I’m a big fan of scrapbooking, bullet journals, and junk journaling, and it’s something that’s come closely connected with my love of reading, too. Back in 2023, I started a book journal, where I can combine my own reviews along with stickers, washi tape, and stamps. Plus, this way I can always go back and relive my thoughts on a particular book. When you go through dozens of books a year, it can be hard to keep them all straight! Here’s my personal review process, created through lots of different entries over a few years of writing them.

When I write my reviews, I jot everything down in a google doc, so I can gather my thoughts before committing them to my journal. Then I start with five main details: the title, the author, the year of publication, the date I finished the book, and my personal rating, on a scale of zero to five stars (though I’ve yet to bestow anything less than two). This is mostly for me to keep track of the who and the what and the when and all that good stuff.

I know a lot of people have a specific system for how they assign their stars, but I go off of mostly vibes, I think. If I liked a book and don’t really have anything critical to say about it, it gets a five, even if it wasn’t a jaw dropping life changing read. Then some books I’ll enjoy, but I may give them 3 stars because of how simple they may be. It really just depends, so don’t treat my stars as gospel!

Next up, I write three bullet points worth of thoughts on things like the plot, characters, and anything else that’s notable. The goal here is mostly to ramble my thoughts down and see what sticks. For example, here are my bullet points for Pet Sematary, which I finished earlier this year (I’m HELLA behind in my journaling, don’t judge me! Also, spoilers beware!):

Thoughts:

·Wow wow wow. What a fascinating exploration into death and what we will do for those we love, and for ourselves to avoid grief

·The descriptions of revived Church and his new nature were so unsettling and bring up such important questions of what it means to be alive

·This was probably the best use of the Indian Burial ground trope I’ve ever seen in media. I like that it simply boils down to malevolent spirits at unease and the forces we can’t help but be drawn to

My last two sections are for ‘Favorite Parts’ and ‘Gripes’. This one is pretty self explanatory. Sometimes I start with these in my document, since these tend to be the biggest impressions. I try to find something good and something ‘bad’ with everything I read, in order to exercise the part of my brain that writes and engages with media. Here are my favorites and least favorite parts about Pet Sematary:

Favorite Parts: The tension. Knowing without a doubt that Gage would die and be brought back was so unsettling and filled me with unease. The moment where his body is dug up and then stolen and brought to the sematary? So wonderful

Gripes: Honestly not much. King does a great job of making characters you’re disturbed by but can’t help but want to learn more about. The ending was a little off, with the house burning and murderous Gage, but Louis dragging Rachel to the Sematary was a wonderful final shot

And that’s how I get started! I tend to write these reviews in bulk when I have a slow moment at work. I’ve been playing major catch-up the last few weeks, so my document is pretty long right now. When it finally comes time to put my reviews in my book, I do so with the same level of organization that I put into writing the reviews.

With the rough decorative spaces blocked off, I add my text. It’s not always word for word from my notes, but it’s close enough. There isn’t a lot that goes into this, other than ensuring that everything is spaced out well and is legible. If I need to move around my decorative chunks in favor of the writing, I do so.

And now what’s left to do is decorate! There isn’t much to this, other than pairing together pleasing colors, designs, and any images that relate to the book. I tend to choose my big focal points first and get those laid out, then use any accent stickers or stamps. It can be hard for some projects with really specific vibes, but I try my best with the materials I have. Some pages tend to be more organized and neater than others, but the goal is always the same: to try and capture some of the essence of the novel just read.

And that’s a page in my journal! Like I said, I’m very behind in this process, but I’m trying to catch up. It’s something I do for fun, so I don’t press myself too badly for being behind. However, just within the last few books I’ve read, I already have all the real estate in this particular journal filled up!

For Christmas last year I got a different type of book journal that I just got to start this month. This one is a bit more structured. There’s a lot more space in this book dedicated to sharing things like quotes, main takeaways, and big events. Don’t worry, I’ll still add accents of all kinds. Luckily there is plenty of room! I’m finding myself struggling a little bit to figure out how and where to put my thoughts, but it’ll get easier as I go, I’m sure. Here is my first page in this new journal:

Maybe after this current journal I’ll find a way to combine some of the elements of the two different types. Or maybe I’ll find a whole new journal to order and try out! It’s always fun to experiment, and there is so much to test out.

Thanks for tagging along and checking out some of my book journal! I’m far from the only person to decorate and write down my thoughts in this way, so it’s always fun to see what other people do themselves! It’s also fun to look back on my old pages and see how much I’ve improved, and how my pages have changed with the addition of new supplies and skills. For sticking around this long, please enjoy a variety of spreads that I’ve done over the last two years (spoilers once again, so don’t read too closely if you’re worried about that!).

How do you all keep track of your reading? Have you tried to do your own book journal? let me know! I’m always looking for new ideas. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into my process!

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