Over the years, I have tried many different journals and systems to track my reading. I have purchased some designed and published to track reading and review books. The method that worked best for me was one I used during my 25 years as a librarian in charge of children's programming. I just used a cute spiral notebook where I recorded each children and young adult book that I read with a synopsis / review and age/interest range. I still have these, and I enjoy going back and reading them. Going forward I am planning to do a similar notebook for all my reading. Your tips and recommendations are very helpful, especially not to let it be too "precious". Thanks.

Thank you for reassuring me that I'm not the only "journal weirdo" in the world.

Love this podcast. I too have journal anxiety. I would start and stop a journal, start a new one, and felt very disorganized. I will try again. Thanks for your tips!

when I complete my PhD I plan to teach, so reading is vital to growing my mind and knowing more about my interests.

I recently reorganized my journal collection. I limited myself to a small box and purged all my old school journals from undergrad and MBA program. Now I just have the ones I love and use! Thanks so much for the encouragement I needed with my journals.

I love journals and now that I retired I use it more to keep track of my “projects”

People give me journals…and I’m afraid to use them, pretty much for the reasons you note. I have a hiking journal that is set up very nicely for the purpose, but I can’t decide how to use it.

Just discovered you and really enjoying!

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is on my TBR list !

Interesting and well done.

Eddy, I saw on your web page you were missing the 2nd “e” in Edgewater. You may have caught that already. Congratulations! Can’t wait to see the store.

This book is a treasure trove of information. It is not misogynistic nor does it advocate “old ways” of thinking. It’s advocating natural law and Virtue.

As a publishing industry professional for forty years, I highly recommend that you avail yourself of resources and educational opportunities of the American Booksellers Association. There is a steep learning curve to running a bookstore and in the interest of making the most prudent financial decisions, get well acquainted with the realities of the marketplace.

How about going to a thrift store

Wuthering Heights is what I would call a very difficult book, a personal enigma. I cannot read this book without feeling or suspecting that I am really missing something.

I am excited about the concept, and can't wait to receive one of those packages. I love to receive book mail and I post videos of my package on my channel. I will order from you as soon as possible.

Hello sir..Where is this bookstore ?

oh God I love reading and I love stationery and I thought I was weird about nerding out about stationery FOR reading thanks for creating this, it has made me happy. :)

NEED this shirt.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

I added reading as a ‘to do’ to my daily journal. Sometimes I would put it as read for 20 minutes and other times read a chapter. I was reading during my lunch break at work but I retired end May 2024 so now I have more time.

Great content ❤

Thanks for these helpful suggestions. I am naturally a fast reader, so slowing down and really taking in the scenery or even camping with a passage makes such good sense to me. I always look at a table of contents, but I don’t read it carefully. Your map analogy is great.

I always used to read a lot of criticism for college-level books. We had to read 5 books a week sometimes and the criticism helped; George Orwell, Joseph Conrad, Rhe Sisters Brontë; college really hammers your mind. 😆

Would you recommend a good dictionary? I know that sounds weird, but I have several and many words are not even in them. I really like dictionaries. But, the more I read important material, I find myself depending on the internet.

I have always been in the habit of taking notes and looking words up when I read. I also read in Spanish and reading in Spanish (my second language) is where I look up more words because in daily Spanish conversations I seldom use fancy/elevated words.

just subscribed to your channel...just retired so now I have more time to read

Organization is not set in stone. You can change it at any time. Be flexible and enjoy the new space.

❤ ☕️

I was 44 once, "Only What's Done for Christ Will last." - 2 Corinthians 4:18. I'm glad you're back in school. I went back to college when I was 28, and it made all the difference. 44, 45 were difficult years but now I'm a grandfather and it things make a little more sense. Go church every Sunday and read the word every day, it helps, especially around 44 and 45. Only What's Done for Christ Will last." - 2 Corinthians 4:18

This is a great idea! Also, a great reel. Music volume is perfect, not too loud!

Glad I stumbled upon this!

Good choice of poem, great analysis. PS-Tinturn Abbey by WW tops the list for me.

Hey Eddy, big fan! Just recently found the podcast and binging episodes. Just finished this one today. Great insights and a phenomenal book! Another one I put on the same caliber as this one is Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington. Got a ways to go to catch up, but enjoying the journey! - Joshua

very good idea! I love mixing things up on my shelves...I'm going to try this , thanks.

Eureka! I realized that THIS is the genre that I love to read! Until your podcast, I used to refer to memoirs as autobiographies. They are truly powerful, engaging and can be most helpful in understanding others and especially those who have overcome great obstacles in life. Thank you. I am now part of your community and looking forward to learning more.

I too like to take a non-fiction and digest, regurgitate, and do it again. I am on the focus of implementing items into my life to improve it. I like to swap back and forth from fiction to non-fiction to keep it fun. If your are reading alot of books on a single topic, then I can understand then that it is a form of research, but I make a cut off and then decide how I will proceed to implement into my life. Example: one year I used „The Compound Effect“ as my book to focus on. That was the only one for that year. Reading, annotating, implementing, listening to it in audio, reading it out loud, discussing it, listening to what others had to say on it. When I felt like I was dragging, I would grab a fiction and enjoy that until it was done-no time line. I love watercolors so I am digesting a lot of watercolor books and trying new things and it has been a project that will all come to a workshop in July. That‘s my end date. Then I will decide if it is a style that I want to continue with or if I want to go back to the style that I learned in 2017 and have been practicing all these years. I read over 50 books one year-that was my goal-I don’t remember any of the books. My friend, she can read a book a day and next year tell you practically word for word what it was about. Do what works for you. ❤

Your advice is sound and reasonable. Slow, steady, and you'll reap awards.

Thanks for the shout out!-Dr. J

This was a swell podcast. I have read almost all of the books that you referenced.

So happy to see this is the current discussion video. Magical realism is one of my fave, if not THE fave style/genre. A couple of my top authors, Bradbury, Gaiman, and as of just recently, Murakami, offer some of the best, IMO. (Relative side note, my favorite TV show of all time is The Twilight Zone, so we likely see a pattern here.🤓) I have been wanting to dip into Marquez, and maybe the winged old man story you discuss is just the ticket. Thanks! Borges is another whose writing I have only slightly adventured into, but so many revere him and his magical realism. Have to remember to get his books out of the den and take a dive. I mention Murakami above as a brand new (to me) discovery, and have chatted briefly about him in the Read Well online book club discussion recently too. I get pretty overexcited (obsessed sounds so negative😊) with new discoveries that hit the spot… so please be patient with me if I repeat that. I just can’t believe I am just now finding his treasure!

I always learn something new when listening to your podcast.

I hope your family member’s doing well now ❤️ thank you for the recommendations.

Wow. What a thematic cerebral intro to the effort involved with deciphering this work. Excellent!

Always an enjoyable listen 🎶!!

Gimme those books.

Awesome 🎉🎉🎉❤❤

Really sorry about your family member, I hope things have gotten better. Just wanted to thank you for listing out books that are under 200 pages 😅 that's my summer time jam. Read 1000 pages or 5 books 200 pages or under.

🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤🎉🎉🎉

❤❤ I'm in ! 🎉