While I may be inconsistent with many of my hobbies, my reading journal has never fallen victim to being forgotten. I enjoy adding to it, putting my creativity into producing something fun to fill in but also nice to look at. I love having somewhere to track my reading, and when I consider why I started it in the first place, I realise it’s had its intended effect. My thoughts on the books I’ve read are no longer lost to time thanks to my selective memory that ditches the plot of every book I’ve read. Instead, they’re written down for me to recall whenever I choose, in a nicely presented format that I allow myself to be a little proud of.
I’ve drawn inspiration from all over the place for my reading journal over the years, and it’s primarily for my enjoyment. I enjoy sharing it on the off chance anyone else wants to see it or can be inspired by it just as I am by so many others. I keep it mostly low effort, as time is a luxury I don’t always have, but I try my best. I won’t go through every page in this mid-year update, but if you’d like to see my full, blank setup from the beginning of the year, I do have a post up for that too!
What I’ve Been Loving
Truthfully, I have a lot to love about my reading journal. I’ve refined it over the years and know what works for me (most of the time). But here are the things I’ve been enjoying the most this year!
Bookshelf/Book Tracker
I say it all the time, but the ‘Bookshelf’ and ‘Books I Read in 2024’ really are my favourite part of my reading journal. It also happens to be one of the most important, considering it is the clearest way to track books I’ve read, when I read them, and how I felt about them in the form of a star rating. I’ve grouped two different spreads in one because they go hand in hand. One is a visual representation of the other, though that has me wondering what it would look like if I added the star rating of the books to the spines. I may have to try that out in the future…
Statistics Tracker
Though I feel like I’ll forever be trying to refine the look of this spread, my 2024 Stats page is one of my favourites. It gives future me a clear overview of how my reading went for the year. On my stats page, I track the star ratings, genres, and formats of the books I read, alongside the month I read each book in, and whether I’ve written any reviews (I haven’t yet this year, as it happens).
Every year I wonder how this spread could be more aesthetically pleasing. However, I think I will always revert to the tally system as it’s easy to fill in and doesn’t require me to have a certain amount of space for filling anything in, though I did try something different in the ‘format’ section by tracking with blocks, so hopefully I don’t run out of space for that.
Monthly Spreads
The monthly spreads are my second favourite part of my reading journal (probably). Each month, I make a little title section and then write a mini review on each book I’ve read and give it a star rating. I also keep track of when I start and finish a book here, which can be difficult since I only log a book once I’m done reading it and could have started it in the previous month. Ultimately, though, this system works for me.
Lately, however, I’ve been wondering if I should experiment with another spread style, as I’ve been finding them a little bland. I like how easy these are to do, and how they allow me a tiny amount of creativity without becoming unmanageable in how much work I need to put in to make them happen.
Reading Challenges
Another spread that I’ve been loving this year is for Reading Challenges. I’m attempting two: The A-to-Z Reading Challenge, and the Fairytale Reading Challenge. This spread is a new addition, and I could gush for hours about how much I’ve been enjoying it. It’s incredibly simple to fill in but has also shaped my reading in great ways this year. I’m already wondering what other challenges I can attempt next year to expand my reading horizons.
Where I Need to Make Changes
I seem to be half-hearted with the usual culprits, but I have been making some progress with spreads I usually neglect this year. Last year, many of my pages remained blank, and I decided to give them another chance this year, against my better judgement. I’ve learnt that a few of them may require reworking for me to love them the way I do the rest of my journal, but I already have some ideas that will allow me to make that happen.
Series Tracker
I don’t know what I find so difficult about filling this in. This page is straightforward, all it needs to do is offer a place to track what series I’m currently reading and which of the books in each of the series I’ve read, and yet I avoid filling it in. I tried changing up the look of this page very slightly, and I think it’s decreased my desire to fill it in even more. So, it’s back to the drawing board for this one.
Quote of The Month
The quote of the month spread is designed to make my reading more intentional, to make me think a little harder about the individual words I’m reading rather than the story as a whole. While I’ve been collecting my favourite quotes every month, I have no idea what I want the text on this page to look like and so I’ve been avoiding filling it in at all costs. Maybe I’ll get to it by the end of the year. We’ll see.
Books I Bought
Admittedly, I set myself up for failure with my Books I Bought spread. While my goal to buy fewer books this year was noble, I’ve failed miserably, mostly because it doesn’t align with a few of my other goals. When I do this again for next year’s journal, I’ll need to add a few more pages to make this spread worthwhile.
A notable mention would be the number of stickers in my reading journal. I would love to continue incorporating more, especially in my rolling monthly spreads. To do that, I need to get more stickers, which I’ll work on. I find it hard to get stickers that I like and are a reasonable size for my reading journal.
That concludes everything for my mid-year reading journal update. I’ve been having a lot of fun with it this year, and honestly, I’m already wondering when I should start setting up for next year!
What spreads are your favourite in your reading journal this year?
Read 'N Riot 