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My First Reading Journal Flip-Through

notebooks· projects· reading

21 Mar
A top down view of an open reading journal on a wood surface. A handlettered quote on the pages reads "That's the thing about books, they let you travel without moving your feet - Jumpha Lahiri". At the top right are two white books stacked and a pair of reading glasses on top. Above the notebook is a green flowered mug on a white macramé coaster. On the right is part of a houseplant and a black pen.

I started my first reading journal at the start of the pandemic in 2020. I’d been invited to a book club that was discussing Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and I though it would be a good idea to keep some notes. (By the way, everyone must read this book.)

I decided to keep going with the notebook, and this is how I used it:

what’s in my reading journal

  1. Title, author of the book
  2. When I read the book: start and ending dates
  3. How I got the book (purchased, library, borrowed, audio or e-ebook, etc.)
  4. And why? (book club, friend recommendation…)
  5. Where was I while reading it?
  6. Quotes I want to remember
  7. Sometimes, a list of characters (if it’s hard to keep track while reading!)
  8. A few notes and/or comments
  9. An image of the book cover
  10. Rating out of 5

What I loved about using the journal was that it made the reading process more mindful for me. I was intentional about things I wanted to remember, or remember to follow up on. And now I have a nice memory of two years of pandemic reading. If I’m honest I likely would have forgotten about a lot of these books if I didn’t have them documented.

There’s a lovely long blog post about reading journals on the WonderPens website, with lots of ideas and pretty photos. Excerpt from that post …

I’m really enjoying how it’s changed how I’m reading, as well as the satisfaction of seeing the pages fill up. There is something really lovely about a notebook full of crinkly pages.

WonderPens blog

I didn’t finish all of the pages, but I don’t stress. If I get back to reading those books, I’ll fill in the pages then.

I’ve started my second reading journal recently. It’s the same kind of notebook but I’m using it a bit differently. Looking forward to lots more crinkly pages.

stationery in the photo

  • notebook
  • pen

P.S. Currently reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, so far 3.5/5

P.P.S. I used this tutorial to edit the flip-through video. Music by https://www.bensound.com/

tags: notebooks · projects · reading
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Image Credits

All lovely images in these posts are created by Andrea Hunter, unless otherwise attributed, and may not be used without permission.

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#thecarbonalmanac #factsconnectionaction
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#handwriting #handwritinggoals #snailmail #happymail  #stationery #stationeryaddict #collage #paper #paperlove #journaling #journalpages #printablestationery #digitalpaper #analog #ephemera #wellbeing #selfcare #mindfulness #takecareofyourself #stayhomestaycreative
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