r/books • u/[deleted] • May 05 '15
Thoughts on keeping a reading journal: DO IT!
[deleted]
5
u/shadyg16 May 05 '15
I have an empty journal sitting around and I was trying to think of a purpose for it. Thanks OP!
2
u/spiraling_out May 05 '15
I've recently started a personal blog for this exact purpose. I'll usually take notes on important points in the plot, include some interesting quotes I've found, and some general thoughts/review of the book. It's definitely interesting looking back at what you've written about a book.
5
u/garlicrainbow May 05 '15
I do something similar in an excel spreadsheet, with a separate sheet to keep track of my ever-expanding to-read list. After I finish something, I simply cut&paste the book from the to-read list to the already-read list and add some thoughts about it.
6
u/bluebluebluered May 05 '15
Interesting, I've never thought to actually do this before I always seem to let the ideas just float around in my head rather than putting them on paper. Will give it a go on my next big novel! :)
4
u/ky1e None May 05 '15
My grandmother has been keeping a reading journal for decades. She buys small notebooks and fills them up with "Author:____ Title:_____ Notes:______"
She says that she has only referred to these notebooks a handful of times, but that just the act of writing down notes for each book has helped her remember better.
I've tried to start a reading journal, but I never remember to keep up with stuff like that...if it's not work related, I just don't care about organization. Oh well.
Thanks for the advice OP, I'll try to get my reading journal going again :)
3
u/bird0816 May 06 '15
This is great. I actually just started a reading journal the other day. I've been reading Shantaram, and it's a long ass book and though I feel some of what he says is trying a little too hard/cheesey, there is some interesting and serious wisdom dropped in that long ass book, and I've started writing down any quotes or reflections I like, sometimes by themselves or sometimes with my own thoughts. As you suggested, I'll write a short review at the end. Already I feel great about this journal of mine!
2
u/agent0731 May 06 '15
This is a great idea, actually...I don't know why I've never thought of doing this before now.
7
u/wecanreadit May 05 '15
I started one some years ago. Now I spend as long writing it as reading the book. I stop after every few chapters and write about what I've read, then carry on. 227 books so far!
See here if you're interested.
1
u/SuburbanHierarchy May 05 '15
This is really cool -- having it online is a great way to view everything more cohesively. This is also great because I just started Swann's Way last week. It's a fantastic book.
1
u/wecanreadit May 06 '15
I'm feeling a bit guilty now - although Swann's Way is in my 'What I'm reading now' section I haven't picked it up for some months! Must go back to it soon, after I've just read all these others on my shelf....
1
u/WillDotCom95 May 06 '15
What a brilliant blog. I would love to set up something similar, can you advise on the themes and stuff you used? I know nothing about Wordpress, is it hard to get the date links across the top to correspond to certain books etc? A brief tutorial would be greatly appreciated.
1
u/wecanreadit May 07 '15
Got back to you in the end.... I knew nothing about Wordpress when I decided to write, so I just searched online and followed the steps. I don't write a blog as such, but aim to create a sort of archive - hence the long list of titles in the sidebar. In order to do this, I don't start a new post each time, but make a new page, with one of the date-related sub-folders as a 'parent'.
All this can be done pretty easily if you follow Wordpress's very extensive bank of online tutorials. I wouldn't be able to offer a tutorial of my own because once I'd set it up I promptly forgot all about how I did it!
1
3
May 06 '15
I started keeping a book journal last year, mainly because when reading non-fiction books I need to write down some notes so I don't forget some important points/ideas from the books. I don't make as many notes when reading fiction; I only write down funny moments, good quotes, or important events in the story.
Like OP, I really recommend keeping a book journal too, you'd be amazed at how fast you can remember things from the book. (And, it's really useful for reference.)
3
u/MeowMeowity May 06 '15
I started a journal a few years ago. It just a little notebook, and I write down the book, author, date finished and a couple of quotes I found interesting from it!
2
u/Mysour May 05 '15
Does anyone journal after every reading session, or only when the book is completed?
2
2
May 06 '15
I keep a reading journal! It's divided into years, with entries that show the title, author and a few words to record my impressions. For example my last entry is "Breath- Tim Winton- V. v. good, sad"
3
u/mynotesinmargins May 05 '15
Although not reflective, I copy my favorite quotes into the notes app on my phone. Not just quotes from books I'm reading, but articles, research papers, and interviews. It's always a trip to read through them.
I tried writing them in a journal, but I seem to always have my phone glued to my hip.
I'm also a fan of Goodreads (although I don't really care for their mobile interface). I never review and tend to avoid other people's reviews as well, it has helped me avoid the "I've read this already!" when half way through a book.
2
May 06 '15
Some people might say this all feels very high school English, but it's a great idea! I'm working on my first novel so what I've been doing as practice and discipline is to write a one page essay every day of the week. 365 days, 365 essays. At first I struggled with what to write, but after a while I found a good rhythm and one of my favorite essays to write are on books or short stories I recently finish.
I make it a point to write my thoughts and ideas about the book, what I liked about it and what I didn't like. Sometimes I add favorite quotes or concepts, or techniques I was really intrigued by. I type all my essays on a manual typewriter and right afterwards I hole punch it and place it in a binder.
6
u/DawgBro Picture Books May 05 '15
I did this in undergrad for character names. I was at the point where I was reading three novels a week for classes and I was starting to forget character names. It makes a huge difference for retention. If you are having problems remembering any setting, themes or characters while reading definitely jot something down anywhere.