Why bother

Why keep a book review template at all

Ask a keen reader what they thought of a book they finished two years ago and you will often get a pause, then “I liked it, I think”. Most of what a book does to you fades within months unless you write some of it down. A book review template fixes that with a few minutes of work at the moment you close the last page, when the opinion is still sharp.

Most templates online are built for students: plot summary, theme, character analysis, conclusion. That is a book report, written for a teacher. A review for yourself asks different questions. Did you enjoy it, why, what will you remember, and who should read it next? The template below is built for that reader.

The template

The book review template: ten fields worth keeping

Copy these into a notebook, a note on your phone or a spreadsheet. The first four take seconds; the last six are where the review lives.

  1. Title and author.
  2. Dates started and finished. Over a year this shows you your reading pace and the months you read most.
  3. Format and source. Paper, e-book or audio; bought, borrowed or gifted.
  4. Genre. In your own words, not the shop’s shelf label.
  5. Rating out of five, with one sentence of why. The sentence is what makes the number useful later.
  6. One-line summary. What the book is about in a sentence you could say to a friend, no spoilers.
  7. What worked. The character, idea, scene or style that made it for you.
  8. What did not. Where it dragged, what you would cut, what irritated you.
  9. Favourite quote, with the page. The line you would underline if it were your copy.
  10. Who would like it. A person you know, or a kind of reader. This is the field you will use most.

Example

A filled-in book review template, as an example

Here is the template filled in for a book most people know, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, to show the length each field needs. The point is how short the useful answers are.

  • Format and source: e-book, a free public-domain edition.
  • Genre: nonsense fantasy that adults get more out of than children.
  • Rating: four out of five; funnier than its reputation as a children’s book suggests, but the middle chapters wander.
  • One-line summary: a bored girl follows a rabbit into a world where every rule she knows stops working.
  • What worked: the wordplay, and the way every adult character is confidently wrong.
  • What did not: it is a string of episodes, so there is little pull to keep reading.
  • Who would like it: anyone who enjoys puzzles, logic or language games; a good read-aloud.

A book report is written for a teacher. A review for yourself asks whether you enjoyed it, why, and who should read it next.Book review template

Short version

The three-line book review for busy months

Some months you will finish a book and have no time for ten fields. Keep three: your rating, one sentence on why, and one quote. It takes two minutes, and a year of three-line reviews is still a far better record than a year of titles alone. You can always come back and fill in the rest for the books that stayed with you.

Book clubs

A book review template for book clubs

For a book club, swap the private fields for ones that start a conversation. Keep the title, rating and one-line summary, then add:

  1. The moment you would most like to discuss, with the page number.
  2. A character you disagreed with, and why.
  3. One question you would ask the author.
  4. Whether the ending earned its place.
  5. Which book the group should read next, based on this one.

Bring your filled-in page to the meeting. A page of notes makes for a better discussion than trying to remember a book you finished three weeks ago.

Where to keep it

Where to keep your book reviews

Paper suits people who like to write by hand; our guide to a reading journal template covers printable and digital layouts with a review page, and our reading journal guide starts with the free routes.

If you want your reviews searchable and in one place, a spreadsheet does it best. Our Reading Tracker ($19, for Google Sheets) gives every book its own page with the cover, a progress bar, a star rating, your favourite quote and a few lines of review, which covers the three-line version on its own. Type a title and the cover fills in; the library tab turns your reviews into a wall of covers you can filter by genre, and a top ten keeps your best-rated books together. Our roundup of the best reading tracker templates compares it with the free options, and the books hub has the rest of our reading guides.

FAQ

Common questions, answered briefly

What should a book review template include?
Title and author, dates read, format, genre, a rating with one sentence of why, a one-line summary, what worked, what did not, a favourite quote, and who you would recommend it to.
How long should a personal book review be?
Ten minutes of writing is plenty. In a busy month, three lines are enough: your rating, one sentence on why, and one quote.
What is the difference between a book review and a book report?
A book report summarises the plot and themes for a teacher. A personal book review records your own reaction: whether you enjoyed it, why, and who should read it next.
Where should I keep my book reviews?
A reading journal if you like writing by hand, or a spreadsheet if you want reviews searchable and in one place, with a page per book and your ratings together.

Which field would you add to this template? Tell us in the comments, along with the last book you would give five stars.

People also ask

Other questions, briefly answered

What goes in a reading journal template? How do you start a reading journal? What is the best reading tracker template? Where are all the reading guides?