Using Hobonichi in 2024: A6 HON Book Journal (& Reading in January)

2024-02-04

As I was writing in my book journal this morning I decided it would be a good opportunity to write a blog post about it! I did briefly go over how I used all my Hobonichi journals in this post (warning: picture heavy) but I think this is also a good opportunity to write about what I read this last January.

The HON

On the Yearly Overview pages, I keep track of which days I read. January was pretty good, there were only three days that I didn't read.

The yearly index is how I keep track of how many pages I've read. I don't really know why I keep track of this, I just find it to be a lot of fun! In January I read 6,839 pages, 676 from actual books and 6,163 from graphic novels or manga. I read 36 books in total.

This year I kinda switched up how I fill out the monthly. At the beginning of the month, I block out the days that aren't part of the month with washi tape. And for the days I don't read anything, I also fill it with washi tape. It's a good excuse to use up the many rolls of washi that I have.

I also started highlighting the books that I have finished reading on that day. And then on the left side I write down the titles as I finish them.

My daily pages have largely stayed the same. From February 2-3, I read five books and wrote what I learned/thought about them. I keep track of how many chapters (if it's manga) and how many pages I've read that day. I put a total number of pages I read that day at the top of the page.

Books in January 2024

I really only read two actual books in January: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and They Say/I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. I have already written a review about what I thought about The Bell Jar on my Bookwyrm instance, here. I originally thought it would take me around 23 days to read this book (at 10 pages or 30 minutes of reading per day) but I devoured this book. I spent 5 actual days reading it across 12 days. I find fiction is a lot easier for me to read compared to non-fiction, which is what They Say/I Say was.

I have yet to write a review on They Say/I Say but it greatly changed my outlook on how to approach making arguments, both in and out of an academic setting. There was a lot of information in this 300+ paged book. I had to slow down and fully digest what I was reading so that I could understand their techniques. In hindsight, it feels like a lot of common sense but sometimes you need to put the obvious into words in order to fully understand it.

Outside of these two books, I read a fuck ton of manga. On the first of January I finished reading the Bloom Into You series. I was a little hesitant to read this because of the art style. However, it was placed in a high school setting so I could forgive the more childlike looking characters. I found the series to be quite tender and sweet. I was a little sad to part ways with it.

In January I started re-reading two series: Yotsuba&! and Ao Haru Ride. I first read Yotsuba&! a few years ago. Actually, I don't remember if I ever finished reading the series. This was one of the very first manga I read, back in elementary school (this was 18 years ago!!!). Yotsuba&! definitely stands the test of time. It's very much just an episodic slice of life but it's wholesome and makes you long for the innocence childhood. It's also immensely funny and made me laugh out loud a few times.

Ao Haru Ride is a manga I read just last year. I don't know why but I think this manga might be the quintessential romance shoujo manga for me. Whenever I read the prologue chapter, I tear up. It's not even that sad. But it feels so pure and heartfelt. I really love the relationship between the protagonist and the main love interest. I find they really do have a lot of chemistry together that doesn't feel forced. It's such a good manga!

There was one new manga series that I became insanely invested in. I think it's still ongoing. It's called Sensitive Boy. It covers a sensitive (hah) topic that I think isn't talked about enough: a male student is raped by a teacher. I was really touched by how the student had such a supportive environment but also a little sad because it felt more like wish fulfillment. I don't see it playing out in real life like this at all. Despite all this, the main character still has a lot that he goes through in the aftermath of this traumatic event. A nice coming of age story. I am eagerly waiting for more.

January Reading Habits

I do most of my manga reading on the computer. If I'm having trouble sleeping then I do some reading on my phone while in bed, hah. I do like reading manga but I wonder if I can substitute some of that reading with reading more physical books. Now, physical books does not always mean non-graphic novels. I went to the library a couple of weeks ago and all the books I took out were graphic novels or manga. I did this because I know myself. They are easier for me to read. Because I'm taking courses on top of full time work, I don't have a lot of time to squeeze in regular reading. This is also why I do most of my reading on the computer. It's just easier for me to finish a session of school work and take a break by clicking over to a new tab and reading there.

But I do want to read more physical books. When I was living alone I would eat with a book in hand. But now that I am living with my parents again and we eat meals together, I can't exactly do that if I want to be present with them. Nowadays, I only read physical books on my commute to and from work. The things is I don't go to work every day, just two or three days a week.

I am still figuring out my routine, even though I still feel pretty set on it. I wonder if there's a way to squeeze in some more reading here and there. I think my mental block is that squeezing in just a few minutes here and there doesn't feel like I would be doing an actual book justice. With graphic novels, it's a little bit easier to dip in and out. Maybe I'm overthinking it and I should just try shorter bursts of reading, even if it's just during 5 minutes of downtime.