If you only read a few books a year, it may not be so helpful to keep a reading journal. These journals are usually only worthwhile for truly avid readers.
Although you may already have a preference for one over the other, you should consider both routes before making a firmer choice. In some cases, a fusion of physical and online note-keeping is a good idea. You won’t always be around a computer when you’re reading, and your finalized reflections can be input into a blog once you’re done reading a given book.
While you’re going for durability, you also want something that you’ll feel happy with writing in for the next several months. It’s not uncommon for writers to develop an emotional attachment to their journals, so make sure you buy a journal that’s high-quality enough to deserve it.
There are lots of free blogging sites available. Blogspot and WordPress are just a couple of the best-known. [3] X Research source Although you can keep a book journal private if you want, giving other people a chance to go along on the journey with you can lead to feedback and discussion, both regarding the stuff you’re reading and the content of your writing itself.
The bits of info you markdown can be an anchor for remembering other things.
Don’t forget to include the page number if you quote something from a book.
For the sake of writing in your journal itself, write your feelings on whether you think certain techniques worked or not. A journal entry can be an informal critical review. By putting technical aspects under the microscope, you’ll be able to tell good from bad writing apart more easily over time.
Writing down the ties between what you’re reading and what you experienced is a great way to better remember both. This will help enrich the association between the book and the circumstances of your life.
With some given background in place, you can contextualize the book in question with the mindset you were in at the time. This can help explain why you focused on or wrote certain things in each entry. Obviously, more personal details should only be included in the book journal is totally private and not at risk of being read by anyone else.
It may be helpful to put a note like this in boldface. That way, when you’re scanning past entries months or years from now, you’ll be able to quickly spot the ones that were especially noteworthy to you at the time.
Make sure the goal is realistic and account for the fact that some books will take you much longer to read than others. Goodreads has an annual reading goal feature free for use by all accounts. [8] X Research source If you sign up with an account, you can set a chosen book goal at the start of the year and see how you’ve done by the end of it.
This is a very important part detail if you’ve been out of school for a while and find you’ve been losing your touch as a critical reader in the time since.
Even if you don’t publish your entries on a public blog, recording a second copy of your entries can be insurance against losing them permanently.
Take care to keep your book journal clear of food and drink spills and put it in a special compartment in your backpack if you’re taking it out someplace. Alternatively, if you’re keeping your book journal up to date with a blog, make sure you keep close guard over your password info.
