Reader's Journal

Rating:
Summary: Handy little organizer
Review: I found this book in a museum gift shop and it seemed to be the answer to prayer...I've been trying to make a deliberate attempt to read all the classic works of literature I've missed over the years, and here was presented a way to keep my impressions of each book recorded for my future use.

The journal is separated into five (5) sections: 1. Book Register 2. Book To Read 3. Reading Group Notes 4. Book Stores & Services 5. Passages

I find there are a few more sections than I really need, as I'm not in a reading group and don't have enough books recommended to me to need a separate journal section to keep track, but it would certainly be handy for those who are.

The Register section allows you to record the Title, author, publisher, date read, notes, recommended or lent to and the date, and a rating. I would prefer maybe a little more room in the notes and more pages of the book devoted to this section. There is no room for copious notes...just a few sentences per book.

It's hardcover, with a nice spiral binding and an elastic band attached to keep it closed, making it extremely portable. All in all it's a pretty handy little organizer for those who are serious about their reading.

Rating:
Summary: Memories on Paper
Review: There will come a time when we'll all be too old to recall the beautiful books we've read during our lifetime. Well, this wonderful, compact journal keeps a detailed record of all the books you read, whether or not you liked them and why. It is also good if you like to lend out your books (and then forget to whom they went) because it has a place to mark the name and date of a person you lent your precious book to. This is the best idea I have seen yet to help me record the memories of all the stories I read. As a chain-reader, this is a must-have for me. One day I will pass it on to my child and hope that he or she will choose to read a few of the books I read.

Rating:
Summary: For the Forgetful and the Nostalgic
Review: This book was very handy for me, an avid reader with a rather poor memory. This book allowed me to keep track of what I had read, and, more importantly, what I had enjoyed and why. Clearly organized and very useful, this is a great gift for young people just starting their journey into the world of literature or for those whose memories have become cluttered with many ponderous tomes.

Rating:
Summary: For the Forgetful and the Nostalgic
Review: This book was very handy for me, an avid reader with a rather poor memory. This book allowed me to keep track of what I had read, and, more importantly, what I had enjoyed and why. Clearly organized and very useful, this is a great gift for young people just starting their journey into the world of literature or for those whose memories have become cluttered with many ponderous tomes.

Rating:
Summary: This *could* have been perfect
Review: This is an attractive little book. Spiral bound, with a band attached to the back that can be stretched around to close the book. There are five, tab-delineated sections, as follows:

(1) Book Register. Very attractively designed pages with the following fields: Title, Author, Published, Began Reading...Finished, Notes, Recommended to or Lent to, Rated. This is by far the most helpful section of the book, and the longest, but it is not long enough.

(2) Books to read. 28 pages with room for one recommended book per page. A lot of room for comments on the book, but how many comments will one have for a book one hasn't yet read? Lots of wasted space here that would be better spent on section one.

(3) Reading group notes. Three pages for names and phone numbers, then just under twenty two-page entries for individual books. If you're not in a book group, you're out of luck.

(4) Book stores and services. An address book, with room for three entries per page, and 18 pages long. Who's going to have 54 bookstores they need to keep information for? This is a ridiculous use of space.

(5) Passages. Blank, lined pages for recording favorite passages. This is an okay section.

The ideal book would be a combination of this and A Book Lover's Journal. The layout of Reader's Journal is nicer, and it's spiral bound, but so much space is wasted on stupid things that I don't think I'll be using it. A pity. It's an attractive little book.

Debra Hamel -- book-blog reviews
Author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

Rating:
Summary: This *could* have been perfect
Review: This is an attractive little book. Spiral bound, with a band attached to the back that can be stretched around to close the book. There are five, tab-delineated sections, as follows:

(1) Book Register. Very attractively designed pages with the following fields: Title, Author, Published, Began Reading...Finished, Notes, Recommended to or Lent to, Rated. This is by far the most helpful section of the book, and the longest, but it is not long enough.

(2) Books to read. 28 pages with room for one recommended book per page. A lot of room for comments on the book, but how many comments will one have for a book one hasn't yet read? Lots of wasted space here that would be better spent on section one.

(3) Reading group notes. Three pages for names and phone numbers, then just under twenty two-page entries for individual books. If you're not in a book group, you're out of luck.

(4) Book stores and services. An address book, with room for three entries per page, and 18 pages long. Who's going to have 54 bookstores they need to keep information for? This is a ridiculous use of space.

(5) Passages. Blank, lined pages for recording favorite passages. This is an okay section.

The ideal book would be a combination of this and A Book Lover's Journal. The layout of Reader's Journal is nicer, and it's spiral bound, but so much space is wasted on stupid things that I don't think I'll be using it. A pity. It's an attractive little book.