A Reading Journal Information Gathering System

Here’s a “Blast from the Past”. I revised and updated this post which I wrote almost three years ago.

Yesterday we talked about creating a reading journal and the reasons why a horror reader might want to keep one.

Today we’ll talk about two capture systems you can use to assist in journaling.

Keeping a reading journal of the books you’ve read works only if you make it as fun and as easy as possible.

Information Gathering: Index Cards

My first technique for making each reading journal entry as easy as possible is to use a note card while I read.

Usually I use a 3×5 note card with lines on one side and blank on the other.

1. It serves as a nice book marker, keeping my place so I don’t succumb to the urge to turn down page corners when I stop.
2. It serves as the writing surface where I take notes on what I’m reading.
3. On the lined side I list the important characters and a brief sentence about them.
4. On the blank side I list the plot points and any important ideas I want to take away from the story. I even list the page number of any fantastic quotes I come across.
5. At the end I’ll also jot down how well I liked it. I used to use a star system but I soon switched to describing how well I liked it and why. This is more important information to me than a ranking of stars but it may not work as well for you. Try both ways and see which one you like the best.

Sometimes a book will take only one index card. Sometimes it takes more. How many cards it takes is not indicative of how much you loved the story.

For instance: I really enjoyed The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum for its ability to make me squirm uncomfortably while making me angry one moment and compassionate the next. It only took one card.

The DaVinci Code enraged me starting with its misuse of an albino (albinism does not necessarily mean pale skin and white hair but it always ALWAYS means low vision — an inability to see detail or worse. People with albinism aren’t going to be assassins with expert marksmanship.) and also interested me with its ability to spin an easily read story. I used several index cards although I didn’t like it very much.

Information Gathering: Folded Slip of Paper

My current favorite technique for making each reading journal entry as easy as possible is to use a piece of paper folded in half length-wise.

Usually use a blank letter-sized paper folded in half but lined paper will work too.

1. It also serves as a nice book marker, keeping my place.
2. I use it to take notes on what I’m reading.
3. The folded paper gives me four sides to work with — a lot more room than an index card.
4. On one side I list the book information (title, author, publisher and date) and below it the list of characters with a brief description.
5. On the opposite side I list plot points and any important ideas I want to take away from the story.
6. On one of the inside folds I list any fantastic quotes I come across.
7. On the other inside fold I’ll also jot down how well I liked it and how easy it is to read.

Whichever tool you use, you need to put down just enough prompting to remember. Details take up space and aren’t really needed. I can go back to the book if I need more information — and for a reading journal, I really don’t.

When it comes time to write my reading journal entry, I re-read my information gathering tool first. Then I begin writing.

Often it’s just a mere transfer of information but occasionally I flesh it out even further — usually when describing the plot and what about the story appealed to me.

Try it and see if it doesn’t make keeping a reading journal easier and more fun.

Conclusion

You can’t rely solely on memory for the information you need for a medium amount or a fully detailed reading journal. You need an information gathering tool of some sort.

Index cards tend to be the easiest to use but folded slips of paper offer more room for thoughts and details.

Tomorrow we’ll look at some commercially designed reading journals you might take a fancy to.

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Tagged as: Horror Book, Reading Journal