My Reading Journal: A Notebook and Diary for Book Lovers

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That’s the beautiful thing about journals. They are for your eyes only and free from all judgment. 7. Branch Out with a Book Club Spread Book journaling is a great way to reflect on the books you read as you read them. You don’t have to wait until the book is finished to add your thoughts or make notes. For instance, you could make your reading journal double as your monthly calendar. If you want to get serious about reading on a regular basis, this type of setup may be right up your alley. One fan raved: “I have always wanted a book journal. This is perfect for me as someone who is just starting. I read a good deal so I needed a journal with lots of entries, this has room for 100 books. It's big and has lots of room to write and gives you promts of what to write where. So excited to start filling it in.”

You have lots of options if you want to start a reading journal and it’s okay to use a mix of them.As with anything else in life, when you first get started, it may take some time to figure out your groove.

But when I started my first reading journal this year, I wasn’t sure how it would work for me. I’d gotten out of the habit of journaling in general and I thought Goodreads might be enough, flawed as it was. Do you ever set reading goals for yourself? Maybe you want to read a certain number of books each year or even every month? Have you ever been out shopping or talking with a friend and heard of a book that seems perfect for you?Trust me on this. It’s such a fun, creative outlet to critique a book without the intimidation factor of someone critiquing your critique! And for me, that’s the key to book journaling: the forgetting. Or, more accurately: the remembering. Whether you already spend hours each week immersed in a good book or you’re looking for a fun way to read on a regular basis, a book journal is an excellent way to document your journey. Examples of pre-designed book journals include: Read Harder (A Reading Log) from Book Riot, The Book Lover’s Journal, or this gorgeous looking Reading Journal from Kunitsa Co.

If you’re an educator, you might try implementing book journaling with the students in your life. Teens in particular may be drawn to the artistic potential in book journaling and ultimately walk away with a better understanding and memory of the reading material.

Book Writing Phase 1: Getting Started

Ever find yourself trying to explain a book to someone only to elicit a blank stare? That kind of conversation usually ends with, “ Well, you just have to read it yourself.” Obviously, I keep a lot of reading journals. I’ve always loved journals and pens and stationery, and now that I’ve designed some pretty journals that fit my needs? All the better.

One fan raved: “I absolutely love this book log! I am a bookstagrammer and read 70 or more books a year and this log has everything I need! I bought 2 of them and am so pleased! There’s plenty of room for your review as well as start date/finish date, genre, title, publisher, author, any quotes you liked in the book, and more!” I’ve discussed tons of options for ways to use a book journal to enhance your own reading life, and I’m sure there are more. Now it’s time to get started on your own reading journal! For instance, you can keep a timeline of the important events in each book to help you chronicle important points.

How about this? “Teach the ignorant as much as you can; society is culpable in not providing a free education for all and it must answer for the night which it produces. If the soul is left in darkness sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.” Not familiar, right? This actually comes from the timeless classic that was written by Victor Hugo more than 150 years ago, Les Misérables. You might be interested in newspaper report writing examples. Likewise, if you don’t want to have multiple journals, you may want to create a bullet reading journal that can help you organize various areas of your life (where reading is just one section). My reading journal of the Books I Love is just that: a collection of notes on my very favorite books. But as I’ve read more books, and added audiobooks to the mix, I’ve found it useful to have a place to jot down my thoughts as I read. I also like having a place to note all the books I want to read–as well as why they catch my interest (because I’m bound to forget!). Try to think about the different elements they have applied in their manuscript: their point of view (POV), their use of different figures of speech, their use of poetic devices, etc. It is not wrong to make some comments about them from time to time, especially when you read something that seems to pop. You can also refer to reading log examples for more related examples on book journals. 5. Relate the book to what’s going on in your life.