4 Reader Tools for Ultimate Bookworm Readiness

Every bookworm has her / his own way of navigating the literary world. Some speed through the journey with each finished book shooting past the rearview mirror. Others enjoy the sway of storylines as it tugs along, tucking every detail into memory.

However you take your adventures, every bookworm can benefit from having reader tools close at hand. Every tool may not be used on every single occasion. And that’s totally fine. A handyperson doesn’t use a hammer at every job, but s/he always keeps one in the toolbox, no?

Although these reader tools may be no-brainers for many of us, we can benefit from being conscious of our options. Awareness breeds intention, and intention drives our creative lives. If that sounds like a plan, let’s take a look . . .

Bookmarks

My favorite part about physical books (besides sniffing them at every possible moment) is the endless variety of bookmarks I could use with ’em. Options range from budget-friendly to high quality, from store receipts to laminated beauties. The sky’s the limit.

You could DIY, purchase, or improvise.

• If you enjoy creating your own personal masterpieces, take a look at Sea Lemon’s video for pop-on bookmarks or Internet DIY’s video for origami bookmarks.  Both are simple & easy-to-follow.
• If you’d like to support the literary community, check out Gina and Brittany’s collection at Behind the Pages. These selections are series-themed (like Hunger Games, Beautiful Creatures, and Harry Potter) and are ready for printing!
• And if you delight in improvising, consider using your business card so you’re ready to share it with people who strike up a conversation. All the more reason for people to check out what you’re up to as an author / entrepreneur.

Reading Log

The ability to look back at all the books you’ve devoured in a year can be so exciting and can serve as motivation for the following year. Whether written or typed, a reading log can not only keep track of the books but also your rating and the time it took for you to complete each.

If you’ve signed up for The Write Spread newsletter already, you can access The Creative’s Toolkit, which includes a reading and a writing log, in the Hint of Jam Resource Library. Print it out or store it in your computer to record your awesome book dragon prowess.

Alternatively, you could keep track of the books you’ve read by sharing with a community like Goodreads and the Online Book Club. Sharing with others means you can interact with other book dragons. Yay! Plus, you could find suggestions you might not have ever encountered on your own.

Note-taking supplies

Whether digital or manual note-taking, we should have a place to store poignant moments in our reading adventures. Some books require more thoughtful notes than others, but having something ready is always a good idea. Maybe a quote stood out to you, a technique the author used was clever, or a word that’s new-to-you sounds like something you’d like to use in the future. Write (or type) ‘em down!

You can use a pocket notebook or a note-taking app. If you’re like me, you like to minimize the stuff you tote around, so I use Evernote for everything. I can conveniently access my notes from two devices (my laptop and cellphone), and the storage limit sits nicely at 60 MB / month for FREE. Win-win!

Bonus: Sticky notes

When a physical book I’ve purchased for myself speaks to me, I sometimes write in the margins. Gasp! Jamae, how could you? Calm down, I don’t do it all the time. As I said, the book has to have deep meaning for me to write in it. Like A Thousand Days in Venice (affiliate link). I wrote every thought and note down into the margins and in between the lines.

If you fancy ebooks, you might combine your note-taking and journaling by highlighting the line and typing it directly into the reading app of your choice. So much you can do with reading apps these days.

However, when I still have the urge to write in a book that isn’t mine (e.g. borrowed from the library or a friend), I use sticky notes instead. You can purchase plain ones on Amazon or the artistic kinds in specialty shops. One of my favorite stores in the Philippines is Regina Gift Shop in Shoppesville at Greenhills, Manila, because they have boxes upon boxes of cute sticky notes. Ah! I can spend hours scouring the shelves.

Feel out the experience of the book before settling on your preferred method of exploration. Maybe the thriller series you’ve picked up requires less meticulous attention and more flying by the seat of your pants. Maybe the romance novel is a quick read so a brief summary in your reading journal would suffice. But have your reader tools close at hand, always at the ready whenever you need ’em.

Make the journey work for you. Honor what your heart and mind lead you to do. Enjoy the bookworm life, lovely.

Reading logs, action plan workbooks, and Creative’s Fine Lines Bootcamp. Oh, my! Access these and many others like ’em in the Hint of Jam Resource Library through signing up for The Write Spread newsletter by clicking here or on the banner below, lovely.