Reading Journal Trial Run

I've discussed doing my own reading journal. My pages haven't turned out nearly as gorgeous as I'd hoped. I mean, I knew it wouldn't measure up to a lot of other people's journals because art stuff doesn't come naturally to me, but I didn't think it would be as bad as it is.

I have a different plan for next year, but in the meantime, I decided to try using stickers. I found a sticker maker who does all kinds of reading stickers and ordered the August kit. Well, I ordered part of the kit à la carte because the kit had two pages of stickers I knew I wouldn't use.

The shop also had an August reading challenge, and I did buy that kit. Which was probably something I should have skipped since I'm still struggling with that big reading challenge that I joined late, but I did it anyway because I like the challenges so much.

This is the first time I've done a monthly spread in my reading journal. I'd been keeping track via the list I have at the front of the journal, but I was thinking I would split out the months going forward. There was also matching bookshelf washi tape available, so I picked that up, too.

In addition to the August bookshelf page, I also have the facing page with the list of books releasing in August. I got too excited and added a non-August book, but there was no way to erase it, so I'll live with it. Because of the size of the stickers for Most Anticipated, Books Bought, and Books Releasing This Month, I used some butterfly stickers to fill the white space. 

These two pages hold the reading challenge stickers. I started out with all six prompts on the left hand page, but then realized I wouldn't be able to put down book covers for each of the prompts. I readjusted onto both pages. That left a great big chunk of white space on the lower right, so I added two butterflies in that location. Then I added a butterfly sticker and butterfly washi tape to the left side so that it looked more cohesive.

Here is a close up of the butterfly page. I colored them in with glitter markers, although I'm not sure that comes through in the picture. It looks very nice in person. Okay, it looks reasonably nice. I had trouble with the stamps for both butterflies and white out tape was required to get rid of the smudging.

It's Tool Time!

While I love my current desk, it has one drawback. It's very narrow. I also have a very hard time keeping it clear, so when I saw a little stand in an ad, I was intrigued. And when it went on sale, I bought it.

Of course, some assembly was required.

The instructions said you needed two people to put the stand together, but I did it on my own without much difficulty. It just took a little bit of work to balance the pieces without someone holding them for me. Not a big deal.

My dad always checked the pieces before he began putting things together, but I didn't feel like it, so I decided to wing it. I actually had one extra of each screw and fastener, so it was okay. No half-finished projects sitting on my office floor.

Well, assembly projects. I do have some half-finished knitting projects sitting on the floor. :-)

Luckily, the instructions were clear and all the parts were labeled. This helped it be an easy task.

As you can see in the picture above, the stand came flat-packed in a small box.

This picture shows the first two pieces attached to each other. We're underway!

This picture shows the stand upside down as I attach the bottom piece. I just need to put the screws in and tighten them.

This picture is the finished stand with the top freshly attached. Done!

 

I thought I would use the stand to get the laptop off my desk, but the cord between my docking station and the laptop isn't long enough. I could buy another cord, but I moved my writer's planner to the stand instead. This is actually working really well because I have it close enough that I can lean over and read my writing to do list whenever I need to.

Before I moved the planner, I was worried having a separate one for writing was going to be another fail. I wasn't looking at it. Once I moved it to the stand, where it's close at hand, I began to use it every day. This planner is still an experiment, but after the shift in location, it seems to be working.

I'm Confused

One more reading post this week. If you're a newsletter subscriber, you've already read this story.

I joined another reading challenge in July, one that started in January and goes for the full year, so I am scrambling to get caught up.

Also, some of the prompts have me going, Um, what do I read for this one? Luckily, StoryGraph lets me check what other people recorded for the prompt and that's how I ended up reading Nora Roberts' The Awakening.

Not only do I need a book that fits the prompt, but it also either needs to be on my eReader already, or the library has to have it. My library had the Nora book and I didn't have to wait to get the book. It was available! Yea!

I didn't realize this was the first book in a three book fantasy (with romantic elements) series. I'm really more of a romance girlie than fantasy. I'm not even a huge fan of most romantasy, although that has a large part to do with how dark most of the ones I tried were. I don't do dark anymore. I don't enjoy it. There is one series that's romantasy that I have absolutely loved, but it's humorous.

But I digress. Anyway, I read The Awakening and then I hit the ending and I was like OMG! I immediately checked out the next book in the series, which also was immediately available at my library. I devoured The Becoming, even staying up way too late to read. I started reading again the next morning, and as soon as I finished the second book, I went to check out the third (and final) book of the series.

And discovered my library didn't have it.

Did you hear my scream echoing through the world?

What kind of sadistic librarian buys the first two books in a three book series and doesn't buy the third (and final) book? That's just cruel!

I live near Atlanta and Georgia has a statewide library lending program, so I went on there looking for the final book. I found it, but the wait list is five weeks. FIVE WEEKS! I want to read it now!

So far, I've checked the Libby app like fifty gazillion times, hoping to get it early. I want to finish this series now, not next month.

And I got lucky. After one week, the hold became available. As I'm writing this, I'm 53% into The Choice by Nora Roberts.

I Stand Alone

I have a very unpopular opinion. After much trial and error, I've decided that I don't like audiobooks for fiction.

Nonfiction? Yes, I love audiobooks for nonfiction, but I find it frustrating in fiction.

I'm not sure why, exactly. Part of it might be how fast I read. I find it annoying to be held back by the speed the narrator can speak at.

Another reason I came up with is that I can skim or even skip things I'm either not interested in or don't want to read. For example, lots of description or something that gives me secondhand embarrassment for the hero or heroine (usually the heroine).

I thought I could listen while I was doing stuff around the house, but that's when I tend to listen to podcasts. Despite having audiobooks from the library with due dates, I still reach for my podcasts rather than listen to a story.

When I had a monthly audiobook subscription, about 95% of the books I picked up were nonfiction. In the beginning, I bought a few fiction series, but I almost always used my credit for nonfiction. It should have dawned on me before now that it meant something.

Anyway, I currently have an audiobook with 8 days remaining until the library takes it back and I have no desire to listen to it. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have the same reaction if I was reading the ebook. This isn't the only audiobook I've reacted to in this way. There have been books I loved and then listened to the audiobook and was like, no.

My theory on why I like nonfiction is that it's more like listening to a podcast or a lecture where I'm learning something, not trying to sink into the world of the story.

I know I'm in the minority, but it's just the way my brain works. Of course, if it's the only way to get the story I want to read, then I'll do it. My library sometimes gets the audiobook, but not the ebook. I just prefer to read myself. 

The Hobby Keeps Expanding

As you can see from the photo beside this text, I'm still struggling to stamp and have it look like an adult did it and not a five-year-old child. I don't know why this is so hard for me, but it totally is.

I guess maybe I just need to sit down and stamp and stamp until I can do it?

Anyway, I'm going to talk about a couple crafting companies, but they did NOT sponsor me. I paid for everything from both of them with my own money. I also bought the Tombow marker pictured, too.

My obsession with the Currently idea started when I saw the Cocoa Daisy Flutterby August Deluxe Journaling Kit, which is apparently impossible to get your hands on? I wait listed myself for it more than once and have never heard back. The Deluxe Journaling Kit had a Currently stamp with Reading, Listening, Watching, and one other event that I can't remember.

I wanted the entire Flutterby kit because I loved the butterflies so much, but most of all, I wanted that stamp. I didn't get it.

Then I heard about a Layle By Mail and that she sells an acrylic pencil board to help stampers get a crisp stamp in a journal. Since I thought this might help me with at least one of my stamping issues, I headed over there to buy it. And while I was there, I took a look around at other things. Because of course I did. :-)

And I found she had a Currently set of stamps. She actually had a Currently bundle of two stamp sets. Since the "Writing" prompt was in set 2, I bought the bundle. I really like this stamp set. It's exactly what I wanted and it's at least as cute as the one I wasn't able to buy from Cocoa Daisy. Layle By Mail also has the added benefit of more prompts. A lot more.

So I guess things worked out for the best. I got the Currently set that I wanted with a ton of more items I can track. I don't want to do twenty things, but maybe in 2026, I can pick a selection that I stamp (and update) every week. That might be an interesting way to keep track of the year.

And of course, just because I didn't get the Cocoa Daisy kit I wanted doesn't mean I didn't get anything. I am now a Creative Kit subscriber. Yeah. This latest hobby of mine is exploding.