Reading journal
The digital reading journal you\'ll actually keep
Paper journals get abandoned. Notion templates get neglected. Literal is a reading journal designed for daily use — quick to add to, satisfying to look back on.
What a reading journal should hold
A reading journal is the place where the books you\'ve read accumulate into a record of who you\'ve been. Done right, it\'s the most personal artefact you create over a decade.
The problem with paper journals is that they don\'t come with you on the train, don\'t search, and don\'t survive a house move. The problem with Notion templates is that they\'re empty when you start and require maintenance. Literal is a journal that\'s already structured, already on your phone, and already linked to a catalogue of every book.
What goes in your Literal journal
Reviews
Full-length reviews per book. No length limit, real formatting, easy to write on phone or web.
Ratings
1–5 stars per book, optional. The lightest possible form of journal-keeping.
Moments — quotes & highlights
Save the lines that hit you, with page numbers. They appear on the book, your profile, and in your followers' feeds.
Reading dates
Date started and date finished, with a calendar view of what you read when.
Custom shelves
"Books that ruined me", "Read on the train", "October horror". Curation as journal entries.
Year in books
A yearly recap with stats, top books, format breakdown, and shareable cards. The annual journal page.
Literal vs paper / vs Notion
| Literal | Paper | Notion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Always with you | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Searchable | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Pre-structured | ✓ | — | You build it |
| Linked to a book catalogue | ✓ | — | You enter it |
| Year-end recap built-in | ✓ | — | — |
| Public option | Optional | — | Awkward |
| Survives a phone change | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Survives a house move | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Costs money | — | Notebook + time | Free / paid tiers |
| Effort to maintain | Two taps per book | Hand-write everything | Page-build per book |
Why Literal works as a journal
Two-tap entry
Mark finished, tap a rating. The minimum-effort path captures the entry. Write a review when you have time.
Already on your phone
Native iOS and Android apps. The friction between "thought of writing" and "written" is one tap.
Already linked to books
Every entry is connected to a book in our catalogue, with cover art and metadata. Your journal looks like a journal.
Public or private
Set your profile public if you want a small audience for accountability. Or private — your call.
Look back at any year
Calendar view of what you read in 2024, 2023, 2022. The journal compounds.
Survives forever
Free CSV export at any time. Your journal isn't locked in.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I keep my journal private?
- Yes. Set your profile and shelves to private. Reviews and moments only visible to you.
- Is there a length limit on reviews?
- No. Write a sentence or 5,000 words. Both are first-class.
- Can I import old reviews?
- Yes — Goodreads and Storygraph importers preserve the full text of your existing reviews.
- Will I lose my journal if Literal goes away?
- You can export your full library and reviews as CSV at any time. The journal is portable.
