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