So, I forget things. Lots of things. Where I put my keys. What I ate last night. Where I'm supposed to be going after this. It's a problem. However, none of these things frustrate me. My keys always turn up eventually, the answer to "what I ate last night" is almost universally either cereal or french bread and radishes, and I figure that if I drive around long enough, I'll either figure out where I'm going or find someplace new! What frustrates me with forgetting, is forgetting what I've read. This is one of the only things I can usually remember-- I have one of these memories where I can visualize in my mind the exact look and feel of a page. I remember bits of trivia from middle school because I can actually see the layout of the page and what my handwriting looked like and sometimes even the doodles in the margins. This extends into college where I would sometimes be able to write an entire 12-page paper, without even cracking open a book, except to get the page number for whatever quote I was referencing. However, for whatever reason, sometimes I draw a complete blank when trying to recall what titles and authors I have read or want to read. I will sit there and stare at the bookshelves in the Fiction section of Borders, just trying to will a title into memory. More often than not, I simply can't, and so I abandon the search. The Book Journal is sort of my new saving grace in this way. It helps me keep tabs (literally) on what I'm reading, want to read, and have read.
Inside, the bulk of the journal is comprised of tabbed sections (arranged alphabetically like an address book) where you can document the details of what you're reading with space in the front matter to jot down "to-read" lists. I've begun carrying this with me everywhere, as it's roughly the size of a paperback, making it small enough that I can drop it into my Bag With No End and not have to frantically search its recesses for retrieval. Plus, it's pretty. I love the embossed cover as I am a HUGE fan of typography, though, I wish the embossed cover was a bit more raised as I have a feeling that after a few months of use, a lot of the text is going to rub off.
My first entry was for The Elegance of the Hedgehog.
This is probably my favorite quote from the book.
Though this journal is certainly no substitute for jotting down important marginalia, it's a bit more comprehensive in the sense that all my notes and book thoughts can fit neatly into one, rectangular, portable package. Plus, it helps me remember.
Do you have a favorite journal? What do you use to keep track of what you've read?
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