How to Keep a Book Journal for Mindfulness and Self Care

11/27/2016

As the darkest day of the year approaches, for some people their inner dark shadows encroach into the everyday. Fall and winter can create a recipe for malaise, depression, and anxiety for many people, as we struggle to cope with the waning sunshine, increasing tensions during the holidays, and decreasing access to enjoying the outdoors.

Some people express a consistent annual pattern of seasonal blues, whereas others’ doldrums are acutely connected to the election season or a single holiday event (like a holiday meal with Uncle Rodney who blathers on and on about politics). Regardless of whether a person experiences an ongoing blue period or a short-lived sadness, keeping a book journal can offer relief from the darkness.

Read Deeper with a Book Journal

People read for different reasons. Some depend solely on nonfiction pieces to expand their factual knowledge of the world. Some read to find a confirmation of their existing world view that says, “Oh yes, of course you’re right.” And others read to escape the truth that life is hard sometimes. As readers have known since Gutenberg, reading provides much more than an opportunity to get away; reading can calm, can enlighten, and can heal.

Not just reading, but diving deep into the reflective process can support readers through life transitions, gray weather, and less-than-stellar holiday parties. As we read, the reading is not an end in itself. Rather, we must force ourselves to process the words and allow ourselves the vulnerability to be changed by what we read. In comes the book journal.

What is a book journal?

Like a diary or personal journal, a book journal is a collection of writing that is intended for the writer’s benefit rather than as a shared or published piece to distribute to other readers. We can keep book journals to capture the reflective experiences of what reading does for us personally. A book journal for some people is a paper journal that houses short reflections on their reading.

For others, a book journal is a multimedia experience including photography, drawing, or doodling to combine visual artistic expressions with written reflections. Regardless of how we choose to structure our book journals, they are meant for each of us as readers. Practicing the art of reading, reflecting, and opening up to literature can bring about a state of mindfulness or a calming of the depression and anxiety that strikes some during the dark months.

Today, people are more overburdened than ever before. Political tensions, climate change, and economic instability create the perfect storm for a stressed-out society. If you aren’t yet journaling, get The Simple Guide to Journal Writing and get started.

Steps to Starting a Book Journal

Before you race off to the bookstore to buy a $40 leather-bound journal and pricey fountain tip pen, keep in mind that the book journal is for you and your benefit. There are no right or wrong choices when it comes to a book journal. Make the choices that will best benefit you.

First, choose the best format for your book journal. Is your style a laptop, a paper journal, or an artist’s pad for drawing and writing?
Now, schedule an hour a day for your book journaling. If it feels like setting aside an hour a day is an impossibility, keep in mind that the hour spent could make the other 23 more manageable for you. Not sure when you can squeeze in an hour? Wake up an hour earlier, read before nodding off to bed, or break up the time (30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at lunchtime).
Next, choose a book to read. Anything that appeals to you and does not increase your anxiety should work fine (i.e., this may not be the best time for The Bell Jar or Slaughterhouse-Five if you’re feeling down).
Finally, start reading. After each daily hour of reading, write about the reading experience, the thoughts conjured while reading, and the questions that the reading opens the mind to.
Keep yourself in check, especially for the first week. Make sure you read and make sure you journal. Over time, book journaling may become a part of your daily practice and an indispensable step in moving through the day comfortably.

What Do We Write in a Book Journal?

When we book journal, we write about our thoughts, questions, and outcomes of the reading.

Here is a list of topics and questions to jump start your book journaling practice.

Explain what about the book drew you into it the first time. Was it the description, the author, the title, or some other element that pulled you in?
Describe the character you most identify with in the story. What about this character is appealing, interesting, and valuable?
Describe the setting of the book. What pulls you into this setting? If you lived in this setting, would your life be the same or different than the book’s character?
Which elements of the book do you identify with? Is it the poetic language, the story’s theme, or the point of view that pulls you into it?
Is there a catharsis in this story? Do you have a scene where your own emotional build up is released, even just a little bit, by what is happening in the book?
What problems exist in this book that you could solve or that you could make a suggestion to solve?
What message(s) is the author trying to send? What might you do with this information now that you have it?
Do you agree/disagree with the author’s message? Why?
Copy down your favorite lines. Explain what about each line draws you towards it. What does it mean to you? Why is it valuable?
Who do you wish would read this book (or a chapter or a passage)? What about the book would you like to share with this person/people?
What does this book remind you of or make you think about?

Read every day. Reflect on your reading in your book journal. Feel more balanced, mindful, and composed not just during the dark months but all year long. The act of book journaling adds two healthy processes into your daily life—reading and writing reflectively about that reading. The fall and winter months can be challenging for a variety of reasons, but readers can bolster their inner strength by keeping a book journal.

Journal Writing for Mindfulness and Self-Care

Is life sometimes overwhelming? Do the blues get you down? Today, people are more stressed out than ever before, but journal writing can help. Jumpstart your journal writing practice with this course, which is designed to help you establish a journal writing practice. Start onto the path of mindfulness and self-care in this journal writing course

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