Everything I Read in June 📚 + July Reading Journal Tracking Spread Ideas

[@evebananas]

If you haven't read Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles series) or the rest of those books, they're a sci-fi/fantasy retelling of fairy tales and they're great. Cinder is a cinderella retelling, Scarlet is little red riding hood, Cress is rapunzel, and Winter is snow white.

[@Lamasdelaine]

I loooove this style of videos where we follow you through the journal while you fill it, flipping through sections and stuff. Love love it. ❤

[@simplisnowflake]

YOU READ THE INHERITANCE GAMESSS! I LOVE THAT SERIES. I'm SO happy that "The Grandest Game" released but there's SUCH a cliffhanger. How am I supposed to wait a WHOLEEE year to find out what next?!?!?!?!

[@KellyAK]

That black and white set up is so striking, I love it!

[@PaigesBookShack]

Found your channel earlier this year and love your journaling style! It inspired me to start my own reading journal (and now a finance one as well) and I am having so much fun with it. Thank you for all your videos. They’ve helped bring my creative side out!!! Love the black and white theme for July too!!

[@ErinSmith]

This means so much to me Paige - I’m so glad I could help you get started! 🥰

[@PaigesBookShack]

I do appreciate the inspiration I get watching your videos! I tend to stay quiet in the comments, but I am trying to push myself out of my introverted comfort zone a bit more. 🥰

[@mistysidorov189]

Waaaaait, I love those old English letters stickers! They're so gorgeous 💖 What is that sticker book their in, Miss Erin?

[@ErinSmith]

That's actually just my own reusable sticker book, they're flake stickers from Journalsay that I just arranged for ease of use haha - but I'll link you! bit.ly/45LPUtd Currently out of stock though :'(

[@mistysidorov189]

@@ErinSmith Thank you! I'll definitely keep an eye out for when they restock. :D I just did a huge haul from them for Christmas in July, so maybe sometime soon I can get them 🥰

[@sofiewauters7539]

I love your reading journal videos so much! Do you think you'll do a final flip through at the end of the year? That would be amazing. ♥

[@ErinSmith]

I think so! I’m starting to worry I won’t fit the rest of the year in this book though 😅

[@sofiewauters7539]

@@ErinSmith Surprise three-quarters-of-the-year flip through! 🥰 It's amazing you're reading so many books though. Love it!

[@ChantelleArts]

oooh those scissors are so pretty 🥰

[@ErinSmith]

The little green ones? They’re my travel scissors! They’re SO cute but I find them a bit uncomfortable, so they don’t feature much on my channel 🤣

[@cyanidesally1]

Great as always. Also thank you so much for sharing your CAWPILE sheet. It’s fab!

[@ErinSmith]

I’m so glad it’s helpful for you! 🥰

[@mechudoba]

Nora Goes off Script was my favorite book in June. So much fun!

[@kirasakuya7580]

I'm team dressing gown as well 😄

[@ErinSmith]

I love this comfort level for us! 🥰

[@Yasmin-ry7go]

Faebound was my first book this year and I really enjoyed it! I hope you and your channel members will have a good time reading it :)

[@hillarybigham5872]

That July layout is stunning! I forgot you had done a live for it. And that I had made it to the live. I kept thinking, “why can’t I see it in anything? I know I saw it SOMEWHERE!” 😂😂

[@ErinSmith]

🤣 it’s living rent free in your head

[@hillarybigham5872]

@@ErinSmith IT IS!! 🤣🤣

[@TheConsultingReader]

My favourite book in June was One Dark Window, but only because I didn’t finish my first Jeeves and Wooster book until the first of July. I read One Dark Window over some rainy days, and it was the perfect book for that; dark, atmospheric, moody. I’m looking forward to the sequel. If I can manage I’d like to wait until autumn for that.

[@rainsepol745]

🤎🙏🏽Thanx so much, Erin. You have inspired me to start a reading journal, so I started with the Holly Black trilogy, and u loved it😊

[@Aviplotbunny]

The perfect watch for helping me focus on some chores. Always love to see the spreads

[@ErinSmith]

Happy to help! 🥰 thanks for watching!

[@missheniki]

It would be so interesting to see how much you’ve saved by borrowing vs buying books! Perhaps a stat for 2025? ❤

[@ErinSmith]

Definitely one I’m planning to track!

[@jamiedabbs8876]

My standout read for June was "The House on Biscayne Bay" by Chanel Cleeton, sort of a mash up of Gothic mystery and dual timeline Historical Fiction and I was sucked in and enjoyed it very much! Love the black and white theme this month and hoping to recreate a version in my own journal!

[@ErinSmith]

That sounds like a fun read! 😍

[@LMHB0907]

First time watching one of your videos. So glad I stumbled upon it, I’ve never heard of the CAWPILE rating system before and I think it is really helpful. I also love your personal reading journal, it inspires me to start one of my own.

[@ErinSmith]

It’s such a great system! Let me link you to its original creator so she can tell you about it better than me, if you search ‘CAWPILE’ on her channel she has some videos about it! 🥰 youtube.com/@bookroast?si=YdrUngLTOj1qkAFL There’s also a spreadsheet you can download so you don’t need to calculate anything, you just input your scores and it sorts it out for you!

[@luluhaynes1388]

Fyi, the sliding cutting machine is called a 'personal trimmer' - not a guillotine. A guillotine paper cutter actually slices down like a real guillotine - very dangerous! I have 2 - ha! ha! I subbed and liked. tfs

[@ErinSmith]

Thank you! I never know what to call it, the website listings for it don’t really give it a name 🤣

[@alyxbeauchamp7883]

Such pretty spreads! I also filled up mine (20 pages left, so I figured I may as well do half the year in one and half in another) so I've gotta set mine up for July through Dec. I hope you enjoy Starling House more than I did! I realized after trying books like house of night, ninth house, gallant, and starling house, that the genre just wasn't at all meant for me, no matter how much I love the authors other works.

[@ErinSmith]

Thanks Alyx! It was a bit of a random choice for me - it was in the ‘available now’ section of my library audiobooks and the cover looked pretty so I jumped on it 🤣

[@mothtotheflame13]

i was also very underwhelmed by all this twisted glory, it definitely felt super fillery. tbh i thought this was the end of the series so i was really confused while i read it 😂!! i love your reading journal setup- i might take some inspo for next year haha~

[@ErinSmith]

I’m so glad you were also confused!! I also thought this was the last one?! I guess not, Goodreads has a fourth one listed for release next year. Fingers crossed it’s a step up from this one 😅

[@juliangelus]

I'm ahead on my reading goal but only because I set a ridiculously low one that I knew I could manage. I love your black and white theme for July :)

[@ErinSmith]

Sounds like setting yourself up for success to me 🥰

[@lisabatten6068]

My standout book was The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. It just drew me in and I didn't want to put it down.

[@Dayzeemom05]

Hey Erin, I hope your day is going well. You read so many books in a month. How do you manage to read so many whilst doing your day to day activities? Can I list audiobooks in a reading log since I'm technically not reading? I know it sounds so silly to ask but I thought what the heck.

[@ErinSmith]

Audiobooks ARE reading! I know there are people who disagree but if you can have a conversation with someone about a book you listened to, and you remember what happened and have opinions about plot points and have that one character who bugs you, why is that experience somehow invalid? They’re the same words in the same order. Oral storytelling is the world’s oldest tradition, as far as I’m concerned it counts! (As you can see I feel very passionately about this!)

[@Dayzeemom05]

@@ErinSmith I see the passion. lol! I feel the same way as you. i enjoy listening to audiobooks while I do my journal. It helps me to relax. I wish they had audiobooks when my parents were encouraging me to read more when i was younger. Well, i guess they did but i was on a cassette and my parents would rather buy a book than that. They feel that it helps more to read than to watch or listen, more so my dad. I used to read his collection of harlequin novels. Then I branched out on my own. I just wanted a little clarification on your end. Thank you so much for the quick response. i absolutely love your videos and you layouts. You remind me a lot of my daughter. Is there anything that you would suggest for a 41 yr old mom of 5 that enjoys just about anything but westerns? I do enjoy romance, suspense, and true crime. I'm actually thinking about getting The Fourth Wing but i wasn't too sure I would get in to it. If it doesn't interest me in the first few chapters, I'm less likely to read the rest.

[@ErinSmith]

Fourth Wing is a really fun read, and an excellent gateway into fantasy books if that’s an area you enjoy! Do you have a Kindle, or the Kindle app? It allows you to download a sample of the book, so you can read the first few chapters and see if you think you’ll enjoy it! I believe Audible do something similar with the audio versions 💕 even if you try a sample on those platforms and then buy the paperback, it’s a good way to test the waters. Also - I couldn’t possibly recommend a library membership more! I’ve found some wonderful reads just by browsing the ‘available now’ section of my library’s digital collection! 🥰

[@Dayzeemom05]

@@ErinSmith Yes, I have Audible. I'm currently listening to a book called If You Tell, which is true crime. It's a great book but it has a trigger warning to it. I definately want to look into Fourth Wing. I'm always up for different genres as long as they grab my interest quick. Thank you again for all you help with this. You truly are an amazing person. Have a beautiful day!

[@Haffina]

I'm so sorry that my book suggestion was not great LOL Agreed it was a great premise but the writing wasn't the best. I love the black/grey/white theme for July.

[@ErinSmith]

Not every book club book has to be a winner - sometimes it’s fun to read something you don’t enjoy and then whinge about it with others 🤣 I also prefer to choose books I haven’t read for book club reads, it adds a bit of mystery!

[@KimTaehee_95]

It's 12:12 AM here, And I'm supposed to be sleeping, but I'm here watching this instead. I'm so gonna regret it in the morning.

[@ErinSmith]

😅 for next time - it’s ok to watch it later. The reading journal videos always end up a bit long!

[@KimTaehee_95]

I love watching your videos, so longer videos are a great bonus. ilv

[@CamillaBookTok]

Hi. Where did you get the rating scale of book: c, a w, p?

[@ErinSmith]

The wonderful G of the channel Book Roast created it! Here’s her video explaining it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4vLmqGuqbmAfLMsi=ZJkXeJqGByythF1o

[@Juliet_Australia]

I can’t find the link to skillshare Erin

[@ErinSmith]

Oops! Here she is! skl.sh/erinsmith07241

[@Juliet_Australia]

@@ErinSmith thanks Erin - Juliet from Brissy.. I started my journal yesterday Erin. Unfortunately, the July set up will be a bit late, but hoping to finish it before August 🤣

[@ErinSmith]

As long as you’re enjoying the process, the timeline doesn’t matter so much 💕 I hope you have a wonderful time! 🥰

[@Juliet_Australia]

@@ErinSmith thanks so much Erin. I am. Using your inspiration to guide my designs. I am ordering some Arrtx pens today through your link, so I have a gold pen for my July heading. Do you find those pens good? I have seen you use them on stamps too.

[@ErinSmith]

I really like them Juliet, they're my favourite metallic pens! I definitely use the golds and silver more than the other shades but they're all so lovely!

[@sofiakarim2978]

❤

[@rainsepol745]

lovely BW spreads🙏🤎

[@meerasoress1772]

وااااااو يجنن ❤❤❤❤