Reading tracker spreadsheet template

Because I'm a control freak who doesn't want to rely on Goodreads or StoryGraph (or post everything I've read publicly, all the time). Maybe that's how you feel, too? Enter: A simple spreadsheet!

I’ve long loved reading. And after getting my Kindle at the end of last year in preparation for moving into our van—where space for physical books is limited—I’ve read more than ever. (Three cheers for mobile library apps! And the ability to purchase non-resident library cards. We love you, libraries.)

A few weeks ago I decided to turn the haphazard note in my phone into an actual spreadsheet to track titles, authors, genres, and my personal ratings. I got a few requests to create a template for others to use, too—so here you are!

(If you’re looking for recommendations of what you should read next or to chat about specific titles: This article publicly keeps track of most of my animal-related reading, and this one compiles books I think are great for dog owners to read. Maybe I’ll branch out to non-creature book clubs soon.)

How to use this reading tracker template

Make a copy and save to your own drive or device

You can pull up a view-only version of my reading tracker template by clicking this link. Once you’ve opened it, click “File” → “Make a Copy” in the upper lefthand corner and save it to your own Google Drive.

Alternatively, you can download the file as a spreadsheet and save it locally to your computer to edit in your program of choice, like Microsoft Excel.

Template features

Log basic book info

The first rows and columns in the spreadsheet allow you to input surface-level details about what you’ve read:

• Date finished: When you completed the book (you could easily add a separate column for start date, too, if you want to keep track of how long it takes you to read each title)

• Title: The book’s title

• Author: The book’s author

• Pages: How long the book is

Track more details about each book

• Type of book: Drop downs for fiction, nonfiction, or poetry feed into conditional formulas that will show you how many pages you’ve read of each

• Genre(s): Enter whatever terms you’d use to describe each book

• Rating: Color-coded drop downs allow you to clearly see which titles you loved best, and they feed into conditional formulas to show you your average rating for everything you’ve read since you started tracking

• New or reread: Log whether you revisited an old book or started a new one

See book and page stats at a glance

To the right of the main book list, I’ve set up some basic conditional formulas to give you high level stats about your reading.

• Total books: Everything you’ve read; how many have been new titles; how many of each type of book (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry)

• Total pages: Sum of every book you’ve listed; number of pages from new titles; number of pages divided by type of book (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry)

• Average rating: The average 5-point score you give your books

• Average length: The average number of pages in each book you read