Bringing all reading together

Every student has a personalised Bookshelf, bringing their Sparx Reader activity and wider reading together in one space. This article explains how students log books they've read outside Sparx Reader and how you can use these logs to support conversations about reading.

The Bookshelf: all reading in one place

The Bookshelf brings together two kinds of reading:

Sparx Reading: we make it clear when books have been read and completed on Sparx, so you can have confidence that this reading has been checked within Sparx Reader.
Wider Reading: students can log any reading they do outside the platform, along with a star rating and review. They can do this by heading to their bookshelf area and selecting the Wider Reading tab. Wider Reading doesn't award any SRP; it's a space for students to track their reading beyond Sparx Reader, and a discussion-starter for teachers and librarians. Wider reading logging is available to all students.

How students use their Bookshelf

Bookshelf view

Students are able to view all their reading in one place by clicking on the Bookshelf tab from their left-hand menu.

Here they can easily view their Sparx ebook reading and any wider reading they choose to log:

Sparx ebooks view

Wider Reading view

Reading shelf: this is a place for students to log what they are currently reading.
Finished shelf: this is where books live that students have logged that they have finished.
Wishlist shelf: students can add books here that they'd like to read in the future.
Didn't Finish shelf: students can move books here if they choose not to finish them for any reason.

Adding, moving and removing books from their Bookshelf

Adding a book to their reading shelf

To log any physical books a student has been reading outside of Sparx, they will need to:

Go to their Bookshelf area and select the Wider Reading tab
Click Add book on their Reading shelf
Either scan the book's barcode or enter its ISBN
Add a rating or review at this stage, or later, when they move the book to their Finished shelf.".

Moving a book to a different shelf

Students can easily move books between their shelves once they have been added, for example if they want to move a book from their Wishlist shelf to their current Reading shelf:

Finishing a book

Once a student has finished reading their book, they click on it, add their rating and enjoyment score, write an optional review, and select Move to Finished.

This will move their book onto their Finished bookshelf:

Removing a book from their Bookshelf

If a student has added a book by mistake or changes their mind, they are able to remove it from their bookshelf by:

Clicking on the book
Selecting Edit
Selecting Remove from Bookshelf
Confirming they wish to remove it from their shelf:

How teachers can see what's been logged

Wider Reading Tab

You can see the books each student has added on the Wider Reading tab of their Student page. Sparx doesn't verify that this reading has taken place, so we encourage you to discuss these books with your students.

Here teachers can see the exact same layout in a read only format that students can see. They are unable to make any changes in this space other than removing any reviews they don't deem appropriate.

Wider Reading Book Reviews

Teachers are also able to see any reviews that have been written by students as part of their wider reading. To see this, go to Reporting > Reports > Book Reviews and select the Wider reading tab:

Frequently Asked Questions

Can students log books they've read on their Kindle or audiobooks to their wider reading?

Wider Reading isn't limited to physical books - students can also log books they've read on a Kindle, or other ebook reader. Adding a book does require an ISBN, which can generally be found with a quick online search for "[Book name] ISBN".

Why doesn't wider reading earn SRP?

Reading logged manually can't give the same level of confidence as reading completed and checked within Sparx Reader. To protect the quality of your insights, wider reading logs don't award SRP and don't contribute towards homework completion. They also don't count towards Gold Reader status, which is earned through reading on Sparx Reader - see our Gold Reader Status article for more details.

Instead, logging wider reading is optional and is designed to help students reflect on their reading, encourage conversations about books, and give visibility of the reading students are doing beyond Sparx Reader. You could consider using it during library lessons, or having your librarians or tutors use it to spark conversations about reading.

Does wider reading contribute to homework completion?

No. Wider reading is separate from homework, so it doesn't count towards completing a homework task or earning SRP.

How do I know who's logged wider reading recently?

Watch this space - we’re currently considering how to nudge teachers to check out the wider reading that’s been logged recently. You can see the wider reading for an individual student by visiting the Wider Reading tab of their Student Details page.

What's changed if my school used the previous version of physical book logging through Gold Reader?

Before September 2026, students with Gold Reader could log physical books to earn SRP and complete homework. They would log their own questions and answers, which Sparx would run checks on and issue SRP. Logging books now works quite differently:

Logging is open to all students, not just Gold Readers.
Wider Reading of physical books no longer award SRP and no longer contributes towards completing homework. When we reviewed manual book logging, it was clear these logs couldn't give the same level of confidence as reading completed and checked within Sparx Reader.
Students no longer need to log how many pages they've read or write questions and answers for this reading - logging a book is now as simple as adding it to a shelf, with an optional rating and review.
Any SRP students earned from Gold Reader logs historically will remain, and those books will continue to be shown in their Reading History.

The Bookshelf and logging wider reading