#14 IDEAS FOR CREATING AND KEEPING A BOOK JOURNAL (OR A READING DIARY) 📚

 

#1  INTRO & OVERVIEW

Books are the paper-reels through which we can travel anywhere in the space-time universe.  

 

All those who discover themselves to be book-lovers, will synchronize with how true this feeling is.

 

To read a book is to live so many lives, all at the same time.

 

To read books is not only a leisure activity but also an act of consuming and digesting various forms of energetic data – words and sounds, music and colours, poetry and passion, things like that.

 

There is one thing, that is reading. And then, there is another thing, that is, learning & memorizing data from what you’ve just read; as well as brainstorming creative ideas out of this data in your own style.

 

And one of the super-exciting ways to do so is through a book journal.

 

#2  DEFINITION: WHAT IS A BOOK JOURNAL? 

Also called as a ‘reading notebook’ or a ‘reading diary’, a book journal is nothing but a notebook, or a set of documents dedicated for the purpose of recording your book reading experience.

 

#3  PURPOSE & UTILITY OF KEEPING A BOOK JOURNAL

A book journal is a fantastic way of recording your reading experience & reading response to a book that you’re reading or have read; as well as to jot down all those things that poke your interest or pop in your imagination while reading.

 

You might like to look at a book journal in this way.

 

Book Journal = Memory-keeping + Note-taking + Creative/Art Journaling/Doodling + Reading Response Logging + Tracking your reading habits/schedule + curating your own collections/projects

#4 FORMAT IDEAS FOR YOUR BOOK JOURNAL

When starting off with your first book journal, and thinking about its format, there can be endless possibilities.

Here are some examples for creating your book journal in simple yet creative formats.

Physical Or paper-based book Journal

A physical journal is a journal featuring a paper-based format.

 

You can create a journal of this kind using

a notebook,

a diary,

a sketchbook,

a foldable paper scroll,

a folder with loose paper sheets,

a ring-bound set of index cards, notecards, sticky notes or fancy writable paper of any kind.

 

Two things that make a paper-based book journal most interesting is

the scope of creative/artistic possibilities that this medium offers.

While jotting down your book notes or hand-writing your favourite quotes from the book, you can also decorate the pages with all those stationary & art supplies you have.

You can

Doodle. Draw. Sketch. Scribble.

Paint something.

Hand-letter some words.

Paste stickers & photos.

Do scrapbooking with ephemera.

And so on!

And second, the flexibility it offers

in terms of organizing your notebook space in a way that uniquely suits you. In a way that you can include your unique set of logs & entries, and exclude those which you don’t want.

 

DIGITAL or web-based book Journal

While a paper-based book journal offers us the various possibilities of composing our reading experience in an artistic manner, a digital journal enables us to do the same thing in a much quicker, systematic & portable way.

 

If you select the option of creating a digital-style book journal, there are various kinds of tool options that you have. Such as,

• Create a folder for books or reading notes in Google Drive
• Google docs or Sheets are almost always great owing to the flexibility of device-synchronization that they offer
• Besides while using these tools, you can create your own template with only those entries that you want to include
• Use an existing platform to document and share your reading experience
• Might not have all the entries you want to include
• But are good to connect with a larger group, network or community
• Also every tool comes with its own unique entries which you can explore while you log your reading journey – Use these ideas in your own book journal
• Social Media Book Journal
• Another great idea for making your book journal in a digital style is to create a gallery, page, section or blog dedicated solely to your book reading experience.
• Document your book reviews, share quotes, write & post about the book you are reading and the possibilities are numerous!

• You may even noticed some Instagram galleries or twitter pages dedicated specifically to a book series or a book-turned-movie

Printed book Journal

To create & have a printed style book journal is a great option if you’re someone who likes to have a giant collection of notebooks and journals, and to be able to see and flip through them from time to time.

 

There are various ideas for creating a book journal for yourself in a printed format.

• Design your book journal digitally using any design tools and then print it out.
• If you don’t want to have the entire journal printed out, you can simply print out the pictures of book covers or spines, and print them out to paste in your book journal
• Create a visual book log or reading log page with these pictures
• you can also print these pictures in the form of self-adhesive stickers and simply peel and stick them in your book journal notebook
• Accompany with assortment of related embellishments to decorate your book journal with doodles, photographs, magazine cutouts, collage, scraps, embellishments and Author pictures – other illustrations etc.

REPURPOSED & DECORATIVE book Journal

This is very similar to the paper-based or printed style journal. But here instead of a fresh notebook, you use an old book or an old notebook by repurposing them with crafty embellishments and paper notes

• If the book is a one-time read then you can also convert the same book to create a book journal for it – just letting the important points from the book to remain highlighted – and using the rest as space for your notes & crafty decoration. 

#5 ENTRY IDEAS FOR YOUR BOOK JOURNAL

There can be as many entries in your book journal as you like to have.

And there are as many ideas for these entries as you can imagine.

The sky is the only limit.

 

Here are a few examples of what you can or what you should include in your book journal

CREATE A READING BOOK LOG

o   The List of Books

• You have in your book collection
• You’ve read
• You want to shop
• You want to read

MAKE A READING CALENDAR

o   Highlight dates

• For starting and completing a book
• For purchasing a book in the future
• For reading a book in the future – from your reading list or at a local library

 

CREATE A SECTION FOR BOOK SPECIFICATIONS

• Format/Type of book
• What type of book you’re reading or have read
• Paper/Print books
• Ebooks
• Audiobooks
• Book Owner
• Do you own this book or have rented from a friend or a library or a book shop?
• Mention the Title of the book
• Mention the Author(s) name(s)
• No. of pages
• If you're a writer yourself and aspire to publish a book some day, you can also note down the names of Editor, Publisher or Publishing house. 

WRITE YOUR READING NOTES FROM THE BOOK

• Write a brief summary of the book or a book review or a book report
• Capture your overall reading response in your own words

 

#6 SOME INTERESTING EMBELLISHMENT IDEAS FOR YOUR BOOK JOURNAL

And here are some super-interesting ideas that you can have in your book journal, especially, if you have some spare time or when you’re looking to participate in some spontaneous creative activity.

 

The idea of including these elements is to reflect who you are, to discover your own interests, and to keepsake your personal elements, something that you liked while reading your book

 

ADD YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTES FROM THE BOOK

While reading, highlight your favourite quotes and lines from the book, and thereupon, you can curate

passages and dialogues you loved

if you’re a writer, then you can note down some inspiration for writing

 

CREATE A VISUAL OR TEXT-BASED MOODBOARD BASED ON THE BOOK'S THEME

If you are into graphic design or any other form of visual art, then this is a great exercise to take note of the visual elements of the book such as the color theme of its cover & spine, the typography & fonts used in the book, the texture of book’s papers, or other design elements that you can notice in the book. You can also add the theme, mood & genre of the book as well.

 

If you’re a writer, you may like to extract & add your favourite words, phrases, adjectives, etc. from the book

 

WRITE SELF-REFLECTIVE INSIGHTS & LESSONS FROM THE BOOK

If it is a non-fiction book, you can write a list of lessons, insights and thoughts that you had in your mind as you were reading through it.

 

CREATE A STORYBOARD

If it is a fiction book, you can create the book’s storyboard outlining plot, scenes and characters

 

CRAFT CHARACTER SKETCHES IF IT IS A FICTION BOOK

Craft characters sketches from the book with drawings, cuttings from magazines, and details like dresses they wore, how they looked, what they ate, what they liked and didn’t like, how they think, what they say, etc. Invent meals/drinks/food/colors/dress/anything related to the characters or anything from the book, and jot these down in your book journal!

 

#7 COLLECTION & PROJECT IDEAS FOR YOUR BOOK JOURNAL

You don’t have to limit your reading journal to only the book summary and your notes.

You can also utilize the book and your reading of it as a prompt for starting a new project, a challenge or a collection. The main idea is to focus on any or all of the ideas that were popping in your head while you were reading the book.

Here are some ideas for that!

 

USE RANDOM WORDS FROM THE BOOK AS PROMPTS

Randomly flip the pages of the book, select a random word from the page and use it as a prompt for writing, art journaling, sketching, painting, or brainstorming.

 

You can also use a set of random words to write a poem, a short story, or even your own manuscript!

 

USE CHARACTERS & SCENES FROM THE BOOK AS PROMPTS

Select a random character, scene, setting or descriptive element from the book and use it as a prompt for your writing practice. 

CREATE ART JOURNAL, COLLAGE OR SCRAPBOOK

If you like to record your reading experience in an artistic format, then creating a page with art journaling, collage or scrapbooking is a wonderful idea!

 

WRITE LETTERS TO AND FROM THE CHARACTERS OF THE BOOK

Write letters to and from the characters of the book if it is a title in fiction.

 

CREATE YOUR OWN BOOK-THEMED ART SUPPLIES

Create book-themed stickers, posters, notecards or any other supplies; and use them to decorate your art journal; or gift it to your friends or readers’ club.

 

LEARN FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

Make a list of other books or collections written by this author. Research about the author, read & listen to their interviews, learn from the author & make notes out of your learning.

Thank you, Good day & Subscribe to my channel for upcoming videos!

Neha