Sunday, November 5, 2017

Reading Journal #1 Complete!

It's been almost two years since I first mentioned starting a journal of quotations from books I read and I've finally filled it up!


Scribble courtesy of a certain small someone :)

Last pages -- it's full!

To the best of my memory, I had only started using this first book journal a few months (at most) prior to that blog post in January 2016. In the beginning, I only used it sparingly. I wasn't very consistent about marking passages as I read or copying them over after finishing a book. Even though I wanted to record memorable quotes, I wasn't in the habit of doing it, so it didn't always happen. I would be reading as usual and then something would really stand out and I would remember: "Oh yea, that's the kind of thing I want to record in my journal!" And then I would immediately get this feeling that I had surely missed other lines I should have recorded from my recent reading. I didn't want to turn my reading into homework, but I just knew this was a record I would love to have and look back on in years to come, if only I could figure out a good way to do it.

So this is pretty much how it went -- in fits and starts -- until quite recently. I had tried various things including marking down page numbers on a note pad (digital and paper) and snapping a photo of a page on my phone to return to later. Theoretically these methods should have worked just fine, but I still had a hard time following through. I also went through a big audiobook phase and while I love that format, it's not well suited to noting and marking quotes. Sure, it can be done, but it's certainly more complicated without a printed text in front of me and audio bookmarking proved to be a real pain for this purpose.

Book darts!

But over the last few months I finally started using my journal more consistently and the vast majority of this first one is filled with quotes from 2017 (which isn't even over yet!) And during the past two months I really hit my stride thanks to book darts -- which I have Modern Mrs. Darcy and the Read Aloud Revival to thank for. Book darts are exactly what I didn't know I needed to make this whole reading journal thing a success. They are easy to use, don't interfere with or interrupt my reading experience, and make it super simple to return to marked passages later on. Book darts are sort of like fancy paperclips that don't damage my pages and allow me to bookmark a specific line so I don't have to go scanning and searching for what exactly I wanted to remember on a particular page. They're great! If you have any desire to keep a reading journal, I can't recommend book darts highly enough.

The secret to successful book dart use -- thank you RAR!

Since I have a toddler, I was a little worried about having tins of small metal bits around the house. But one final tip from Sarah Mackenzie in her recent masterclass solved that problem too -- putting a bunch of book darts on my book's title page before I start reading. Eureka! Now I don't have to tote the tin from room to room, it's not just sitting around waiting for my toddler to crack open, AND it's easier than ever to grab a dart when I come across a line I want to mark. Now, I don't delude myself into thinking my son couldn't figure out how to pull them off the pages if he really wanted to, but they are a lot less enticing while attached to the pages of a closed book than sitting in a tin that makes a really cool noise when you shake it.

I used so many book darts in this one!

I don't want to overthink this whole process as I am reading, so I often mark more passages than I actually end up using. But that is the beauty of it -- when I am done reading, I can simply go through dart by dart and decide what I really want to remember from that particular book. If I decide not to copy a particular quote, I just remove the book dart and move on. And what I like best now that I have a "system" in place is that I have built in some time to reflect on and think about what I have read as I decide what I most want to remember and what has really resonated with me. Of course, I always want to dive into a new book, but this new little ritual has helped me slow down just a bit which is definitely a good thing for me.

New journal!

So, now I'm onto a brand spanking new book journal which is so exciting to me! It's kind of like that new-school-supplies-in September feeling when I was a kid (or was that just me?) Now that I've been doing this a while, I've figured out what works best and am making some minimal changes for this second journal. This time around I'm including page numbers and creating a heading for each book instead of noting title and author after every single quote -- which can get really tedious if I have a lot of quotes from a single book.

Slightly new format!

I never imagined I would need more than the 50 darts that come in the cute What Should I Read Next? tin, but I often have a couple different books going at the same time and I used nearly all 50 when I read The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction! So I figured it would be nice to have an extra and ordered a tin of 125 on Amazon. The Modern Mrs Darcy ones are adorable, but the Amazon tin was definitely more economical. And truthfully, if I had bought a tin with 125 the first time, I probably wouldn't have bothered with a second!


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Have you ever kept a book/reading/quote journal of any kind? Have you tried book darts? Do you have any other tips or tricks? I'd love to know!

12 comments:

  1. New stationary products are the best- I'm with ya. And it's so cool that you're doing this!

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    1. It's making me wish I did it/kept up with it sooner -- but better late than never, right?

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  2. Yay for completing one, and I love the idea of book darts - I'm terrible at noting down my favourite book quotes. Thanks for sharing this Christine, and enjoy your brand new reading journal!

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    1. Thanks Jade! And if noting them is something you do want to do, definitely try book darts! They really have made it so much easier :)

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  3. I've tried off and on to keep a journal. Just last month, at the mental health center where I work, another client started a journaling class, which I have been participating in. I enjoy doing it.

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    1. That's great! I think it's one of those things that you really need to make a habit -- but so worthwhile once you've gotten into that habit :)

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  4. I had to look back to see which year I made writing down quotes my resolution, and it was also 2016. I've totally failed at it, though, unlike you. I don't think I've written any down since about February 2016... I keep hearing book darts mentioned on those podcasts and being intrigued, but haven't bought any yet. Sounds like something to add to my Christmas list. :) And the idea of putting them on the first page of your book is genius! Although I'm still not sure that will work for me, since my little guy loves pulling out my bookmarks, even if they're the magnetic kind. :)

    And have fun with the shiny, new journal. Isn't that feeling the best?

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    1. I definitely struggled a lot with it since I made this resolution, especially in the beginning. It took some trial and error and a conscious effort to really get the habit started. I have Sarah Mackenzie to thank for that first page trick -- as soon as she said it I was like "of course! why didn't I think of that?!"

      That definitely sounds tricky with your little guy. Mine loves to pull out paper bookmarks simply because they are sticking out -- so, so far he hasn't shown any interest in the book darts that are more hidden. They are worth a try if you can figure out a way to keep them out of curious hands (and mouths!) for sure :)

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  5. This is so cool! It'll be such a treasure to have a book of your favorites quotes to look back on. Makes me want to give it a try! In terms of marking passages, I use Post-It flags. They're not as elegant as book darts, but they're cheap and easy (and not a swallowing hazard, not that I have any little people in my house). :)

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    1. It hasn't been that long and I'm already enjoying looking back on it :) I hadn't even though of Post-It Flags, but those are a great idea too!

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  6. I am totally going to do this in the new year! I even put a journal on my Christmas wishlist. :D

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    1. Yes, do it! It takes some time to really get in the habit, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. A crisp new journal is a nice incentive too :)

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I'd love to hear what you think :)