I was in a reading slump.

Like, genuinely not interested in picking up a book. And instead of accepting that, my brain said, “How can we make this more fun?”

And somehow the answer was… make it more complicated. LOL.

So I started annotating more intentionally, and then I thought, if people on TikTok can make these whole reading journals, I can too. So I made one.

Nothing fancy. I decorated the cover with a few stickers. The first page explains why I started it and what my reading goals are this year. Then I listed out my TBR, which is long because I own about 40 unread books. We’re working through it.

For each book I read, I answer three questions:

• What was my initial reaction?

• What was the craft and emotional depth like?

• What themes and lingering thoughts stayed with me?

That’s it. Simple structure.

I like that I can flip through it and see a catalog of what I’ve read and what I thought about it. Is it the prettiest journal in the world? Absolutely not. But it’s mine, and I know it’ll evolve as I keep going.

In between reviews, I also added some journaling prompts for myself. Things like:

• Why did I buy the books on my shelves?

• What themes keep finding me?

• What kind of Black love feels safe to me?

• What does being a Black woman reader mean to me?

• What am I outgrowing in my reading taste?

These aren’t assignments. They’re just ways to think more intentionally.

If I’m being honest, part of this whole thing is about stopping the brain rot. I needed something tactile. Something slower. Something that gets me off social media and back into my body.

Annotating, journaling, crafting these pages, even just sitting with a prompt, has helped with that. It feels grounding. It feels regulating.

You definitely don’t have to do all this. I know I’m creating a project for myself. But if you’ve been in a reading slump or you want to dig deeper into your hobby, this might actually make it more fun.

Sometimes making it “extra” is exactly what makes it click.