2017 Book Journal

Last year was the first year I tried to do a book journal and... things got messy. I really went into it blind with no real idea of how to organize it- I just knew I wanted something away from Goodreads. It wasn't a complete disaster but it was so disorganized and scattered that it didn't do me a whole lot of good in the end.

This year I decided to be a) more organized and b) more consistent with how I use it. Instead of having release dates, TBRs, books I've read, books I want to buy, etc., scattered out across multiple journals or my phone, I've put everything I need to know about the book world into one handy journal. And so far it looks like it's going to work out great for me!

Just for fun, I thought I'd give y'all a look at how this year's journal is shaping up!

This is the journal! It's nothing super fancy. I actually think this one came in a three pack of journals at Target for like $8. I had a same brand one last year (but it was black and white) and it held together beautifully through an entire year so I'm hoping this one will serve me just as well!

This is what the front cover and first page look like when it's opened. In case you can't tell, this was my first time taking a panoramic photo and it is shakey as hell... whoops!

Front cover! I wanted to do a quick 'at a glance' of the books coming out in 2017 that I'm super excited for and I put the January-June on the front cover- just title and date released. The little envelopes hold my 'want to buy' lists.

 These are the 3 envelopes (aren't they super cute??). I divided them into Young Adult/Adult, Middle Grade, and Cozy. I did a full page of books that I want to buy/read in each category and then put them in the corresponding envelopes. I'm really working towards getting my physical TBR and my Want to Buy TBR super, super low this year... because both are slightly out of control. I'll talk more about how I plan to do this in a later blog!

Just a quick glance inside the envelope.

This is the first page of my journal. I actually redid this page 3 times before I settled on this. A lot of that had to do with the fact that I decided to not participate in any of the challenges this year. On this page I have: a small calendar, my January TBR, books I want to order, movies I want to order (not bookish but in preparation for Halloween), blog ideas, reviews I need to write, books due for review (arcs/netgalley), blog goal for the month, total books read for the month, and money saved for YallFest/SeYaFest. I've also left space for notes I need to jot down.

The pages after are where I'll keep a list of books I've read for the month, any thoughts on those books, and notes for reviews.

Each month will have a similar first page.

And that's it! I'm hoping this year's journal is a little more helpful and a little less chaotic than last year's!

If you're doing a book journal or anything similar, let me know in the comments below! What kind of journal/method are you using?