Reading Journals - Do you keep one?In this last year or so that I've been blogging about books and reading a lot of blogs, I've read that several of you keep reading journals or book journals. I have never done that but found it very interesting and I'm sure they're probably very helpful in remembering what you've read. Since I'm now reading more books than ever, I thought this would be the perfect time to start one of my own. But I am curious about a few things.
For instance, what is the main purpose of your journal? Is it to keep track of when you get a book, or when you read it? Do you record your thoughts about the book? And also, How often do you write in your journal? Is it a daily thing? Or just random?
These are just a few things I've been thinking about when I consider starting my own reading journal. I know there's no right or wrong way to keep a journal, but I'm just curious to hear about the different types and how they're used. This could be very interesting . . .
So please, leave me a comment telling me why you keep a reading journal or why you don't. And if you do, what kind of information do you include?
The closest I come to have a reading journal is my blog.
ReplyDeleteI keep a reading journal sporadically. I don't usually track too much info about the book but I do date the pages and try to let off where I stopped reading. I generally just record my reaction to the book any question or frustrations I have, and anything that prompts me to think about things. Sometimes I am very god about it and other times...pfft.
ReplyDeleteMy journal is a small date book that I record my to-read list in. I put the title on the date that I want to start reading it by. I also note if I've listed it in Goodreads, reviewed it and stuff like that. I consider my blog to be my real journal as I really only post what my thoughts are about a book not really reviewing it per se. But I have received 3 books this past week from publishers/authors that I will be doing "real" reviews on...I'm nervous about that!! I also started another blog to list all the quotes or passages from books that I liked. I find it to be much easier than writing it down in a journal!!
ReplyDeleteKathy - That's how I've been, but I find I want to keep a more detailed record that people reading my blog wouldn't necessarily care about.
ReplyDeleteNicole - That is a good way of tracking how much you read at a time. Good tip! Thx!
Staci- Those were some great ideas for a journal. I remember your quote from The Book Thief the other day! I loved it. I'll be checking your new quote blog frequently. Good idea!
I have never been able to keep a reading journal. In fact, that's why I started blogging!
ReplyDeleteI've kept a reading journal for the past 10 years (just started blogging a few months ago). The main purpose is to keep track of the books I read. Over the past few years, I've added in my rating
ReplyDeleteand made note if it was for a book group.
Hi Lisa! I can't remember how I got to your blog now, but I'm glad I did!
ReplyDeleteI used to keep a written book journal with title, dates of reading, and thoughts. Now I use a combination of blog, Library Thing, and GoodReads to track my reading. The blog is the main place for my reviews and various lists of books read (by year, author, title). Library Thing is my catalog of owned books and this is where I keep track of what I own, where it is, when I purchased, and when I read. GoodReads is used primarily for online social aspects and includes all books read with ratings; GoodReads includes books I've borrowed as well as books I own and I don't attempt to use it as a catalog or to track any other information.
I thought that with all of this online book and reading tracking that I wouldn't need my written journals, but I found that there are thoughts that go into the written journal that never make it to my online reviews.
Before I started blogging, I would keep a reading journal in which I wrote the name of the book and author and the date I completed the book. I had a piece of paper that I would post on a wall. It just made me feel good to look at what I had read and help me remember what I liked. Since I started blogging, I do not keep such a list.
ReplyDeleteI guess I consider book blogging the same as keeping a reading journal. In my twenties I became a list maker and have a notebook that I write down book titles that I want to read. It's my To Be Purchased list.
ReplyDeleteI use the blog to keep track of what I read since I review everything that I finish.