“I can always live by my pen.”
The above quote is from the infamous Jane Austen. And although I don’t get paid for my writing (yet!), I’d like to think that I too live by my pen.
Journaling has always been such a huge part of my reading experience. So I don’t know why I haven’t thought of it before, but I was reading through the blogs I follow this morning and discovered a new one: The Journal Keepers. Immediately, I thought that it was about time I had a post about journaling.
Journaling is a crucial part of the learning experience. When you read, listen, or are shown anything its so important to take note of new information. After your notes, discuss how it affects you, and make plans for its use in the future.
Journaling keeps your brain active, keeps you on your toes. Its also good for documentation – keeping tabs on all you’ve discovered and how you’ve changed over the years. Its how you avoid repeating history and all the bad things of your past, see your progress, revel in your accomplishments.
There are so many different ways to journal. Some people keep strict notes or outlines. Some people make lists, tell stories, or merely share their day. I’ve seen journals full of poetry, and journals full of nothing but sketches and other art work. I’ve heard of people who only journal using prompts either from websites, magazines, books, or sometimes simply from the journal.
Mine? A combination of all of the above, but the prompts I usually come up with myself or get from close friends.
There are so many different ways to partake in this enriching activity, and it doesn’t really matter how you do it, the important thing is the doing itself. I can’t imagine writing a useful review with out sitting down with my journal at some point while reading the book, or at least immediately after finishing the book. I don’t know how I would effectively sort through my TBR pile without my beloved notebooks. My entire life is chronicled, book after book, with messy, sprawling ink from my pen – years and years of thoughts, events, emotions, lists, notes, quotes, and more.
Do you journal while you read? How do you journal?
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Lady Susan is by far my least favorite of Austen’s work, to no fault of Austen herself but rather to my own reading preferences. I am not a fan of reading stories by way of letters between characters, I find it difficult for characters to really have their own unique voice. The only books I have read in which the viewpoint is in constant flux and was done exceedingly well have been Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible and Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife. I appreciate Austen’s change from her typical storytelling routines, but I much prefer the titles I have re-read since I was a kid. We’ll see how I feel about Lady Susan in ten years when I have re-read her a few times, as of now, I don’t much care for her.
Anakalian Whims 