For 2011, Starting a Reader's Journal

One of the side effects of being a writer is that it changes your reading habits. For me, this change was twofold: writing meant I had less time to read (oh the pain), and writing changed how I read. I can still get lost in a great story, but part of my mind notices the craftsmanship and technique the author employs much more than before I was a writer. I tend to dissect much more as I read, and this is true of books that aren't working for me as much as those that I enjoy.

Starting a couple of years ago, I've  kept a running list of books I've read, usually in my Filofax. I kept it in my planner because the list also includes books I've bought or been given, so I don't accidentally re-buy while I'm at the store. I'd just mark off each book as it was read. The list is now several pages long.

I'm thinking of starting a reading journal, where I list each book I read and a few thoughts about the book and the craftsmanship in it, maybe with a few quotes. I might keep this in a digital form (such as a Word document, or in Tinderbox)  or I might just devote an entire notebook to it, maybe a page to each book. I could imagine recording what I particularly admired about the book, favorite lines, prompts to myself (look at how well Character A was developed, notice the structure used in the finale, that worked well. . ) and so on. I don't think this would take much time to maintain and would pay big writerly dividends.

If you keep a reading journal, tell me about it in the comments. I'll report back in a few weeks on how my own reader's journal is going.