress, check out my StoryGraph profile here!
And there you have it! Three different ways that I track my reading progress. I think that tracking my reading has really enhanced my reading experience as a whole. I can keep track of my stats to encourage me to keep reading. I love how it feels like a game. It really helps with getting through as many books as I do.
Tracking your reading is a super customizable process, and you can modify everything to track what you want to keep track of. At the very least, it’s a good way to keep your TBR list under control and in order. It really helps with actually reading the books that you add to that list.
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