I keep a reading journal. Since middle school I have been held captive by the need to record what I read and what I think about it. Not for posterity, but for my own sake. I wanted to remember what I read and keep track of how much I read. Some of the lists I never looked at again, but they are there, just the same. All carefully kept through the years as a record of my life as a reader.
At first, my reading journal was a spare page in a notebook, usually one for school. I would write ‘Book List’ at the top, and write down the name of every book I read. Above every name, squished in the small lines, was what I thought about the book. It is probably indecipherable to anyone but me. I had large handwriting in middle school (and still do), and right above the large, not overly well scripted letters were stars, hearts, smiley faces, and all manner of little drawing to convey what I thought about the book. That was it. No author, no date, just the title.
Later, I used separate notebooks just for my reading lists. They became a little more legible, with authors and ratings on separate lines in the book. I think the date still got lost in the muddle though. In middle school and high school, the only way to tell when the book lists were written is by how bad my handwriting is. The worse it is, the younger I was, and then I switched over to cursive in my late teens and the process began all over again. (at least I got better, not worse.) For me to say it is hard to go back a find the name of a book I read is an understatement… I am still looking for a book I read in my early teens. I am afraid it is forever lost to illegible handwriting and smiley faces.
Once, I used a reader specific notebook. It had space for a review, as well as the other things. I liked it, though it became cumbersome for every day life to write a review for every single book. After days of writing backed up reviews and ending it with a cramped hand, I decided one reader notebook was enough for me. As a side note, it has lists of books in the back, such as all the books that won a the Pulitzer. I check those lists regularly to see if I have read any more of them. It makes me feel smart to check books off of that list.
The most recent notebook is also the most streamlined. It is a regular notebook with a pretty cover. I write the month at the top of a page in a nice color, and then proceed in an organized fashion. Title, author, rating. Now, instead of my amalgamation of smiley faces and hearts, I use a simple five star rating for all of the books.
Obviously, I am not one of the creative people who make journaling videos on youtube. I love to look at other peoples reading journals. Some are covered in stickers and drawings, some offer full reviews of every book. Occasionally, I consider updating my reading journal to make it a little more aesthetic. But at the end of the day, I prefer the two minute update to my journal over a 20 minute one. I can admire others, but I know what works for me, so I stick to it.
You may wonder why I don’t use Goodreads. Well. I do use it, sometimes. This year I even set a reading goal on Goodreads, and started the year by entering every book I read as well as using my reading journal. However, I have occasionally read books that Goodreads doesn’t have on their website. And putting what I read in two places has become cumbersome (go figure), so it kind of trickled off… I do use Goodreads for my tbr (to be read) list though. It is easier to use it to keep track of which book I am reading next in the Wheel of Time, and the other ginormous series I probably shouldn’t have started this summer. Oh well.
At the end of the day, I think reading journals should be a personal journey. It should be what works for you, and set up in a way that makes it easy to go back and find books. Whether that be a website, your average notebook, or a notebook for readers, use what you can be consistent with in your every day life and that you like to use. No one else has to see it, or read it, except for you.
Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.
Shaina Merrick
The Beauty of a Story 