Before We Start
As an English Major, I am of course an avid reader. I always am looking for ways other than Good Reads to keep track of my readings and thoughts, as well as set reading goals. However, anytime I would see book journal setups on TikTok or YouTube, I would get overwhelmed, and I didn’t know where to start. It seemed like everyone was tracking every little aspect. And while I think that is great, and if you do that, I applaud you, I didn’t have the time or energy for that. Moreover, I felt like if I did too much, the journaling would start to feel like a chore rather than something to bring me joy. There were always bits and pieces that I like from other book setups, and I realized I can make my own, and tailor them to my needs. So, I did a little research and combined some of my favorite ideas and setups to make a cute but simple book journal for myself. And I am going to share the contents with you all today in case you are a reader like me and need a creative outlet!
The Cover Page
This can be as simple as the year and month you started with a place to put the month you end on once the journal is filled up. If you are a doodler, this is a great place to show off your art skills.
Reference System
I made this part a whole page, but it doesn’t have to be. All I did for this was make 5 boxes for the 5 stars (how many stars you rate each book) and color-coded them.
Goal Page
I made a page where I have boxes with numbers in them with how many books I hope to read in the year. After I read a book I can color in a box according to the reference system mentioned above on how many stars I rate the book.
The Bookshelf
I made this book over a two-page spread just because I thought it looked nicer. I drew some lines which are your shelves. Then each time you finish a book you can go in and draw a little rectangle that is the spine of a book and write the title. I also chose to use my color code system here so at the end of the year I can see my year of books on a bookshelf and color-coded by star rating!
Book of the Year
This is another two-page spread. I wrote down all the months and each month I pick my favorite book and write under the month. Then I bracketed all the months 4. At the end of the 4 months, I pick my favorite out of those four books, and then at the end of the year, I will have my top 3 and pick my book of the year.
Month View
Next, I do a month view where I again write down the months, and then I can write in the books I read each month under the month header. I again use that color-coded system. I think this is a great way to see which months are your best reading months!
Month by Month
And last but not least the month by month set up. I am going to use the month of April as an example but you just copy this format for the other months. I start with a two-page spread. On the right-hand side, I make a pretty header of the month, and then under I make a list of books I hope to read that month/just some ideas of what I may want to read. On the left-hand side after I have read a book I print out tiny versions of the covers and tape them in. The next pages are dedicated to the actual books I read. I split up a two-page spread into 4 quadrants so I can fit 4 book reviews. I don’t do anything crazy because I don’t always have time to write a long review. So I make sections for the title, author, genre, page count, date started and ended, as well as if it was a physical book, e-reader book, or audiobook. I then write down things I liked, tropes, or just general thoughts. This is usually in bulleted list form and has maybe 5 bullets at most, again I don’t do too much here. After the small review, I have a header for the plot, characters, ease of reading, quality of writing, and overall. I write down a number 1-5 next to each of these as a rating on the different aspects of the book!
I hope this helps readers out there who love the idea of book journaling but don’t have endless time or craft supplies. Happy reading and journaling!