As a student, Reading was always my favorite subject. It went by different names—sometimes it was Language Arts, sometimes we called it Literature, in High School we used the more official title English—but if it involved reading books, it was right up my alley. And my favorite part of Reading (Language Arts/Literature/English) was usually the Reading Response Journals (RRJs for short). Did you do these in school? It’s something we learned about in Elementary School, and it was a practice continued by my teachers in Jr. High and High School. I found so much value in the exercise that I implemented RRJs with my own students when I became a teacher.
The journals were simple: we began by folding a piece of notebook paper in half. On the top of the paper, we would write the title of the book we were reading. In the far left margin, we’d write the chapter or page number we were referencing. Then, on the left side of the page, we’d write a quote from the book. And in the right column we would respond to that quote in any number of ways: we might note a memory or personal connection to the passage; maybe we’d highlight a new vocabulary word and provide the definition; we could indicate a literary device (simile, metaphor, personification, etc.); we might make a prediction about what was coming in the story based on the passage’s foreshadowing; maybe we would write about something this passage revealed about a particular character, or about the author’s intended message; we could ask a question of the author or the text that this passage had inspired. Sometimes the quote was simply one that we liked, and we could write a brief explanation of why it spoke to us in some way.
These journals served to increase our understanding of vocabulary and various literary devices, and they helped us to thoughtfully engage with the stories and characters in our novels. They also provided fodder for the book conversations we would have as a class. Mostly, though, the purpose of these RRJs was to teach us that reading didn’t need to be a passive hobby. As readers, we were active participants in the reading process, taking in new ideas and translating them into ideas of our own. Through these thoughtful interactions, books morphed from assignment to companion as we allowed the novels to take up space on our pages and (hopefully) in our own minds and hearts.
As adults, few of us are writing Reading Response Journals as we read (though if that’s something you do, how awesome, and I’d loved to hear more!). But we do have options for interacting with the books we read. I regularly engage with my books in a handful of significant ways:
+ Highlighting: This is the simplest of my book interactions, and one that I know is controversial: many readers are appalled by the idea of marking up a book, but with very few exceptions (library books, classics/special editions that I want to keep pristine) I am a HUGE believer in leaving my literal mark on a book. (This includes my Bible, which doubles as my spiritual journal and note-taking spot during sermons and Bible studies.) While some people adopt complex highlighting systems, with various marks and colors used for different purposes, my own system is straightforward: I highlight passages that stand out to me in some way. I might like the prose or a particular turn of phrase, or it might be a quote that causes me to pause and think more deeply about some idea or life truism. If a highlighted section sparks an especially poignant insight, I might jot that down in the book’s margins or add a digital note on the Kindle app. I highlight/write in both my physical books and books that I read on Kindle, and I often look over these quotes and notes in preparing to write a book review after I have finished the book. (This is particularly true of nonfiction titles that hold a lot of information I’d like to review.) If I’m reading a physical library book, or a special book that I don’t want to mark up, or if I’m listening to an audiobook, I’ll write out the quote in the digital journal where I record book reviews before they make their way to the blog.
+ Vocabulary/historical event/geographical location deep-dives: I regularly encounter new words, places, or historical figures in my reading and I almost always use these discoveries as opportunities to learn more. This is easiest when reading on Kindle, where I can simply highlight the term to get a definition or Wikipedia explanation, but it’s not uncommon for me to pause reading a physical book to look up a word or do a quick internet search to learn more about a subject.
+ Book Tracking: There are not many things I can admit to being good at, but book tracking is one area where I fully acknowledge that I excel—to the point of being excessive. I track my books in multiple spaces including Goodreads, Storygraph, Pinterest, spreadsheet, three separate digital journals, and a print journal . . . and that’s not even accounting for the blog posts where I share almost every book I’ve read. Tracking involves less book interaction than many other forms of engagement, but I like that my book records allow me to see patterns in my reading life, and the simple act of recording helps me feel more connected to the books that become MINE once they’ve been logged.
+ Book Reviews: I will not allow myself to begin a new book until I have written a review of the book I just finished. Sometimes I wish that I could simply read a book and move on without taking time to write a review, as these reviews take quite a bit of time—time that COULD be spent on starting the next book. But when I think of how much benefit I get from writing these reviews, I can acknowledge how glad I am to have this habit in place. Writing a review enhances my appreciation for a book, increases the likelihood that I will remember what I’ve read, and forces me to reflect on personal takeaways beyond my initial gut reactions; in fact, I frequently change my final star rating after writing a review, since articulating my full thoughts forces me to nail down a genuine opinion. I regularly refer back to these reviews when trying to remember specifics of a book, or when making recommendations to other readers.
+ Book Discussions: It’s been years since I participated in a formal book club, but that doesn’t mean I never talk about books: I LOVE discussing the books I’ve read, whether or not my conversation partner has read the book too (though it’s always better if they have!). Hearing another reader’s perspective can give me a deeper understanding of a book and a broader appreciation for the author’s intent, and listening to another person’s opinion gives me a new way of seeing aspects to a story, a character, or a book theme. When I can’t have a person-to-person conversation about a book I’ve just read, reading book reviews from other readers can scratch that same itch.
+ Learning More: I always enjoy hearing from authors about their writing process: what inspired them to write a book, how the book changed between initial idea and publication, the ways the book does or does not reflect the author’s own life, etc. I will often seek out podcast interviews with an author whose book I have just read, and these interviews sometimes transform my opinion or understanding of a book. I have never been to a formal author talk, but I am sure that sort of event would be even more impactful.
As my kids’ teacher, one of my greatest goals is to raise them to be readers—and not just consumers of books (though that’s important too), but individuals who love to read books, who learn from the books they read, and who allow books to make an imprint on their lives. To that end, we spend a lot of time engaging in interactive reading activities as a family. When we read aloud, the kids listen for quotes they would like to highlight or discuss. We pause to reflect on passages or ideas that we’d like to explore further through discussion or through deeper research. We end each reading session with a conversation about what we have just read, and when we finish a book we spend time writing a book review together. I try not to get too excessive in modeling these things, because I would never want to focus so much on interpreting or reviewing books that I’ve dampened their love of reading. Thankfully (so far, at least) they seem to enjoy these deep dives as much as I do, and I believe we are ALL better readers because of it.
I understand that next-level interaction with a book isn’t for every reader. Not everyone wants to read with a highlighter in hand, or follow up every reading experience by spending an hour or more writing a review or completing book logs; for some readers, these extra steps would completely detract from the enjoyment of what for them is a passive hobby. For me, the interaction is what makes reading such a rewarding hobby. In befriending my books, I fall more in love with the books themselves and with the entire act of reading.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you on this: do you engage in any “extra steps” that enhance your reading life? How have these reading interactions made an impression on your appreciation for books? Or maybe you’re a “read it and forget it” type of reader; if that’s you, I want to know how AVOIDING all the bells and whistles works for you!
