As you probably already know, I’m big on journals. I think currently I have about 7 in progress. I keep several going on at the same time because each one has a different focus. Some I write in almost daily and there are others that I may write in once a month so that’s why there are so many.
In the past I’ve tried keeping reading notes but usually without much success and most of the notes were scattered around on post-its, catch-all journals, word doc, etc. But late in 2022 or so I started seeing YouTube videos and Instagram posts on reading journals/planners.
There is so much creativity out there! Some people go all out with their decorations and designs. Of course as someone who journals, I thought I want to do that too but then I thought, I already have a blog and an Excel spreadsheet where I track my reading so do I really need to add another thing to keep up with? For example, I’ve seen some where readers track their reading hours spent daily or pages read daily. Which is great but again, do I really have the time and energy for all of this?
I started thinking about why I needed this and what I was really looking for was just a notebook dedicated to my reading notes and this time make a concentrated effort to keep up with it. The reason is that as you know, I’m always behind on book reviews so if I can take some notes I have a much better chance of remembering my thoughts on the book. Also if there’s a sentence or thought I want to remember, I can jot it down and refer to it later.
So I’m very happy to report I started a reading notes journal in January 2023 and I kept up with it all year. The set up is very simple, a picture of the cover of the book and then my notes. Sometimes I take more notes than other times. It just depends.
As you can see on the journal covers, I just used a sticker or image and I did some (wonky) rubber stamping on vintage paper to add the year. I used the Baron Fig Vanguard dot-grid notebooks. I like their size (I use the flagship size) and that they are soft covers so they are easy to add in my purse or tote bag if I’m reading away from home and still want to take my journal with me.
For my journal for 2024 I did use the first page in the journal to jot down some reading goals (which if you know me, are not set in stone!) and of course had to use some book-themed stickers.
Anyway, I’m excited to continue with this reading notes format and I hope you enjoyed this and would love to hear how you keep track of your reading notes. Do you mark up your books or do you also have a reading journal?
I love the covers of your journals, Iliana! I think it’s a great idea to put our thoughts of the books we read on journal so we can always refer to them if we’re behind on reviews. Well, at least to me anyways, hehe. Happy reading and happy writing! 🙂
I have kept track of the titles of the books I’ve read, author, date finished, and first sentence for many years. I think one year I also noted the last sentence of the book. I don’t keep notes though and your idea to write down a few things is a good one. Don’t think I’d keep up with it faithfully though. I also use Library Thing to keep another chart of my reading. I took some time a while back and entered all the detail from my journals. I did that because I don’t always want to have to search to see if I’ve read a book or where I left off in a series. Your journals are lovely and I hope they work well for you. Thanks for sharing with us, Iliana!
I admire all the journaling you do. It appeals to the Virgo sense of me, lol. I keep track of most of my reads on Goodreads but I did start a print journal for pages per day I was reading … but I haven’t kept it up, but I should. I like doing it to encourage me to spend more time reading and less time doing other things like having the TV on etc. I hope it helps you. I like using post-it notes on book passages … while I’m reading which help me later when writing a review.
I love the idea of a reading notes journal! I think that’s a journal I could actually stick with and enjoy writing in. 😀
What a great reading journal, Iliana! I keep a spreadsheet to track my yearly reading stats, but otherwise I rely on my post-it note flags to mark passages that I may want to return to (or use in my review). Every once and a while, I may jot down an idea or thought that I want to include in my review, but that’s typically on an index card that I tuck in my book.
I am not the most faithful of journals, but I am working on being better about taking notes on books I read, since, like you, I tend to be behind with my reviews. I love your journal format ideas! I am glad it is working for you.