Litsy

The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life | Suleika Jaouad

My New Year‘s resolution (which I‘m hoping to put into effect before New Year‘s) is to start journaling.

Do any keen journalers have resources they love? I‘m open to whatever — specific notebook brands, pencils (not an inkling), advice about repeated prompts or a general structure that works for you, books about the topic, etc?

Thanks for helping me get excited!

TheBookHippie I‘ve journaled since I was 12 daily. I keep four going. All four use different mediums. I do monthly prompts on here if you want to be tagged. So I guess it‘s what type and how do you want to journal. 6d

dabbe @TheBookHippie is the best journalist ever! She has scores of fabulous ideas, and she provides us with monthly journaling prompts. I have a suggestion for a literal journal:
1. Choose a journal with lines and where the ink doesn't bleed through. NYT's Wirecutter has excellent ideas.
2. Each page is devoted to a book.
3. When you finish a book, record the title, author, date you finished, and 3-6 quotes from that book that spoke to you.
That's it! 6d

monalyisha Thanks, @dabbe & @TheBookHippie! I‘m not opposed to including book-related thoughts but I‘m imagining something more self-reflective and less of a reading tracker. Really, I want to get into the practice of consistently *writing.* This feels like a good first step, and I think it will probably be good for my mental health, too. 🩵 6d

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JamieArc Yes, @TheBookHippie provides some lovely prompts. I also do this one thing where I write the numbers 1-100 and have some question, like things that fill my soul, and quickly write what those are in each number, not thinking much about it. This usually gets me writing something. 6d

JamieArc Also, check out lectio divina. While it has been used in religious context, it doesn‘t need to be. It‘s basically taking some small passage or quote, writing it out, reflecting on it, and writing about it. It‘s a practice I always want to do more of. 6d

TheBookHippie @monalyisha mine is non book. My prompts are for free writing. 🙃 or whatever you want to do. I have rage journal to use when needed -a daily journal for anxiety-a collage journal and a free write from my prompts journal. Whew right? 6d

TheBookHippie @JamieArc I do this with poetry often. 6d

TheBookHippie Horror of all horrors I don‘t log or keep track of the books I read other than once and awhile I put my library books into StoryGraph to kinda see genre wise. 6d

TheBookHippie @monalyisha a lot of my personal journal is poetry I write. I will say this, it has helped my mental health for decades and when I am not writing I can feel it. 6d

monalyisha @TheBookHippie @JamieArc I kind of like the idea of a lectio divina poetry journal. Maybe I need two. 😜 (edited) 6d

monalyisha @TheBookHippie When I went to PEI with my friend this summer, she had a journal that she wrote in everyday, which was a practice suggested to her by her therapist. I think that‘s what inspired me initially. 6d

xicanti I kept a daily journal for twenty-five years straight, at which point I was like, “Yeah; good run” and I quit. If you also want to be daily about it, I think the best thing you can do is give yourself permission to half-ass it sometimes. Some days, you‘ll want to fill forty pages with deeply personal reflections and/or some artistic stuff. Others, you‘ll just wanna jot down something quick. Either one‘s fine. Do you. 6d

TheBookHippie @monalyisha It is the best thing for anxiety I‘ve ever found. 6d

monalyisha @xicanti I used to journal as a teen but I was always too embarrassed, looking back, to let the pages exist and I‘d inevitably destroy them. 😳 Kind of a red flag there, huh? 😅 At the very least, writing my thoughts down and letting them remain will be progress! 6d

AnnCrystal A friend was telling me about a The Shadow Work Journal.

Favorite pencil, General's® by the General Pencil Company

Been searching for a USA Eco notebook.. Decomposition and Northbooks both seem promising, but I haven't found either to try (yet). 6d

zezeki I have been journaling for years, but not daily. I have gratitude practise that I do daily, but I keep that in a separate notebook. I'd also recommend using journaling prompts, there's a YT channel called struthless, he also posts about jorunaling: https://youtu.be/U8RQsJ0Q3Mo?si=ryY1kQrFNzRoD8QW 6d

Chelsea.Poole I use the “one line a day” method so it‘s not intimidating. I find that it‘s something I can maintain if I‘m not feeling intimidated by a big ol blank page each day. Nor do I have the time to write more than a small paragraph daily. Anyhoo, I‘ve filled one of these up and just began a new one in 2025: https://a.co/d/9zeSDTf They come in a variety of styles. Plus you get to look back at the previous years‘ entires as it‘s a 5 year journal. 6d

yourfavouritemixtape I am bullet-journaling and really like Rhodia Notebooks. The paper is really nice to write on and they feel good in your hand too. 6d

Booksbymybed I have been journaling my entire life and having fun with is very important. Also fun supplies. My favorite brand for low pressure but high quality is Midori MD notebooks, excellent paper for pen or pencil. Additional things that make it fun are washi tape and stickers. I love Blackwing pencils, they have various types and hardness. Prompts, lists are an excellent way to start, I also like to include scraps of paper and small photos. 5d

monalyisha @AnnCrystal @zezeki @Chelsea.Poole @yourfavouritemixtape @Booksbymybed @TheBookHippie @xicanti @JamieArc @dabbe This has all been very helpful. Thank you! Lots to look into and I think I‘ve developed a practice to start with! I woke up this morning and got to work. Go me…and you all! 💞 5d

TheBookHippie @monalyisha 💕💕💕💕💕 5d

monalyisha @TheBookHippie I can absolutely do the work of looking through your monthly prompts. But if you have a master doc, I‘d be happy to be the recipient! I don‘t think I‘m going to use them (at least for now) but I think my mom would really benefit from them! I want to put together a journaling-themed Christmas present for her and would love to include your monthly prompts list. 📝 5d

AnnCrystal @monalyisha 💝💝💝. 5d

JamieArc @monalyisha I appreciated this because right before I read your post last night, I got out my journal and wrote for the first time in a very long time so it encourages me to continue. 5d

monalyisha @JamieArc I love that! 5d

TheBookHippie @monalyisha email me social@bookhippie.com I‘ll send everything I saved 5d

monalyisha @TheBookHippie Amazing! You got it. 5d

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tpixie

Diary of a Young Girl | Anne Frank

A few books I‘ve read for my upcoming trip to Amsterdam. Vincent, Theo, & the Fox is an adorable adventure using his paintings as a guide to the story. When We Flew Away is a story of Anne Frank‘s life before she was hiding in the annex. It‘s a great companion book to the Diary. The Lost Van Gogh artfully sneaks facts in. Corrie ten Boom was an angel on Earth. 🇳🇱 🖼️ 🚪 📚

TheBookHippie The Hiding Place: The Jewish doctor in the book is a distant relative of mine. 1w

tpixie @TheBookHippie oh wow! 🩵🩵🩵 1w

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RedxoHearts

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: The Diary of Molly Mackenzie Flaherty | Ellen Emerson White

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I used to absolutely love reading the Dear America series growing up. I was reminded of them the other day because I saw there are a few other series similar to the Dear America stories. So I decided to read some that I never got to read. This one was about 16 year old Molly and her life after her older brother became a marine during the Vietnam War.

(Continued in comment)

RedxoHearts It was an interesting sneak peek of what life was like for the average teen during those years. It reminds you that even though things may change so much of it stays the same. The author also wrote a book from the perspective of the brother during the same period. So I plan to read that one soon as well. 2w

TheBookHippie Such a horrific time … 2w

melissajayne There is an equivalent Canadian version called Dear Canada 2w

Aims42 I loved this series so much growing up!! My friend and I are now looking for them at thrift stores and used book stores because she‘s building a library of them for her daughter 😍🥰 (her daughter will be 3 years old in Feb., so we have plenty of time 🤪) 2w

wildwoodreads Oh I‘ve never seen this one! I love the Dear America series. 2w

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merelybookish

This Is All | Aidan Chambers

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I finally read this 800 page YA novel that's been sitting on my shelf for years, a leftover from my teaching days. It took over a month & I don't even know how to review it. Definite ups & downs. Places where the narrative went off the rails. A TERRIBLE ending. Some beautiful parts woven in. A complex depiction of teenage life. So I guess overall it's a pick because a) I managed to read the whole thing & b) I have complicated feelings about it.

merelybookish This book won the Printz award. It is also written by a man and sometimes that bugged me and I doubted his representation of teenage girlhood (eg her enjoyment of being nude and suspicion of other girls 🙄) but other times I felt he did a good job. Just more reasons why my relationship status with this book is: it's complicated. 3w

merelybookish @TheLudicReader Hey Christie! Wondered if you might like this book for your classroom library. 3w

TheLudicReader @merelybookish I seriously doubt any of my students would tackle such a long book, but thank you so much for the offer. 3w

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