What to Write in a Reading Journal (When You Have No Idea)
Blank page.
Pen in hand.
Book finished.
And absolutely nothing comes out.
I've been there.
Way more often than I'd like to admit.
Why the blank page feels so loud
Here's the problem.
We treat a reading journal like a school assignment.
Like someone's going to mark it.
So we stare at the page and wait for something clever to show up.
It won't.
And it doesn't need to.
If you're brand new to all this, start with my post on how to start a reading journal. Then come back here for what to actually put on the page.
Because "what do I even write?" is the question that stops most people.
So here's a list.
Pick one.
Ignore the rest.
1. What you'd tell a friend in one sentence
Imagine a friend asks, "Was it any good?"
What do you say?
"Loved it, ignore the ending."
"Slow start, worth it."
"I was emotionally wrecked by page 200."
Write that down.
That's a review.
Seriously.
2. Where you were when you read it
This one sneaks up on you in a good way.
Read it on a holiday?
In the car waiting for pick-up?
In the ten minutes after a close shift, when you were too tired to read but did it anyway?
Write that.
Years later, you won't remember the plot.
But you'll remember the chair.
3. The line that stopped you
You know the one.
You read it, stopped and read it again.
Copy it out.
Don't worry about the rest of the page.
One line is plenty.
4. Your rating, however you want to do it
Stars are fine.
Out of ten is fine.
But you can also do:
- Would read again
- Would recommend, with a warning
- Cried in the car
- Furious, but in a good way
Your journal, your scale.
5. Who you'd give it to (and who you wouldn't)
Some books are for everyone.
Most aren't.
Write down who you'd hand it to.
And who should absolutely not touch it.
This is also a very quiet way to find out who your favourite people are.
6. What it reminded you of
Another book.
A film.
A person.
A very specific year of your life.
Books sit next to memories in your head.
Write down the neighbours.
7. The entry for the book you quit
Yes, you can write about a book you didn't finish.
Actually, please do.
What put you off?
The pacing?
A character who made your eye twitch?
Write it down and let it go.
It's oddly satisfying, and it stops you picking up the same book again in two years and wondering why it felt familiar.
8. The next-book list
This is the fun one.
Keep a page for what you want to read next.
Titles you keep hearing about.
Something a friend pushed into your hands.
The one you bought because the cover was pretty.
No guilt.
It's a wish list, not homework.
9. Your mood, not the book's
Some days you're in the mood for something cosy.
Some days you want your heart ripped out.
Some days you want a book so light it needs a paperweight.
Write down how you felt reading it.
Not what the book was doing.
What you were doing.
10. Nothing at all
Yep.
Some days the entry is a title and a date.
That still counts.
A half-filled page beats a perfect one you never wrote.
What if I run out of things to say?
Then stop.
Close the journal.
Put the kettle on.
You're not paid by the word.
This is one of the reasons I made Tales in Ink with a mix of quick review pages for fast notes and longer two-page spreads for the books that leave you with big feelings. Some books deserve a paragraph. Some deserve a scribble.
But you don't need mine to start.
A notebook and a pen will do.
What's the very first thing you'd write about the last book you finished?
Go on, say it out loud.
I bet it's better than anything you'd write if you tried to sound clever.