Week 8, Reading Diary

Over the course of this semester I have been posting a reading diary on my blog, which I have found to be most helpful and foresee it becoming even more helpful in the future.  The way in which I have found the posts to be most helpful is how it allows me the opportunity to briefly organize  all that has happened in the allotted reading. There is always so much action happening in the story it is difficult to keep track of all the events and keep a coherent timeline.  After a couple weeks you are bound to forget a few details from the story, but the reading diary allows for a good refresher. It is also a good reference when it comes to writing the storytelling blog. The reading diary makes it so easy to go back and recall past events you may want to elaborate on.  The main strategies I use in my reading diary are bullet points  and a focus on major events. I found that if I write down the most important parts of a section and give a brief explanation in bullet point form, I can recall past events in better detail.  The length of these reading diary posts range from 11-15 bullet points and contain one to two sentences.  One thing I might start doing which I have not done in the past is start adding images to the post. I am more a visual learner and believe the addition of images should help make my  reading diary more effective. In the past I have added one or two quotes that I found to be interesting or motivational and I think I might start adding more quotes or phrases as well. Plus, I already have a file full of my favorite quotes and phrases I’ve come across over the years and I am always in need of more.