I’ve been singing this song for a long time now but it’s worth repeating. Tracking the books you read is one of the best ways I know to improve your reading life. A book journal not only helps capture the history of what you’ve read, it helps you learn more about yourself—as a person and a reader.

While I believe every reader benefits from doing this, a physical journal is not required. If you love your digital method, that’s fantastic! Stick with it.

However, if you’ve been thinking about whether a book journal is right for you or if you’re already a journal devotee, I hope this will serve as inspiration. All you have to do is figure out how creative you’ll want to be with the format.

You can make your book journal as simple or as elaborate as you want, both with the tools you use and how complex you make your interior. If you’d rather work with a pre-set design, then pick up a copy of My Reading Life. If you’re interested in setting up your own format, then a notebook is the way to go.

I personally enjoy using—at least periodically—a wide variety of journaling tools. It keeps things interesting and—as a lifetime pen geek—it’s a small way to add pleasure to the process.

I hope you enjoy this collection of book journaling tools I’ve used over the years. I’d love to hear about your own favorites in comments!

Journals: * My Reading Life: A Book Journal is perfect for anyone who doesn’t want to set up their own system. I designed this journal to help you reflect on the books you are currently reading and to help you decide on and plan for the books you want to read.

• The Leuchtturm 1917 journal is the gold standard of bullet journalers because of its thick paper, numbered pages, and extra bookmark. I prefer the dotted. (lined | dotted | squared | plain)

• The Moleskine is another favorite journal, available in a wide variety of sizes and colors.

• Rhodia journals are high quality, with smooth paper, and come in a variety of sizes and shapes. I buy these at my local bookstore—the spiral reverse book is my favorite for brainstorming and note taking. (bound | spiral )

• A regular notebook from any big box store will get the job done.

Pens: A cheap promotional pen will work just fine but I’m a pen nerd and can’t help but share my favorites.

• The Pilot G-2 is a classic gel pen, easy to find and inexpensive. I prefer the finer .38 tip. (.5 “extra fine” | .38 “ultra fine”). I also love the similar Pilot Juice, which I find to ghost a bit less than the G-2. (I’m also having fun color-coordinating the numerous colorful Juice colors with the ROYGBIV interior of My Reading Life!)

• The Pilot Precise V5 is a smooth roller ball pen that draws a satisfying deep black line. I especially love the extra fine point retractable version.

• The Uniball Signo Micro 207 is another inexpensive, smooth-writing pen.

• Staedtler Triplus Fineliners are fine felt-tip pens available in a wide variety of beautiful colors. I especially love the grey shades for journaling because they write like pens but look like pencils on the page. (black | multi | grey)

• The Pilot 4 Color Gel Ink Multi-Pen has been bringing me joy lately.

• Sakura Microns are favored by sketchers because they write well on all kinds of paper, and the colors are intense.Also available at JoAnn Fabrics. (black variety pack | multi)

• Pilot FriXion fineliners are favorites; they’re similar to the Staedtler fineliners but write a little softer.

• Papermate Flairs are fantastic and versatile felt-tip pens. The tropical colors are my favorite.

• Sharpie pens are long-time favorites (fine point for journaling, please). (blue | multi)

• Le Pens are fun and colorful, with a sleek barrel design.

• Gellyrolls are my favorite for accenting my journal, and are also our go-to birthday gift for the younger set. (The moonlight collection is our favorite.) (moonlight | glaze | stardust)

• My Lamy Vista fountain pen is perfect for those who want to dip their toes into the world of fountain pens. I hardly ever use this in my book journal, but it’s great in Rhodia notebooks.

Pencils: I’m a pen girl, myself, but I also love a good pencil.

• The classic yellow Ticonderoga offers the best bang for the buck.

• The Blackwing is the typical gateway to the wider world of finer pencils; my favorite is the Pearl. I buy mine at my local bookstore.

• My favorite pencil sharpeners are the KUM Wood Cutter and the Mobius & Ruppert brass sharpeners.

Extras * Address and envelope guide—a handy tool for those of us that have trouble writing in a straight line. I use a Lettermate, which is no longer in stock, but there are plenty of other great options at Paper Source or your local bookstore.

• Book darts have my heart, forever and always.

• Post-its, because I use them like this.

• Washi tape can double as a book dart and is an easy way to decorate a page or mark important pages for reference.

If you want more book journaling tips, Book Journaling for Book Lovers is included free with MMD Book Club membership or non-members can purchase it for $15.

Do you have a pen you’d rather not live without, or a pencil you adore, or other book journaling tools you swear by? Tell us about them in comments.

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