A reading page does not have to begin with a complete catalogue. Sometimes it just needs the book you are reading and somewhere to put a thought before you forget it.
Two of my reading widgets work nicely together here. Now Reading shows your current book and page progress. Reading Goal tracks progress towards a goal as you finish books. They have different jobs, so you can use one or both.
Keep the current book close
In Now Reading, use the pencil at the bottom right to add the book, author and page count. Update your page as you read. Beside the embed, leave a small Notion section for quotations, questions or the name you keep mixing up.
I like keeping this part small. A current book, a page number and a few notes are enough to give you somewhere to come back to. If you want a full reading log, you can keep that in a separate Notion database.
A goal for finished books
Reading Goal gives finished books their own place. Set your goal, choose a look and update the count when you finish a book. Your current page and your finished-book count are separate, so update the widget that matches what you have done.
You could use a goal for the year, a holiday reading pile or a short list for a course. Choose a number that makes sense for that period and label the surrounding Notion section clearly.
Leave space for the book itself
A simple layout is Now Reading at the top, a few notes beneath it and Reading Goal alongside. You might add a sentence when you finish: what stayed with you, who you would lend it to, or whether you want to read more by the author.
There is no need to rate every book if that is not your thing. A reading corner can be a place to remember, too.
Do these widgets update automatically?
You enter your reading progress yourself. These widgets do not import a reading history or read a Notion database to work out which books you have finished.
To add either one, open its customise page, copy the embed link and paste it into a Notion /embed block. Start with Now Reading if you only want a little reminder of the book waiting for you.