Reading journals
Book tracker google sheets
By BiblioFiend · Last updated
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Download the book tracker Google Sheets workbook
Book title and author: __________________________________
Reading status or reflection: __________________________________
Known dates: __________________________________
Optional personal note: __________________________________
The workbook is an original file, not a screenshot of a spreadsheet. It contains no macros, external connections or hidden book feed. The Reading sheet is empty apart from the date-span formula in its prepared rows. Fictional examples live on their own sheet and is not part of any summary range.
This book tracker Google Sheets file starts with a blank reading table. It has formulas for finished books and DNF attempts. It also counts books by month when a finish date is known. Download the XLSX and import it into your own sheet.
The CSV fallback has the same input headings. Use it if you want to build the sheet yourself. Neither route needs a public copy link or a third-party data feed.
The file has room for two hundred book rows. Finished and DNF stay separate. A month counts only a Finished book with a known finish date. The date span stays blank if a date is missing or out of order. A separate sample sheet shows what the sums should be. Its made-up books do not enter your totals.
Import the book tracker Google Sheets file
- Open a new Google Sheets spreadsheet in your own account.
- Choose File, then Import, and upload the XLSX.
- Create a new spreadsheet or insert its sheets into an empty file.
- Confirm the Reading, Summary, Fictional examples and Read me sheets are present.
- Inspect the status dropdown and a date-formatted cell before adding personal records.
Google explains this route in its Excel and Sheets guidance. Each app can handle an import in its own way. Use the made-up examples below to check your copy. The CSV has no formulas or cell rules. It gives you a plain table, so it will not create the workbook's totals on its own.
Columns and status validation
The input columns run from A through I: Title, Author, ISBN or edition, Status, Started, Finished, Format, Personal rating and Notes. Column J holds Days in date span. The ISBN column is text so a leading zero does not disappear. A title is required before a row contributes to Finished or DNF totals.
The status choices are To read, Reading, Finished, Paused and DNF. Keep that spelling when using the supplied formulas. A different word such as Done does not secretly count as Finished. If you rename a status, change the formulas and dropdown rule together. Leaving an unused row entirely blank keeps it out of the totals.
Personal rating accepts a number from zero to five or a blank. It is your own response, not an outside review score. A blank stays unknown and does not lower the average. Put words such as Loved in Notes. Keep the rating cell for a number you mean to give.
Formula dictionary
- Finished total: counts rows with a nonblank title and Status equal to Finished.
- DNF total: uses the same title check but requires DNF instead.
- Monthly finished total: requires Finished plus a finish date on or after the month's first day and before the next month's first day.
- Days in date span: finish minus start plus one, only when both values are dates and finish is not earlier.
- Average personal rating: averages numeric ratings; if there are none, the result stays blank.
The duration is elapsed calendar days in the date span. It is not time spent reading, and it does not deduct days when the book was paused. A same-day attempt has a span of one day under the stated inclusive rule. If you want session minutes, add a separate field instead of renaming this formula's result.
The Summary year cell controls the twelve monthly rows. Changing it does not change the finish dates in Reading. A Finished title with no finish date counts in the overall Finished total but belongs to no dated month. This difference is intentional and helps expose missing dates rather than assigning them to a guessed month.
Fictional examples and expected outputs
The Amber Window by A. Example is an invented Finished row, started October 2 and finished October 11, with a personal rating of four. A Road in Pencil by B. Example is an invented DNF row with a start date but no finish date or rating. Neither title is presented as a real book.
If you copy only those two sample rows into Reading, the expected outputs are one Finished, one DNF, one October completion for the matching year, a ten-day span for The Amber Window and an average rating of four. The DNF duration stays blank. Remove the copied examples before entering your own data; leaving the separate example sheet intact has no effect on totals.
Add rows and protect a useful copy
Use rows two through two hundred and one for book entries. Each has a date-span formula and status rules. To add more space, copy those rules and extend the Summary sheet's ranges too. A row outside the named ranges will not enter the sums. Keep that limit in mind before pasting a large reading history.
Keep an untouched downloaded copy as a master. Export a working backup through File and Download when you want one. CSV exports a single sheet's data and does not preserve the workbook's full setup. Use XLSX when you need multiple sheets and formulas, then check your restored copy before relying on its totals.
Privacy and offline use
Start with a private file and review sharing permissions before sending a link. A reading note can reveal more than a title list. Remove private notes from a shared copy rather than assuming a hidden column protects them. Google supplies separate offline setup instructions; offline access is a configuration task, not a property this download can guarantee.
FAQ
Why is a monthly count lower than Finished?
A Finished row may have no finish date, or its date may fall outside the Summary year. Check those fields first. The workbook does not turn a blank into a completion month. If a date imported as text, correct its type before expecting it to appear in the dated count.
Can I use the CSV alone?
Yes, as a plain reading table. Add the calculation and dropdown rules you want in your application. The CSV contains only input headings and no formulas. The XLSX is the appropriate download when you want this specific prepared summary and its separate fictional examples.
Book tracker Google Sheets verdict
Use the book tracker Google Sheets workbook when a clear status table and explainable totals are worth a small import step. Keep date gaps visible and extend ranges together when adding capacity.