This isn’t an actual product review (as this was of my own volition and items were purchased with my personal money — i.e., no companies are involved or are aware of my intent to review). I ordered a reading log a few weeks ago to get ready for the coming new year (I have big plans for the blog and my TBR for next year). The log I got was a lot smaller than I anticipated. While it would be a perfect pocket log for some, for me it was a little too small. I ordered three other logs and thought this would be a great opportunity to try my hand at “product reviews” for bookworms.

As I said before, there is no company behind this or any product review I do in the future. As far as I know now, I won’t do any sponsored reviews. I just want to share my real thoughts and feelings on products we might all come across as avid book readers.

Let me know your thoughts below!

 

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A/N: All four reading logs were purchased on Amazon Prime. This is not an ad and the review is not sponsored by nor in favor of any company, organization, or affiliate group.

1

The first reading log I ordered was the What I Read (Red) Mini Journal
by Potter Style. It’s a cute little log that I expected to be a lot larger than it ended up being (when buying logs, be sure to read the measurements in the product information key that many online dealers provide – whoops).

As I mentioned before, the log will probably be perfect for many. It’s small, which means it’s very portable. It also seems to provide all of the necessary space for very succinct comments/thoughts; at least a sentence, maybe two at most.

As an often verbose blog writer, however, I was hoping for a lot more space to jot down thoughts and ideas that could later be used in my reviews. Short of writing one-word phrases and hoping they make sense to me later, this was not the case. And what’s more, it only had enough entry pages for roughly 40 books. To me, 40 seems like an arbitrary number.

 Still, this could be a useful and fun tool for many other readers.

I think one of the major things it has going for it is the cool lists and quotes interspersed amongst the review pages. While, again, there isn’t a whole lot of room to make the lists any great length, it really makes you think about your favorite authors and can be a fantastic keepsake to have twenty years in the future when you look back on what you read and your tastes and see how or if they changed.

All in all, I think this would make a great gift, especially for a younger reader. As a rather wordy reviewer, it won’t be the go-to one, but I will likely use it for the historical non-fiction books I read since I don’t review that genre.

 

2/3

The next two logs I purchased shortly after receiving the first one. They are the Antique Books  and Antique Paper style reading logs made by smART bookx. While I absolutely made sure to check the dimensions as well as the initial photos of each, I didn’t check the “Look Inside” feature so I could see that they were the exact same log just with different covers. Oops!

No matter. With the number of entries it has and and all the lists and extras it includes, it is well worth having two of them. Plus they are notebook-sized and have a lot more room for me to jot down ideas and talking points for reviews.

I think one of my favorite parts about it is the list of the “Top 100 Voted Fiction Books” it has in the back, as well as a space for your own TBR.

It even has space for you to write down which books you have loaned out and to whom you loaned them! Not that I loan very many books anymore, haha!

While for me the space is a plus, I would imagine that, for some, the size of the log might be an issue, especially if you like to carry a log around with you wherever you go. I, personally, like to carry larger purses (so I can bring a few books with me just in case I get bored) so the size isn’t and issue with me, but I know some people, namely men, who do not want to carry something so big (albeit quite lightweight) around all the time. If that is the case, the first one may be better suited as it will fit in a back pocket with little issue.

In fact, here they are side-by-side.

 

4

The final one I bought was, in a way, a compromise of the others. Called The Book Lover’s Journal by Rene J Smith, it is a bit bigger than the What I Read (Red) Book Log and a great deal smaller than the ones by smART bookx.

The space for notes and comments on this log is fantastic. Not only does it give you a place to write your comments but it allows you to rate the book on a number of scales. It is such a thorough log and reminds a lot of a corporeal version of GoodReads (minus millions of people getting to read what you wrote and all that).

Like the others, there are places to list favorite books and authors and it even has a place where you can list bookish events (YALSA and BookCon here I come)! It even has the lent/borrowed list and place for contacts. Who needs an address book when your book book will do the trick?

I think my favorite part about this log is the lists it has of suggested books to read:

 

I would definitely say of the stack of book logs I now own, this will be my favorite even they are all wonderful. It is the “Just Right” book log in the Goldilocks and the Three (Four?) Bears world of book logs. The only negative thing I could say about it is I am not a fan of the binding because I always end up bending them out of shape (massive purse with lots of books remember) but I will just have to put it in it’s own pocket.

 

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Any of the book logs here would make awesome gifts for your loved ones (or yourself!) I hope my mini-reviews are helpful and if you have any questions or comments (or if you have any of these or others you’d like to talk about) let me know below!

Again, these were self-appointed “reviews” and I have absolutely no affiliation with any of these companies or affiliates beyond the fact I have an Amazon account and they were found on Amazon. There are also a bunch of other logs to be found but I figured Mr. Wench wouldn’t be too happy if I just bought a mountain of book logs (even though they would all be put to use eventually).