For this reason a couple years ago I started a reading journal. It has primarily been used as a place to write about the Pulitzer books I was reading and to keep track of which ones I had read. When I first started reading the Pulitzer list, I realized about two months into it that I'd already forgotten the plots of a couple of the books, which was bad since I hoped when I was finished that I could draw some kind of conclusion about the works as a group and thus would have to be able to remember them.
A reading journal is just like any other kind of journal. There's no right or wrong way to do it. You can keep it in a fancy bound journal or on the hard drive of your computer (just make sure you back it up or print it out every now and then). Mine is in an old spiral notebook. There's also no right or wrong way to use a reading journal. I try to write at least a page and no more than two pages on each book, and I try not to retell the whole plot, just enough to jog my memory, saving the majority of the space for my impressions of the book and any lessons it might have taught me (as a writer as well as a reader).
I label the top of the page with the title and author of the book so I don't have to refer to them by name in the text. I don't write about every book I read, just those that have made some impression. There are no rules.
If you're a voracious reader with a poor memory or just someone who would like to be able to stroll down memory lane with the books you've loved (or hated, don't forget to include negative impressions as well -- one of my favorite entries is about my loathing of Scarlett O'Hara) you should definitely think about starting a reading journal.
It gives you a wonderful opportunity to engage with texts on another level and keep a record of the things you have read and what you thought of them.
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