Bullet Journal | Testing White Pens

March 25, 2020March 14, 2020 bookishluna3 Comments

Hello and welcome to a little discussion/testing bullet journal supplies, this time around I am testing different white pens. I know for me personally I always use a white pen to cover up mistakes or add some highlights to a doodle I added. I feel like the white pen has a lot of uses. I was using my go to one a gellyroll and I wondered to myself, is this one really the best? So I decided to compare a few of the ones that ones I see more frequently. Now, on to the white pens!

The Pens I Am Testing

Gelly Roll
Uniball
Pilot G2
Sarasa Clip

I just want to point out for the sake of this little experiment that I am using my Olive & Archer notebook. So, how a pen interactions with the paper will vary some depending on the color and type of paper. This is just my experience with the notebook I use.

As you can tell on the picture above I tested four different whjte pens in this experiment. I decided to write with them on white paper and then try and write on top of blank ink.

With the first part of this experiment, just writing with the pen you can see some show up more than others. The uniball and gelly Roll really hold their own in this regard, even on white paper you can still make out the writing. The other ones just dissapear to my eyes.

The second part of this experiment for me is the most important. I tend to use my white pen over areas I have already written on to either correct or decorate my bullet journal. For this test I just added a line of ink and let it dry for about 3 min., following this I decided to go over the area a few times. As you can see from the picture above, most of the white pens tended to lift the ink a bit. The only one that did not mix with the ink under it seemed to be the uniball pen. I was quite surprised since my previous go to with the gellyroll pens, but after this experiment with the ink I use the paper I use, it seems that uniball is the one that works best for me and my uses.

I suggest giving these a go in your own bullet journal and seeing what works best for your circumstances, but here are the results I have found for me personally.

What is your go to white pen?

Is there a different one that you use or a different one I should try?

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Let's Talk

Let’s Talk | Updated Annotating Kit

January 8, 2020January 6, 2020 bookishluna4 Comments

Let's Talk

Hello everyone! A few / a lot of *months* ago (sorry) I posted a poll on twitter to see if anyone was interested in an update on my current essentials for reading, reviewing, and annotating my books. I will say I was not really anticipating a yes, but it seems like it is something that at least a few people wanted to see. So, without more rambling, let’s get to business!

It has been over a year since I shared my review kit with you, would you like an update? A bunch has changed! https://t.co/sefK2KuPE5

— bookishluna (@BookishLuna) July 27, 2019

For a reference moving forward, in my previous post, my essentials were: bookmark, mini notebook, 2 mechanical pencils and post-it tabs. If you want some more detail, you can find that here: Writing | My Reading/Review Kit. I didn’t really have specific pencils or anything, but just whatever was available and I already had.

Over the course of nearly a year and a half I feel like a lot has changed when it has come to my review essentials. I feel like I whittled what I carry around and use because I carry so much around for my work. Since I am always carrying around a ton of things, I really tried to not add more, mainly to ensure I don’t break my back. While obviously a few pens and a mini notebook aren’t heavy, but every little thing adds up. Anyway, here are the things I carry around with me now.

My go to writing implement is no longer a pencil, but a pen. I came into the problem where things were getting smudged and I getting graphite everywhere! I now use a Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pen in the color Salmon. It is a light pink in color, which is a perfect combination of grabbing my attention when I go back to look at my notes, but not enough to be to distracting if I was to reread.

A few of the other things to go are my mini notebook, bookmark, and post it tabs. I realized that the mini notebook was not essential and with the lighter color pen I was able to write my notes in the margin or use a notecard, which I was inspired by Waving Fiction’s post, Why I Use Notecards in My Books. But, I only use a notecard in some books, where I realize I am writing a bit too much to fit on a margin. I do note the page number for my notes if I do use a notecard so I can refer back to a quite if my note doesn’t make sense when I look over them.

The last thing I want to mention is a little addition to my essentials and this would be a mini ruler. I was driving myself crazy with lines that went crooked or I accidentally wrote in the middle of a line, so I picked up a ruler. Now, the one I got is metal, but has cork on the underside so I don’t feel like it could hurt my book any, which is great. The best part is I carry it around anyway because I use one in my bujo too! If you want to check my bujo out, you can look at my spreads and such here: Projects: Bullet Journal.

Thanks so much for reading about my annotating supplies, I know it isn’t as much as it used to be, but this is what works for me! I also hope that this little explanation helps you find what works for you on your reviewing and annotating journey!

Do you have any annotation go to supplies?

Do you write in your books or on something else?

Sign Off 2020

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Bullet Journal & Planning

Bullet Journal | December 2019

December 8, 2019December 6, 2019 bookishluna6 Comments

Hello and welcome to another peak into my bullet journal. This month I kept it really simple and to the point. I have a ton going on and I didn’t want to get too distracted by all the extra spreads and such. But, I am still in love with how it came out. It puts me in a wonderfully cozy mood.

Before I jump into talking about my monthly set up, I wanted to show you a general spread I added. I was inspired by the youtuber named Samantha Menzo. I can’t remember the particular video it was that I saw, but I ran with the inspiration. With the name Luna, you can only imagine how much I enjoy the moon and its cycles.

Here is my dashboard and month at a glance page. I once again used the artwork from Plant Based Bride, you all must be sick of hearing me talk about her, but she is a wonderful and talented individual. I also started following a youtuber Shayda Campbell and she is very inspiring as well. I really enjoyed the cozy feeling in this artwork instead of being all about the holidays. Don’t get me wrong I love the holidays, but for me there is so much more to the month than that and I would be looking way to forward to it and keep wishing the month away. Speaking of, I still need to decorate!

This month I wanted by habit tracker to focus on things that I need this month or I want to make a priority. I didn’t want to add any fluff. I am tracing if I was active in anyway, if I read, if I slept for 7 hours or more, if I took my vitamins, if i did a bit of tidying, and if I study. I really loved relearning and learning new things I decided that even though my test is over I want to continue to learn. On the right you can see my post tracker, I am trying to get a bit more organized and visuals always work better for me. I also like to track what I need to do when it comes to particular posts. I like setting little bench marks, I feel more productive.

This is my book tracker, I am going to be tracking when I read a book and which book it is. I decided I am not interested in knowing how many pages a day I read. It was just too much data for me and my needs. On the other side you can see another painting of that beautiful cabin on my dashboard page.

Now, I already posted my TBR post, but I was slacking and did not write it down. I will say I am loving adding art throughout my bujo lately instead of just being spreads. It breaks things up nicely and just adds something for me. If you are interested in seeing the books I am planning on reading this month you can see those here: TBR | December 2019

This month I am keeping my weekly spreads the same as last month, this layout is really working for me. As they say, if it an’t broke, don’t fix it

So there is the sneak peak into my bullet journal, I hope you enjoyed it. In the future I would love to add more of my own art and such back into it, but life has been a little all over and I don’t hav a ton of time to draw and paint currently. I hope that changes soon, but in the mean time, I am loving the artist and bullet journalers I have found to help me out.

What theme are you using this month?

Who do you get inspiration from?

Do you use a bujo?

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Bullet Journal & Planning

Bullet Journal | September 2019

September 4, 2019August 27, 2019 bookishluna3 Comments

Hello everyone! Today I am going to be sharing my bullet journal spreads for the month of September. I am so excited and pumped about this month because I am trying more new spreads and I am in love with my theme. This year I went on vacation to Maine and I fell in love with the state, it is so beautiful and wonderful. I decided I wanted to hold on to those memories and feelings by making Septembers theme Maine!

This has not changed, it really works for me to have a little mini calendar for quick reference at the front of the month. I also decided to doodle a lighthouse that I took a picture of when I was in Maine. I have not drawn in a while so excuse the wonkiness, but I love it!

So, this month I decided to try a new type of habit tracker inspired by journalby.amber on instagram. I really liked how simple and clean it looked and it wasn’t a huge rectangle that took up the whole page. I like how each habit has its own little home. On the other page, which is kinda a little peak into something I am giving a go, you will see a page tracker. This was inspired by BooksandLala on youtube a long time ago. The doodles for these two pages are lobster and buoys. I was tempted to color these in, but I decided to leave this month without color, I don’t want to steal someone else’s color! If you didn’t know the color scheme on a buoy is unique to each fisher.

This month I decided to give my TBR a little bit of a makeover inspired by bookshelves and paperbacks. I loved that she had a bit of an area to check off her progress. I edited them a bit to fit my needs more, but I put S- started, R-read, P-placed. All are pretty self explanatory, but placed means that I placed the mini review in my middle mark or wrap up and marked it in my bujo tbr list. This illustration is of a mountainside. The area in Maine I was in a lot of it was made of granite . So the beaches are all rock and have a lot of steep drops. It is really beautiful to see the pink granite everywhere you look.

The last spread I added was 50 miles in September, which was inspired by The Petite Planner on instagram. If you were not aware this summer I did 2 5Ks and really enjoyed myself and I want to keep up being active. So looking through the internet I found this challenge of sorts and I really wanted to do it. I also loved that it had a spot built in to write my way ins. I kinda hate having to flip to more pages than I need to.

This month my weekly spreads are the same as they were in August, the only difference is I added some doodles since I was feeling inspired. I added a hook because fishing is such a staple in Maine, Blueberries because everyone had a famous blueberry pie or blueberry infused food item, a whale because they are everywhere, and lastly a huge pine tree because I loved the trees by where I was staying so much. They were so tall and sturdy.

Where is your favorite place to visit?

Do you use a habit tracker? What kind of format is it?

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Wrap Up

Middle Mark | May 2019

May 14, 2019May 14, 2019 bookishluna7 Comments

Middle Mark

So, this month I am reading big books, but also reading some smaller books in-between to keep up my momentum. I always need to pause a big book and finish a quick read or I end up getting bogged down, am I the only one who feels this way from time to time?

Anyway, this Middle Mark is mainly going to be a few of the small books, hopfully my monthly wrap up will have some of the larger books. Fingers crossed.

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Ask Baba Yaga: Otherworldly Advice for Everyday Troubles by Taisia Kitaiskaia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very adorable and helpful book. This advice centered book is a mixture of fun, thoughtfulness, and folklore. I plan on reading more from this author because the writing was lyrical, but not annoying. The advice was useful, but not full of itself.

I see myself picking it up again from time to time.

View all my reviews

Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers by Taisia Kitaiskaia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very cute and quick read. I really enjoyed how each section was set up. A little story create by the author, a little non-fiction blurb about the “literary witch” and then recommenced reading for each one. This truly is a wonderful celebration of women writers from a wide array of backgrounds and time.

This little blurb and short little story really gets you in the mood to explore these women and it is so wonderful that she gives you 3 or more recommendations. On top of that the illustrator, Katy Horon, has a wonderful style and you can see how individualized and meaningful each of the pieces are.

View all my reviews

Currently Reading 2

Stalin’s Daughter by Rosemary Sullivan

Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva

I picked up this novel while at my local indie bookstore. I am ashamed to say and admit I never knew Stalin has a daughter. I honestly just through he was so evil that I cannot fathom that he could be a father. I am currently about 74 pages into the book and I think is he is a horrible husband, horrible person, and I think he was a messed up dad already. Mainly because of foreshadowing and some comments here and there, but I am interested in seeing just how low he goes in his personal life.

The Stand by Stephen King

The Stand

I have finally started this huge book, I am not too far into it, but I can already see why it is a beloved book of his. It has a very interesting start and I normally don’t like apocalyptic dystopian writings, mainly because YA was/is just pushed them way to much for me, but I will say that this one seems very different and I am curious to see how he pictures a world after our world collapses.

Divider 2

What are you currently reading?

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Bullet Journal & Planning

#Blogoween | Book Spine Spells!

October 11, 2018October 8, 2018 bookishluna6 Comments

Prompt:

Thursday 11th: Spell List
We’re all familiar with Book Spine Poetry by now. No? Stack up your books in an order that allow the titles to create a poem. For this prompt we’re using horror or Halloween themed books only to line up and create Book Spine Spells!

Oh goodness, this was a hard one for me. I was never good at poetry. The only time I enjoy writing poetry is when it is blackout poetry. So this one was a prompt I was kind of dreading, but over all it didn’t turn out as bad as I thought it would be. So without further delay here is my spooky book spine poetry!

the witches

in the darkest part of the forest

carry on

The wolf wilder

in the days of rain

carry on

from here to eternity

misery

What is your favorite poem or poet?

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Bullet Journal & Planning

#Blogoween | Local Ghost Demand a Book!

October 10, 2018October 8, 2018 bookishluna2 Comments

Prompt:

Wednesday 10th: Local Ghosties Demand a Book!
Chose a horror, supernatural, scary, or ghost story that you’ve heard and is local to your area/home town, or a personal scary experience. Tells us about this and write a blurb too!

So in the North East there is one ghost story or local myths that I find to be really interesting and have always caught my attention whenever I hear someone talking about it. Which, with the friends I have tends to happen a lot. Ghost stories are one of my favorite things to talk about or watch on TV or YouTube, any recommendations let me know! Here are those two stories.

The Lady in White

This one is a tad bit sad, it starts with a young daughter going missing on the shores of Lake Ontario. This area can get very cold during some times of the year and cold water is never a good thing to jump into. While I am unsure of what time of the year the young girl went missing, but it is said that she went missing in the 1800s. No one knows if she was taken, murdered, or wondered and became lost or fell victim to the water. A lot of the stories I have heard revolve around her running away with a boy and he turns on her or she is taken and murdered. Whatever tragically happened to this girl, we do know that her mother was very, very upset.

The mother never gave up looking for her daughter even when her community slowly gave up, the weather turned worse as the seasons cycled through. As the years passed she was said to continue to walk around the water and the surrounding area of Durand-Eastman Park. She continued to do this until her passing, or did she really stop?

It is said that when you go to this area that you could see a few different things. A women in white walking up and out of the water onto the land searching and looking for those who may have taken her daughter, or the body of her young child. Some of the tales say that she is accompanied by two dogs who help in her search.

legend is one of many similar tales across the country. The story goes that a woman in the 19th Century lost her daughter on the shores of Lake Ontario. She spent the rest of her life looking for her, and continued to haunt the lake after her death, where she is said to appear as a white apparition. But, locals always say she is the most present during the full moon.

What is your favorite local legend or ghost story?

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Bullet Journal & Planning

Writing | Blogoween Announcement

September 19, 2018 bookishluna15 Comments

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that I am taking part in, or at least I am going to try to take part in Blogoween, which will be a month full of Halloween and bookish posts. My two favorite things!

I found out about this Halloween and Fall related challenge after reading about it on Northern Plunder, if you have not yet check out her blog she is awesome. As soon as I saw her first post I knew I needed to jump in.

Levels

Level 1: 13 Days of Blogoween

Pick any 13 days to post
Don’t have to be consecutive
Don’t have to post on Halloween (but you can!)
Level 2: 24th – 31st

Must post on the 24th Oct through to the 31st Oct (that’s 7 posts)
Must be consecutive posts
Must post on Halloween
Can’t change level
Level 3: 31 Days

Posting EVERY DAY (that’s 31 posts)
Can mix Autumn themes into your posts
If you find within the first few days it’s too much, can switch to Level 1

source

I think I am going to go really bold here and TRY for level 3, but chances are I will end up doing 13 days of Blogoween, no shame in that. Honestly, my goal is to just have fun and maybe find a few new blogs to follow. I hope you don’t mind all of the posting you are about to see from me!

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Bullet Journal & Planning

Bullet Journal | September 2018

September 2, 2018August 29, 2018 bookishluna4 Comments

Supplies I Used

Tombow 098 & 837

Pigma Micron 05 & 01

Pentel Mechanical Pencil

Ruler

My Spreads!

This month I took some inspiration for my bullet journal from a youtuber named Layla, I will link her video down below if you would like to see her spreads. I mainly used her layout for the September page. I have been loving tea and I recently took a trip to Massachusetts and I noticed the leaves were already changing so when I saw this spread I was still thinking a lot about my trip and decided to make it my own in a way.

So this month I decided to try and make my monthly spread a little bigger than I have previously. Last month I tried to do daily spreads and I stopped using them after the first or second week so I thought that if I made this monthly spread a little bigger I can add more of the details if I feel like it. Since this was the first time I did this layout you can see my calendar has little stilts, regardless I still really like it. I also, have noticed I like adding when library books are due and when my buddy read discussions are happening and what pages they will cover. It helps me stay a bit more organized.

On the left hand side of this page you can see my September TBR, or should I say my mostly Stephen King TBR. I am actually buddy reading two of the books this month so that is exciting! On the right hand side is where I write in and color the books I read throughout the month.

Last month I started having a sleep tracker and I really enjoyed it. I really got to see some patterns I was unable to really notice before. So I decided I wanted to continue to do this. I also left the hours blank at this time because I don’t know if I enjoyed the format or not I used last month, starting at 12 midnight. So, until I decide I am leaving it blank.

On the right hand side I have my monthly overview for blog posts. I left this blank so for now so I don’t share too much information.

On the left side I have my read 5, buy 1 challenge. I will openly admit I failed last month because I went on vacation and I stopped at a few literary places and I wanted to get a few books to commemorate my visit. I feel no shame in it because it is not like I will go to the Alcott Orchard House or the House of the Seven Gables anytime soon.

On the right side I have my chapter/progress markers for my TBR. If you have not seen this before, I color in a block for a chapter/section I finish reading within a book to track my progress visually instead of looking at the percent all the time on goodreads. I find that when I always look at goodreads I read for shorter amounts of time than if I track it in my notebook.

Inspiration: PLAN WITH ME | September 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

What theme do you have this month?

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Bullet Journal & Planning

Writing | My Reading/Review Kit

April 10, 2018April 2, 2018 bookishluna8 Comments

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a wonderful day. Today I thought I would share something different with you. As a book blog I write book reviews and other book related posts. Now, for me this was not always an easy thing. I still struggle from time to time, which is fine by me.

When I started this blog or I should say when I really started to post on this blog was January 2017. At times point in time I never really wrote book reviews and I never really thought ahead with my posts. A little over a year later, I approach my writing a bit differently. That is not to say I am more rigid or I am not free to write whatever I want. In fact, how I approach writing has made it more fun and freeing.

Now, when I started my blog the only reference I had was looking at other peoples blogs. I saw these awesome reviews and blog posts and the entire time I was reading them all I kept thinking was, “How do they remember all these details?” Thus, my journey to create my review/reading kit began.

What is a review/reading kit?

A review kit or reading kit is a small or big, depending on your preference, tools that help you keep track of your reading, ideas, and thoughts. This is highly personal and will vary from person to person. It could be digital or physical, maybe when a mixture of both. The important things is that it works with you and made the process of keeping track of your ideas and thoughts easier, not more cumbersome.

What does my reading kit look like you ask, I’ll show you.

This is the pouch I keep my reading kit in. It is small, durable, and lined so no water can get inside. I had a few reasons for picking this pouch. The first was because the size was perfect for what I needed, obviously this is the most important and practical reason. The second is because I liked how the zipper was on the smaller size, that way when I no doubt left it open there was less of a chance of escape by the things that I placed inside. The last reason is the aesthetic of it. I love the colors, they are soothing and remind me of the water. I also love the quote, it is a nice reminder “Life is Lovely”. Sometimes you just need to hear it from time to time.

But Luna, what is actually inside? Let me show you!

Inside I keep very little because I personally don’t need much. This is a year worth of me trial and error. Finding what worked and what didn’t. It is important to note what wha works for you will not work for you. But, if you need a starting point you may use mine as a reference.

bookmark
mini notebook (mine is a soft moleskin)
2 mechanical pencils
post-it tabs

I have a habit of not grabbing a bookmark when I begin a new book, so I always keep one in my kit just incase. My mini notebook is the perfect size to fit into my pouch and it nice and light. I write a the title of a book on the top of two pages. Once side I write the positives and the other I write the negatives. I write a star next to random thoughts at the bottom of both pages. It almost ends up looking like a T chart with a free block at the bottom. The post-it tabs are used for various things. The first reason being if the book is a buddy read or a larger text I will tab my daily reading goals so I stay on track. The second reason is if I find a quote that inspires me or gets some type of reaction out of me I want to remember where it is.

Even though my kit only has 4 items in it, it helps me greatly. If I am sitting at home reading I know everything I need is in one spot and if I am out and about it fits nicely into any bag I own. For me this has made reviewing more fun and LESS WORK. I used to dread writing reviews because I thought my brain would explode trying to remember everything. For me that is not an option. I need to keep track of my ideas and thoughts as I read. Now I am writing more reviews that I have ever and I am proud of that. It has given me confidence to try new things on my blog and go outside my comfort zone.