This year, I wanted to start keeping a reading journal.

That’s certainly not a revolutionary idea, but I still managed to get stuck on a simple technical consideration: should I use a dedicated journal? Or write them in my existing journal, next to my usual entries? But then, how would I be able to easily spot my reading entries and distinguish them from the journal entries?

In the end, I decided I would do everything in my existing journal but that I would write reading entries in a different color from standard journal entries. It’s simple enough while still making it very easy to instantly tell them apart.

What would you do?

Have you decided on a New Year resolution related to journaling? Maybe to start journaling? Or to journal more, or more regularly? Or you want to start sketching in your journal, or to decorate it in some other fashion? Something else?

And have you decided on a backup resolution, in case your main resolution does not go as planned?

For 2025, I’ve decided on two things related to my reading journal. They are not huge or radical changes, mind you. They’re stuff I want to get better at because I know they will help a lot my readings.

1. I want to read less randomly. So, I have made a six month worth reading list (6 months to begin with, to see how well it goes) that I will stick to no matter what. My issue is that I have a real tendency to drop whatever book I’m reading and start reading whatever new or shiny book I can get my hands on, which doesn’t help me move forward in the other book(s).
2. To systematically—systematically, like in ‘making it into a true habit to’—write down a short review (summary + comment) for every book I’ve read. Was well as for anything else I will watch or listen to during that same 6 months time frame. I’ve been doing that for essays and for other serious stuff already, but I've recently realized I could not remember that well old novels and short stories I've read. So, I think it’s worth doing it for those too.

My backup plan is kinda cheating as it's there to help me not fail in my main resolutions (to read less randomly, and take more notes about the books I read):

1. Take reading notes with every single book (or podcast). Not summarizing or analyzing it in any ways, just jotting down stuff and impressions as they occur to me. Like I used to do much younger, writing down in the margins or underlining passages save that this time I will not be doing it in the book itself (most of what I read is borrowed and when it is not I will give either give it away or resell it after reading). Doing that, even if I fail to write the short review in time I should still be able to quickly read through my notes and make something out of them.
2. The reading list itself contains more books than I can read in six months. That is on purpose as I want to be able to switch book if I realize I can’t read one or another. For example, in that list there is Proust À la recherche du temps perdu one I’ve already tried (and failed) multiple times to read in the last 30 years. I still want to give it a chance but I know there is a high probability I will fail again and since I certainly don’t want to turn reading into a chore, if it happens once more Proust doesn’t suit me I still want to be able to switch to another author. The only thing that matters here is that I stick to the reading list.

Btw, let me know if you're interested in looking at that list or if it's something you would like to discuss more?

It comprises both English and French books but should cover a wide range of topics, from essays (philosophy, sociology, stuff like that) to fictions, spirituality, poetry, as well as plays. Starting with my undisputed favorite French playwright next to Racine: Molière). But fear not, if there are indeed quite a few classics in that list (some older than Molière) there is also a few more recent authors... and don't forget it's just for 6 months, so the second half of the year could easily and entirely be devoted to our contemporaries ;)

A nice and welcoming place to discuss anything related to keeping a journal, a diary, a planner, a bullet journal, art/junk journal.
Paper and digital alike.

!journaling@sh.itjust.works

A fountain pen, plus a notebook, plus some ink can make for a very much appreciated gift.

The issue is that it can cost a fortune—what about a 465$ notebook and this estimated 1 million dollars diamond incrusted fountain pen?

The good news is that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get a great starter (and more) journaling kit.

The following prices are indicative and based on the prices in my region (Paris, France) and on the prices of the EU online shops I generally use. No idea how much those cost in your region of the world but, in any case, don’t be afraid to compare from one shop to the next, as prices can vary widely.

• Approx 9€, for the Art Creation sketchbook, from Royal Talens. 
The model in the photo is A5 but they’re available in A6, A4, and square formats too. It has a rigid cover available in a few flashy colors (or in black). It’s sturdy but it will lay flat when opened. It comes with a smooth ivory-colored 140gsm paper that’s great with a fountain pen and can also be used for light watercolors wash. Note that it’s a sketchbook, not your standard notebook, which means it’s plain paper and there is no lines, no dots, no nothing to guide your handwriting (it’s a matter of a few hours to get used to it).
• Approx 5€, the Platinum Preppy fountain pen with an Extra Fine nib (also available in Fine, Medium). 
It’s the cheapest quality fountain pen I know while still being a really good writer! It’s that good that despite owning much more expensive models the Preppy is one of my three daily drivers.
• Ink option 1: approx 5-6€ for a pack of official Platinum cartridges. Cartridges are easy to use but offer a limited selection of colors. Note that each new fountain pens already come with one ink cartridge.
• Ink Option 2: the official ink converter from Platinum, 5-10€ (the 'Silver' and 'Gold' model will both work, here again price can vary depending where you buy).
  A converter allows to use bottled ink instead of the standard cartridges and it’s a single time purchase since you can easily refill it with your ink of choice.
• Add to that a bottle of fountain pen ink (never put non-fountain pen ink in a fountain pen). The Waterman Serenity blue I suggest is a classic but there is an almost endless number of inks available. It’s also among the cheapest at 5,50€ for a 50 ml bottle on Amazon Fr. For comparison, a cartridge will contain between 0.6 to 1.2ml. So, 50 ml will go a long way.

If the gift is for a child, cartridges are the best choice since they’re much simpler and quicker to use, and because it’s way too easy to accidentally spill your brand new (aka full) bottle of ink on your dining table and watch it drip on your carpet—don’t ask me ;)

Any downside to this combo? Two minor ones, both related to the fountain pen itself:

1. The plastic the Preppy is made of seems more fragile. The cap can easily be damaged. Which is real sad because it also must be the best cap I have ever encountered, no matter the pen price (capping is essential with any fountain pen, otherwise they will dry real quick and you really do not want that to happen).
2. The Preppy looks a lot more like your standard and cheap gel pen than like a nice fountain pen.
   I don’t care about that for my own use, but as a gift it may be worth considering.

If that bothers you, check the next bundle which includes the same sketchbook and the same bottle of blue ink, plus:

• Approx 25€, for a Lamy Safari fountain pen.
  The Lamy Safari is the full plastic model, not to be mistaken with the similar looking but aluminum Lamy AL-Star. Like with the Preppy, you can chose a nib, this time ranging from Extra Fine to Broad.
• Approx 5€ for the official Lamy converter (either the Lamy Z26 or the Lamy Z28 will work) + you choice of ink in bottle.
• Or the official Lamy cartridges. I don’t give a price here because it will vary a lot, so do some comparison. Each pen comes with one blue cartridge.

The Lamy Safari is now considered a classic but it is still unique, with its simple blocky design and its bright colors. What’s great with that fountain pen is that it was designed for kids. Why does it matter?

First, the pen is sturdy (ABS plastic is solid) and, like most beginner fountain pens, its nib is steel which makes it… reliable and able to endure even the clumsier hands. That said, like all nibs, they don’t like at all being dropped on a hard surface.

Then , it’s not just fancy design. It was developed to help kids learn proper fountain pen handling. Hence the triangular-ish shape of its grip which makes sure one can only grip it right and put the nib at the correct angle to the paper. For beginners, it's a real advantage that can remove a lot of frustration when the fountain pen is not hold correctly.

Free bonus: picking the right nib size

There si a lot to be said about picking a nib, from its size and its width, to the alloy it is made of, it's flexibility and smoothness, and so on. But a beginner should only worry about its width, aka the fatness of the line it will write.

It goes from Extra Fine, to fine, to Medium, to to Broad. There are others, those are the most common.

One issue is that there is no standard agreed upon. Which means a Fine from brand A may be a Medium with brand B. Funny, right? What's even funnier is that some brands will even not use a single standard for all their products.

To hep you chose, you can keep those two simple rules of thumb in mind:

• The smaller the handwriting, the thinner you will want you nib to be.
  Note that the thinner the nib the less smooth it will often also feel. So, it's always a matter of finding the right equilibrium between various factors.
• It's admitted Japanese nibs are thinner than their German counterparts. Meaning a Fine from Germany will be larger than a Fine from Japan.
  Why does it matter? Well, most nibs will either be Japanese or German-made. How can you tell where it comes from? You need to do some reasearch but in our case: Preppy is Japanese brand and Lamy is German brand (Pilot is Japanese too, while Twsbi although being Asian uses German-made nibs). So a Fine from Lamy or Twsbi will be a tad larger than a fine from Preppy or Pilot.

If it is for a child, I would go with a Medium nib for the Preppy and the Lamy (maybe a Fine for Lamy if the child write real small). Why? A Medium nib will be the smoothest to use and probably the more able to withstand poor handling.

For an adult, I would pick depending their handwriting. In doubt, I would still go with a Medium but, really, having an idea of the handwriting can help a lot.

To give you an idea, I happily use an Extra Fine from Lamy and it's OK-ish to use their Fine (it's already a bit large for my tiny handwriting) where I can use Extra-Fine and Fine from Preppy without any issue, and I can even use their Medium when I don't have a choice.

Other recommandations?

The two fountain pens I mentioned are part of my daily drivers (and that is despite owning much, much more expensive fountain pens). And since I started using the Art Creation sketchbooks, I quit using all other notebooks... Here again, that is despite having access to much more expensive brands and even having learned, a few decades ago, how to bind my own notebooks using my paper of choice.

They are what I consider an excellent compromise between price and quality and ease of use (nothing beats binding your own notebook with the paper you love the most, you just won't be doing it as quickly (or as cheaply) as you can enter a shop, or click Buy).

There are many others to pick from.

• Be it for notebooks. Brands like Leuchtturm 1917, Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Tomoe River,...
• For fountain pens: Twsbi (edit: check their Twsbi Eco, this one doesn't even use cartridge and oes not need a convert: it uses its internal piston filling mechanism), Pilot (check 'Pilot Metropiltain*, even if I do not use thine one (I'm a fan of other Pilot fountain pens) a lot people like it for good reasons),...
• Inks: Pilot (my favorites inks are from Pilot), Pelikan, Parker, Herbin,... And that is not even considering special inks, like fountain pen water-resistant inks:

De Atramentis Document ink, Roher & Klinger Sketch Ink, and (in black only) Platinum Carbon Black are three brands selling waterproof inks I use (mostly Platinum and DeAtramentis Document, but I have no issue with R&K either). One can also find a few from Noodler's, USA but I have not been their customer for almost 2 decades so I have no idea what's available anymore.

My questions, to you

Do you have any favorite fountain pen or other writing device, notebook or ink you would recommend or would use as a gift? Feel free to tell us what they are, and why you like them!

Also, let me know if this the kind of content you're interested to read more often, or if you think it doesn't belong here.

edit: typos. Re-edit: added a few references I forgot to mention for alternative fountain pens.

I have not. Not a single line written since the 6, and I write this on the 16.

All I have is a shaky pencil note saying 'Jeudi 12. Malade.' as for the last four days, I was simply too sick to be able to sit at my desk, and I was exhausted from the lack of sleep.

But even if I could not find any good excuse, that would still be fine with me to not be constantly writing in my journal. I have been keeping a journal of some sort for almost 50 years and during that time I have made many pauses. Some of which lasted a year, or two. That's part of the process as far as I'm concerned.

What I have recently started doing when such a break happens is to write down a quick summary for the concerned days (it has been a while since I have had a break lasting more than a week or two), writing down the few the things I consider noteworthy, or the ones I can remember. Like how I almost suffocated to death yesterday laughing so hard and coughing and trying to catch my breast at the same time, because of that silly joke my spouse was telling me ;)

Are you OK with breaks/interruptions in your journals, or are you trying your best to be consistant?

I've recently started trying to revitalize a niche community (!journaling@sh.itjust.works) that had been silent for a year or so, simply by posting more content. I have been made a moderator by the instance owners (so I could do any cleaning/maintenance if that was needed).

I have been posting for almost a month and got my very first new post, by another user than me I mean, in the last 24h. That was so effing cool! And it also was real good content for our niche.

That said, I still want to post more stuff.

And I would like to also renew the old banner and icon which I think is meh. I even made a mock-up I wanted to put online and then see if members liked it. That's when I started worrying it might be a very stupid idea.

I don't want members to feel like I'm taking hold of anything. My sole objective is to encourage more people to post more, and to help make the community as welcoming and alive as I can. But by doing too much I'm afraid I would only make members feel I'm making it 'mine'.

Instead of doing that, I considered asking all members their opinion about renewing the banner, and invite them to submit their own propositions. But, here again, I'm worrying:

1. They could feel bombarded by my too many posts and/or intimidated by my invitation to participate.
2. And then, if we were to organize some friendly competition, how would I (and why me?) pick the winning proposition? By a vote? Sure, but then I'm afraid people would encourage their friends to vote for them which would not be fair to people with fewer friends.

So, here I am. A bit naive and afraid I could do more arm than good.

What do you think? Do I worry too much?

Do you have any practical suggestion? Should I post less? Should I give up on that banner idea? (I really think a new and less serious banner could help but it's also not an obsession, so...)

I added a limited selection of links to (what I consider) interesting Lemmy communities, in the sidebar.

• As a fountain pen user myself, the !fountainpens@lemmy.world seemed quite obvious. Note that I would love to add a link to a Bic/ballpoint pen, pencil, and to other writing implements communities, if you know any or feel like creating a new one :)
• The !pkms@lemmy.blahaj.zone is all about Personal Knowledge Management which, in its own unique way, a journal can also be. If you’re wondering, next to my journal I also write a lot in my Zetellkasten and yep, like my journal it is an analog one: after many years and many attempt trying and trying again to be full digital I decided it was time to fully commit to analog.
• !artshare@lemmy.world and !watercolor@lemmy.ml are all about posting art. I don’t know about you, but I like art books a lot and I also like to look at art online. I also sketch in my journal and even though I'm no artist, I like that a lot. I find it inspiring to look at the work of others.

Are there other communities that you would like to suggest? It goes without saying but better be clear: no politics, no hate, no porn. Only stuff that you think relates to journaling in some way. Do you know a community around office supply or notebooks or a community dedicated to sketching, maybe?

What do you think about having those links? Is it a ‘Yeah!’ or is it a ‘Nay’?

Keep in mind this is only a proposition, let your voice be heard :)

Edit: in case you did not noticed it, I also slightly updated the rules/description.

It is a recurring topic on the reddit Journaling sub, Mom accidentally read my Journal, or My cousin read my diary, and so on. Bet it a cousin, a dad, a mom (my mom read my journal when I was a kid and my life changed, not for the best), siblings, SO, colleagues,... People may rightfully feel devastated after someone read their journal without their permission.

It goes without saying that no one should read a journal without being invited to. And that there is no such thing as an 'accidental reading' of a journal.

Anyone accidentally reading more than a few words of the first page in a journal is doing it on purpose. They decided to read (a little, or a lot more of) the intimate thoughts and words of another other person because they wanted to read it.

Do you protect the privacy of your journal? And if so, how?

I used to, as a kid (after the 'mom even' I mentioned). I learned to replace names with fictitious ones, and to hide my journal in odd places. I also very quickly learned to write in English, because she could not read English and because, back in those days, there was no such thing as the Internet with instant-translation. Also, I knew very well she would never dare ask anyone to translate it for her, she was way too afraid of people reaction and judgment. She did try to coerce me into translating it, though... with little luck. Later, I learned to... destroy all my old journals, in order to preserve my privacy.

As a young adult, I kept it hidden in a box or in a drawer with a lock.

And as a less young adult, I quit hiding it. I did kept regularly destroying it, alas. A sad habit I only quit recently.

Nowadays, my journal sits on my desk (and the few remaining old ones are in plain sight on a bookshelf). My spouse could easily take it and read it the moment I turn away. But I know she would never do that, not without me telling her to read it. Like she knows I would never go through her paper without her permission. In the 25 years we’ve been together, we’ve learned to trust each other and to be OK with not sharing everything together, We both have our little if not secret at least they're private gardens. But I also realize I’m very lucky to live with someone like her.

Have you ever experimented such an intrusion in your privacy? Or would that be ok for you?

If privacy matters to you, how do you manage to protect it? Do you ask to your SO other, or kids or whomever to simply respect your privacy, do you store it in some place? Do you use a password protected digital journal? Or?

Digital is safer?

As much as I prefer a paper and pen journal, I must admit that a digital journal is probably the best option for anyone concerned with privacy.

Be it in most word processors, like LibreOffice Writer (which is free), MS Word, or even Apple Pages, it’s very easy to password protect a document so no one can open it without knowing that password. And if you’re using a dedicated journaling app (like DayOne that I have used for many, many years next to my paper journal), there is an option to password protect it. And I'm pretty sure it's the case with most if not all apps.

Feel free to share your own experience!

One of the reasons I see people advance when explaining why they gave up on regularly keeping a journal—a pen and paper journal, I mean—is that writing longhand can be exhausting.

Sadly, they’re right.

One can quickly get cramped fingers or a tired hand and wrist, which won’t do much to encourage anyone to pick up their pen and write a little more in their journal.

But what’s even sadder is that there is an easy fix: use the right pen.

OK, to be exact there are three things one should consider:

• the paper used,
• the position we're sitting in and the ergonomics in general,
• the pen used.

In conjunction, they can as easily drain all our energy or help preserve it tremendously. And writing is all about managing one's energy.

Imho, of those three things the simplest thing to change is the pen. To find one that will work great for you. One that you will enjoy writing with, instead of dreading it.

Take the ballpoint pen for example.

I'm willing to bet it's the most widely used writing device anywhere on the planet. From the cheap Bic crystal to the expensive Montblanc Meisterstück, even the classic Jotter from Parker, all ballpoint pens work exactly the same. They use a tiny ball to dispense an oil-based (aka thick) ink when they're pressed hard enough on the sheet of paper. They're incredibly reliable and practical. They can be used in almost any position and anywhere—even in space.

Alas, it's also the one requiring the most force to write with (even the space pen requires force, just a different one). As one does need to press them hard enough on the paper otherwise it will not leave a mark and because one needs force, one also needs to grip it tight.

A ballpoint pen is a great tool but if you have any excessive fatigue writing with one, or with any other tool for that matter, imho it’s worth trying something different.

Ballpoint pen, gel pen, rollerball, pencils, markers, fountain pen, maybe a dip pen and why not the quill, and I certainly forgot to name quite a few others.

What's you favorite? And do you have one dedicated to journaling?

My favorite depends on what I’m writing. For short notes on the go, I’m an official fan of the cheap Bic and the Uniball Eye (this one is a rollerball pen). For years, I also used one of those Bullet Space Pen (it was incredibly reliable). For anything longer than a short note? I’m a fountain pen guy.

Alas, unlike with a ballpoint pen, there are many wrong ways to use a fountain pen which can make the experience less than... effortless.

Back in my days, it was part of the lessons but since kids aren't been taught to use a fountain pen anymore there is a high risk that even the more adventurous may not fully enjoy using a fountain pen if they try one. Simply because they aren't taught how to properly use it.

In case you would like to know more about that, here is a great introductory video on the subject: How to Write with a Fountain Pen. It’s made by the Goulet Pens Company, a fountain pen seller in the USA. I’m not affiliated with them, I'm not even one of their customers. It's just an overall excellent series of advice. You may also watch their other beginner videos. And here is a written article which is excellent too, this one was made by JetPens, another US seller I’m not affiliated with: How to Write with a Fountain Pen.

Before I leave you, I have a request

Let me know if you think this kind of topic is interesting or if you think it does not belong here. Obviously, I find it interesting but I’m also experimenting stuff, trying to find ways to encourage people to post and to comment. So, any feedback will be appreciated :)

Hello guys,

I'm new to the community but have been a Zettelkasten user for quite some time.

The thing is that my Zettelkasten is full analog, not digital. Yep, I use some pen to write on index cards that are then stored in boxes. Like some caveman ;)

It's low-tech not because I'm averse to digital, mind you. It's just that I prefer being able to freely spread and order my index cards on a table as I see fit, and a few other reasons like that (like being away from a screen).

Is the community digital-only, or would that be OK to post about analog too?

Thx

J’ai très envie de créer une communauté dédiée au Zettelkasten qui est, pour la poignée de personnes qui ne connaitraient pas déjà, la version Allemande du kama… Heu, non, c'est pas ça. C'est une technique de prise et de gestion des notes formalisée par un universitaire allemand.

Bref, c’est un truc qui ne s’adresse pas exclusivement aux universitaires (j’en suis pas un) mais qui reste très niche. Cela n’aidera évidemment pas à attirer des masses d’annonceurs, j’en suis conscient.

Là où ça devient carrément encore plus niche, c’est que si je crée cette communauté, elle sera focus sur la version ‘papier’ ou analogique du zettelkasten (des fiches bristol dans une ou plusieurs boites à chaussures, en gros) et pas sur les nombreuses déclinaisons digitales qui sont plus populaires de nos jours. Je suis certain que c’est très bien, et j’en ai testé un paquet moi-même, mais j’ai jamais réussi à y trouver la même souplesse que dans mes ‘vieilles’ fiches bristol toutes bêtes, du coup je me sentirais mal placé pour modérer quoi que ce soit de ce point de vue (et j'ai aussi un peu peur que ma pauvre version paper soit noyée sous un flot de conversations digitales). Bref, si c'est analogique ça va encore attirer moins de monde.


Du coup, je me dis que le plus sage ce serait de la créer en anglais, pour qu’un max de monde s’y sente les bienvenus.

En lisant le descriptif de Jlail.lu dans la barre latérale, je lis que l'utilisateur anglophone est bienvenue. mais je ne sais pas si cela implique d'accueillir une communauté ouvertement et hypothétiquement complètement anglophone? Ou bien vous diriez que mes fiches bristol et moi ont peut aller se faire fry an egg chez les rosbifs ou chez les yankees? :P

It's a question I just read on our Reddit cousin sub Journaling that’s worth sharing, imho.

The op seems to be concerned by the fear of the blank page and also seems to have a hard time expressing their emotions in written form.

Is it something that intimidates you too?

To avoid being intimidated by any new notebook, I have made it a habit to ruin its first page. Either by making some stupid drawing on it, or by staining it with ink. Like, literally staining the page.

Here is the first page of my current journal (left) and previous one (right). One is mere stains and scratchy nibs. The other is written in French and it reads 'Tuesday, 28th May 2024' (I only write the full date on the very first entry of a journal) 'To finish—therefore to start a journal' and next to this very deep thought I did a sketch of the XLR plug of my microphone that was lying on my desk.

Now, why should I care about ‘damaging’ my pretty journal? It's already a mess. And I find that incredibly liberating.

Have you ever done that? Or what else do you do to avoid the 'fear of the blank page/new notebook'? Or you simply don't care and start writing?

As for actually writing stuff in the journal, like I mentioned previously), the simplest thing I can think of is to write down the day and the date, plus some tidbits of info I value keeping. I may or may not write more below those snippets, and I may or may not do it every single day either. It doesn’t matter.

I have no set rule if I shall write in the morning to recap the previous day, or summarize the day right before I go to bed. Or write at any specific time in between.

What about you? Do you have any rules?

Lastly, what about writing down emotions? That’s very personal, obviously.

The key point to keep in mind regarding the way I journal is that I don’t care much about writing well in my journal. It’s not a novel or some paper I want anyone else to read. It's merely a collection of short and random notes about what happens around me, or in my head, I want to remember or reflect upon. So, I try to write them as they pop in my head. Well, it’s a tad more nuanced than that but it would take much longer to explain and maybe it’s worth discussing in its own thread?
What do you say?

... and how do you journal about your emotions, if at all?