2020 Reading Journal Tour

A new year is the perfect time for starting a new reading journal, no?

As I mentioned in my December recap, I used to track my reading in a notebook.  It was a simple setup: I wrote the title, the author, and number the titles so I knew how many books I’d read for that year. If I read a book more than once in a year, I’d note that as well.

Then there was a period where I misplaced the notebook, and by the time I found it, I’d just taken to recording what I read on a Pinterest board. When I joined Goodreads in 2017, I started tracking books I’d read there, and that’s pretty much been my reading tracker system for a while now. But after seeing so many cool and gorgeous reading journals around the internet, I wanted to make one for 2020!

I love writing things down, and I had a lovely journal just right for the job. It’s the Little Women Novel Journal from Canterbury Classics. It’s one of the larger versions of their journals, so there’s plenty of space for lists and things.




The page edges are blue!
The page lines are made of quotes from the novel.

After brainstorming what I wanted to include, I made a title page (which I forgot to take a photo of) and started setting up the journal!

I expect this journal will last longer than a year, so I made an index for everything for quick reference.


I still need to check some of the release dates before adding them to the journal,
while others haven’t yet been announced.

My mom, sister, and I do several readalongs each year, and I’m attempting Hanne’s Anne of Green Gables readalong this month. This page is just a simple setup for tracking the book and the readalong.


Apparently, I also forgot to take a photo of the “Books Loans” page, but it’s simple as well. There’s a column for library books and space to write the title and due date, and another column for books I’ve borrowed from other people, where I can write the title and the person it was borrowed from.

The TBR Jar page is next, and I’m not completely happy with the way it turned out, but I don’t yet know if I’ll make a new one or just leave it as is...


I first heard of a TBR Jar through bookstagram, and loved the idea, so decided to try it out in 2020.

I used a cookie tin left over from Christmas to make mine.
I kind of liked how the washi tape gave it a sunset travel look.

While I wrote down specific books for the TBR jar, I also added a few genre prompts like “biography” or “a short story collection/anthology” to mix things up.

The Out of Time trilogy by Nadine Brandes was my first TBR Jar selection of the year.

After I finish a TBR Jar title, I’ll add the slip of paper to the TBR Jar page in my reading journal.

And finally, I have the monthly reading log! I would like to be better about writing reviews, even if only a couple of lines, so I’m writing mini reviews and possible ratings after each entry.


As far as supplies, I used pens and markers I already had, so I didn’t have to buy anything special for putting this project together!


I’m sooo excited to try keeping a reading journal again and fill it with all kinds of great reads in the coming months!
Do you keep a reading journal? Any journaling tips? Books you’re excited for in 2020? Tell me about them in the comments! Also: I’m trying out some different image sizes for blog posts and would love to know if you prefer these or the older image sizes!

Comments

  1. Oh my goodness, I am in LOVE with this idea!!! What a special, fun thing to do! I especially like the idea of a TBR jar. Somehow I have missed this trend??? But it sounds BRILLIANT.

    I have one of those Canterbury Classics notebooks toooo! Mine's pink and Jane Austen. They are the most gorgeous things.

    This whole thing is just a complete delight. I may have to try this sometime! ^_^

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    1. Isn't it a cool idea? I'm pretty excited to see how many books I end up reading from it!

      I love these notebooks! I got one of the Jane Austen ones for Christmas and I don't know yet what to use it for but it's so cute!

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  2. This is such a brilliantly beautiful idea! I may have to try this one day. I'm still busy with my bullet journal, though, so I'm not sure I could keep up with both. But, GURRRRL. Your lettering & layouts are GORGEOUS! Well done! And the notebook---EEP!! I love the lines xD And the idea of the TBR jar is adorable. Definitely something I'd like to try! Thanks for sharing!!

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    1. Thank you so much! I've been trying to practice lettering a little each week. It's such a relaxing hobby!

      I always love seeing your bullet journal photos! They're SO pretty. :D

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  3. This journal is adorable, and I love it so much!! I mostly rely on GoodReads, but a reading journal is something I've always wanted to try. Your spreads are so pretty, and I really enjoyed reading this post!

    Also: so glad you're joining along on the Anne of Green Gables read-along!!
    Hanne || losingthebusyness.wordpress.com

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm enjoying using both GR and the reading journal so far. :)

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