Logseq - Creating a Reading List with Templates, Page Properties and Queries

A Logseq reading list can be built quickly by combining three features—templates, page properties, and queries—so every new book page automatically follows the same structure and then appears in a live “Reading List” view. The setup starts with a dedicated template page (named “books” in the walkthrough) that defines consistent metadata fields like Type, Status, Title, Author, Cover image, Start date, End date, and Year, plus a content area for notes and annotations. A cover image is inserted using Markdown image syntax, with a recommended fixed size (17298) so covers don’t need manual resizing each time.

Once the template exists, creating a new book becomes a repeatable form-filling step. A new page is created for a specific book (example: “Thinking Fast and Slow”), then the template is applied via “/template” so the “meta” properties and content block appear immediately. The workflow emphasizes practical sourcing: cover images and links are pulled from Goodreads, with the image address pasted into the Cover property and the external link stored for future reference. Dates can be entered manually or via Logseq helpers like “/today” and a date picker, and the Year property is set to match the reading period. This approach reduces cleanup later because the structure is present from the start rather than retrofitted across many pages.

The reading list itself is generated with a query block. A separate page (example: “Reading list”) uses a query like {{query [books]}} to pull in all pages tagged/typed as books. The query results can be customized to remove unwanted elements (such as the “meta” block title) and to control what displays—keeping the cover, then ordering fields like Title, Author, Start date, End date, and Year. The walkthrough also addresses a common annoyance: the template label can appear in query results, and a simple workaround is to insert a backslash inside the query braces to break the template link, then return to the reading list.

Finally, the query behaves like a lightweight database. Sorting options (first/last, ascending/descending, alphabetical) let the list be rearranged, while filters narrow results using additional query conditions. Examples include filtering by author (adding an “and” condition) and filtering by year (e.g., entering 2022 to show matching books). The result is a maintainable library system where adding a book automatically updates the reading list with consistent fields and usable filtering.