I started a new reading journal a little over a month ago, and decided I want to share how I set up my monthly spreads. Today I’m sharing how I set up my monthly spreads, and the theme I chose for July.
I have lots of various stationery that I’ve been collecting over time, and for this month, I decided to put them to use! Stickers, post-its, and other paper goods are quick and easy ways to dress up a page, and I definitely wanted to aim for something a bit easier this time around.
My Archer & Olive journal is the neapolitan journal as well, so this month I’m actually starting to enter the kraft-colored section. I thought that succulent stickers would be perfect for these pages, and used salmon and mint colors throughout. These pages definitely remind me of the styles I liked in college!
Anyway, here’s what my first pages usually look like each month. I have a cover page on the left, and a TBR on the right. (You can see my July TBR here!) When I look back on my journal, I like to color in the books I actually read that month and reflect on how I planned my reading month vs. how it went. Planning my TBR gives me the ability to consider ARCs I need to read, upcoming library holds, and anything else I’ve been wanting to read in that moment.
Since I loved using my POSCA paint pen in my reading journal setup spreads, I really wanted to keep using them here and use the white paint marker on top for lettering. Throughout this month, I keep using the same post-its, stickers, and washi tape to bring everything together. I even used some of the backs of stickers and colored them in like the one in the bottom-right corner. Gotta find a way to re-use everything!
My next pages feature the books I read that month and a chart of how many pages I read each day. As I write down the books I read, I also include the star rating that I gave it. When writing my wrap-ups for my blog and bookstagram, this makes it easier for me to check the books and ratings at-a-glance. And for my pages read spread, well, I just really like stats! I look back on my reading journal often and this spread gives me a good indicator of how that month went in terms of how much I’m reading. In a sense, it tells a bit of a story as well. Was I in a reading slump? Was there a readathon going on? Was I very busy that particular week? I find it interesting to look back on.
My last page is more for bookish content than anything. These are the spreads where I plan my content for my Bookstagram and blog respectively. And while things may not always go to plan, having content ideas already laid out makes it easier for me for when I do decide its time to post something. In terms of Bookstagram, it helps to plan both the picture and caption for when I take pictures. And for the blog, it helps give me ideas for what to write about (and give a general idea for when I want to post them). This is a spread I’ve been testing out for the last couple of months and I have to say, so far so good!
That’s all for my reading journal for this month. How do you track your reading? Let me know!
-Julie Anna
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