Reading Log Challenge

Athletes track their training. Scientists track their experiments. And readers track their reading. A reading log is a simple record of what you read, how long you read, and what kind of text it was. Keeping one for even one week can show you things about yourself as a reader that you never noticed before.

What is a reading log?

• A reading log is a daily record with at least three fields: the book or text title, the genre, and the number of minutes read.
• Some logs also include a brief reaction — one word or emoji to describe how the reading felt.
• It does not need to be long — even a short entry every day is valuable.

Reading genres — what kind of text did you read?

• Fiction — invented stories: adventure, fantasy, mystery, realistic fiction, fairy tale, fable.
• Nonfiction — true information: science, history, biography, how-to, news.
• Poetry — poems and verse.
• Comics / graphic novels — stories told through panels and speech bubbles.
• Mixing genres is healthy and makes you a more versatile reader.

Setting a SMART reading goal

• SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.
• Example: "I will read for 15 minutes every day this week and try one nonfiction book."
• A vague goal like "I will read more" is hard to measure — a SMART goal tells you exactly what success looks like.