The Life of a Bookworm

I have played around with bullet journaling in the past, but never could stick with it. I wanted to start off with my journal looking fancy and amazing like all the YouTube videos and Pinterest posts. Recently, however, I finally came to the realization that my bullet journal is mine and it’s okay if it doesn’t look perfect. It’s not supposed to be copying someone else’s ideas anyway; it is a place for my own ideas and creativity. I’m not saying I don’t look to YouTube and Pinterest for inspiration. I definitely have been watching a lot of ( & probably too many) videos to see how other readers set up their reading spreads.

I re-started a bullet journal at the end of September so I used those days to decide how I wanted to set up my journal for the month of October. I didn’t do the beginning pages with an index and a key like most people seem to do. I may regret not having an index later…I may have to just insert an extra page by taping it to the front cover. <<shrug>>

My first pages are filled with my 2019 Reading Challenge that I set for myself on goodreads. My goal is 75 books this year and so far I have completed 33. Yes, I know I am WAAAAY behind. At this point, I will be glad to hit 50 by Dec. 31st. 😬

Next, we get into my October pages. I decided to do a monthly cover page and then have a 2-page spread for the monthly overview. The layout for the overview was inspired by a Pinterest post. I was scrolling through monthly spread ideas looking for something simple and this one stood out to me.

Next, we get to my October Reads page where I will be keeping track of all the books I read throughout the month and the format of each. I decided to use some stickers I had picked up at Hobby Lobby for this page. I thought the brown color fit well with a fall-type theme. I also included my ratings under the title of each book so I wouldn’t have to flip to the beginning of my journal and search the list if I wanted to remember how I felt about each one.

This next page is my favorite so far. I had tried keeping up with a mood tracker when I started journaling previously, but wasn’t happy with the way I couldn’t draw out the amazing, complex patterns I had seen on Pinterest. This layout caught my eye one night and I decided to try it and I figured at the very least, I just wouldn’t draw the painter.The paint stripes and paint can seemed easy enough, but I ended up drawing the painter in pencil first to see how well it would turn out and I was really happy with the result! Most of the stuff I have written or drawn, I do in pencil first and then go over it in pen when I get it to look right.

After that page, I have gotten a little less creative so far and only have a few “list” pages. I have a shopping list page where I tape a small notepad page with washi tape so I can make a list and then remove and replace it easily. I have a page set up for home projects since we just moved into this house a year ago and still have a lot of home improvement and decorating we would like to do. I have a page dedicated to a couple of readathons that take place this month that I would like to participate in. These will be my first! I hadn’t heard of readathons until I recently discovered the BookTube community (thanks to a friend & co-worker). 😃

My readathons page is a little hard to read because of the way I used my Crayola SuperTips markers to highlight it with. I didn’t want to use traditional highlighters because I wanted more choice of color, but I also didn’t want to spend too much money on supplies in case I decided not to stick with journaling again. For now, the books on my list I only wrote in pencil because those decisions are not set in stone yet. I was trying to go through what books I have currently on my shelf to see what fit each category and some of these I purchased specifically for these challenges.

So far, that is the whole of my bullet journal. I plan to add more pages eventually for other things like a bill tracker, blog ideas, craft projects, etc. And of course I will add more pages for November once it gets closer and if I’m still able to stick with it. <<fingers crossed>> I will post links down below of the supplies I am currently using in case you want to see what I started out with. If I can keep the momentum going and stick with bullet journaling, I plan to add some better supplies to my Christmas wish list. If you have any suggestions on pens/highlighters I should try out, please let me know! Also, if I can stick with bullet journaling throughout the rest of this year I want to start January off with a fresh notebook, so recommendations on those are welcome, too!

Notebook: Dot Grid (Quadrille) Sketchbook, 7-3/4 x 9-3/4 Inches, 60 Sheets
Markers: Crayola Super Tips Markers, Washable Markers, Assorted Colors, 20 Count
Pens: Pilot Precise V5 Premium Rolling Ball Pens, Extra Fine Point, Black, 6 Pack (13622)
Stickers: RedBubble, Hobby Lobby