Saturday, January 2, 2016

Celebrate This Week 1.02.16 - Celebrating My Reader's Notebook!


It's always good to end the week on a positive note.  Sometimes we concentrate on the negatives.  We have a choice.  Choose positive.  Choose to celebrate.  I will be joining Ruth Ayres and her weekly link-up, Celebrate This Week.  Check out all the other celebrations HERE

This week I am celebrating my reader's notebook.  This is the third notebook I've kept, although I had a my first reader's notebook back when I was a kid.  I remember one year, not sure how old I was, I wanted to see how many things I read.  I wrote down everything.  Books, magazines, everything went in.  I wrote everything down on lined paper and put it in a report cover.  I thought it was so official!  I was preparing myself for Nerdy Book Club status back then!

My notebook has evolved since then, really it evolves every year.  Every January I think I have it set for the year, but then I add more!  Here is the 2016 model!

I love this notebook!  I found it at Target in August and knew this would be my 2016 notebook!  


As you can see I have labels all over it.  The top labels are to categorize the books I read for the year.  When someone asks me about titles, I can quickly get to the right type of book.  As I finish a book, I add it to the right section, writing the date finished, title and author.  I do not write any synopsis about the book, leaving that to my Goodreads page.


The labels include:
  • picture books
  • nonfiction picture books
  • middle grade
  • young adult
  • adult reads (ha, I'm lucky if I get 6 titles on this page)
  • easy chapter books
  • transitional chapter books
  • graphic novels
  • poetry
  • professional literature
I also have labels on the side. 


Here's where I keep:
  • Book Awards - I'll be adding to this page on Monday, January 11th!  I refer back to this page throughout the year.  While I can list the Schneider, Newbery and Caldecott winners to you, this helps me remember other award winners I may need to go back and read throughout the year.
  • Bookaday - I try to keep up with Spring Break, summer and holiday #bookaday.  I try to tweet my books everyday, but often need to refer to this list to see if I remembered to mention each one.
  • #10for10 - I really enjoy participating in February's nonfiction picture book #10for10 and August's fiction picture books #10for10.  I have to start with big and/or multiple lists and then wean it down into my list of 10 books.
  • Book things - here's where I keep track of some of my upcoming blog posts.  I leave several pages blank so I can add things throughout the year.
  • Book releases - I have 2 pages for each month of upcoming book releases.  As I learn about new books coming out, I add them to the month's list.  I star books I will purchase and put an 'L' by the books I want to get at the library.  I try to get a lot of my books at the library.  I remind myself I don't need to own every single book that is published (against my what I wish).  It's also helpful previewing books - I've preordered way too many books, mostly picture books, that I wish I had previewed before purchasing. The library is very helpful for that!

Here's a vine that shows you a few more pages of my notebook.




Do you have a reader's notebook?  What do you keep in it?

9 comments:

  1. Michele, I LOVE the idea of a reader's notebook!!! Your notebook is so well organized and purposeful. I've never done this and now I want to...hmmm...Thank you for the inspiration! Happy New Year!

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  2. First of all the cover of that notebook is simply THE BEST! The older I get, the more I need this because it is so hard to remember everything! Great idea!

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  3. Cool notebook! I love the idea of keeping a reader's notebook. I mostly just rely on Goodreads to keep track of my reading, but I love good old paper and pencil too. Hmmm...I will have to think more about this...

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  4. I have only relied on Goodreads to keep my reading history. But thank you for sharing this idea with us! It has certainly given me something to think about for 2016. Thank you! Also, I love the background on your blog. I have a ton of old books like this on display from my Grandmother's house. :)

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  5. I love this, Michele, and especially love that you did something when you were a young girl, definitely the beginning of your nerdy book world. Before Goodreads, I kept a journal of the books I've read, and stopped when I started on Goodreads. I enjoyed looking through the years of reading in it.I rely on Goodreads to help me find my lists, but perhaps need to create some kind of book list for all those other categories. I do need to access them sometimes, am going to try to tag better on my blog, too. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year!

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  6. I really like peeking at your notebook. I have a "blogging" book where I keep list and ideas but it is not very organized. Not at all. this has me thinking . . .

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  7. What a fantastic notebook! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Love the notebook! I am getting ready to do something like this. Thanks for the inspiration:)

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  9. I too did that in middle school once to see how much I read in a year. It was super fun. I keep a reading journal for writing down quotes or taking notes on what I read. I use inexpensive composition notebooks they have during back to school sales for that. Sometimes I decorate the covers. Yours looks very helpful.

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