18 Comments

I have kept one since 1986 Libby...it’s like an old friend. Funny to see how tastes develop and yet fundamentally still the same girl who would buy the new Jilly Cooper the minute it came out. Never too late to start a journal - you could add a backlist, why not - it’s your journal after all. Recently started adding audiobooks to mine. Not sure why I hadn’t before. x

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What a treasured thing to have, Helen. I'm thinking of colour coding mine by genre (yes, I am very sad!) so that I can see what type of books I read and enjoy most frequently. Good idea about backlisting - I might at least try and do all of the ones I've read this year, plus perhaps a category for all-time favourites. x

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I keep a reading journal because when an author has written quite a few, I like to check I haven’t already read it! Ive kept it for 11 years and love it. I love seeing how many books I read in a year, and also it’s really handy when thinking about buying a gift for a friend, I can look back to see a book I have REALLY loved that year.

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That's a great idea, both in terms of remembering what you've read but also for recommendations!

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Yes, I keep a reading journal - it was given to me by a friend as a birthday present and I started recording in it at the beginning of lockdown.

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What a lovely birthday gift, and so nice to see you are still using yours!

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I want to start a book journal too! I’m moving house in a couple of months though so trying to hold off on any new things until then, eek!

My mum was in Frome recently and loved it - I told her to check out Rye Bakery, having seen it on your Instagram, and she said it was fabulous

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A nice project for once you're settled into your new home! Oh, that's lovely - I'm so pleased she enjoyed it!

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My move is to Bristol (from Edinburgh). So I’m looking forward to exploring Somerset over the next few years!

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I started a book list 3 years ago and it’s nice at the end of each year to see what I’ve read and keep notes of new authors I’ve enjoyed. I’ve also just started romantic comedy 😊

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That's what I'm hoping mine will do too! Ooh, hope you enjoy Romantic Comedy!

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I’ve always had same thought process, what’s the point, but then last year I decided to keep a list of what I read as I was aiming for 100 books and it was very satisfying to do

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That's great to hear - I guess better late than never!

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Instagram has encouraged me to start keeping a sketchbook again. I haven’t been very good so far, like you I find it hard to find the time but I hope to make more time for it as they get older.

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That's a lovely idea. I think it's nice to do these things with no pressure - if you find the time, great, but it should be an enjoyable thing rather than another thing you 'should' be doing!

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I tend to use Goodreads to log my books. I think if I used a notebook I would forget to write them down. I like being able to look back over the last few years to see what I have read and which ones stand out. Just wish Goodreads had a 'DNF' option!

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I've kept one since 2018. It started off written but I moved it online so I can easily access quotes when I'm writing and I can filter everything by category and rating. I love being able to look back at it all and it's helping me work out the kinds of books I most love to read.

https://joyandknowledge.com/reading/

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I started a journal in 1992 a simple spiral reporter’s notebook from W H Smith solely to stop me reading the same books twice as I read many series with similar titles. I maintained it until 2018 and since then I put everything on my goodreads page . Still dig the old journal out and reminisce.

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