Books on Journaling

As a long-time journaler, I can never resist a book on the topic because I’m always curious about what other people are doing in theirs.
If you’re a fan of Teesha Moore’s journaling style like I am, you’ll love her set of four booklets which you can order directly from her website. Each booklet contains 40 full color reproductions of pages she’s done over the last eight years. There’s magic about Teesha’s work that’s hard to resist. She’s spontaneous, poetic, quirky and unique. Although I know I could never do what she does, her journal pages don’t intimidate me. I come away thinking feeling uplifted, inspired and believing that I can do more with my own journaling as well.
Drawing From Life: The Journal as Art by Jennifer New is another book I really like. New, the author of a previous book on Dan Eldon, takes us on a fascinating, almost scholarly journey into the secret world of journalers. What appeals to me about Drawing From Life is that New interviews and presents the work of a wide range of people from rock stars like David Byrne and cartoonist Lynda Barry, to painters, photographers, a quilt artist, a song writer, a violin maker and even a volcanologist. There’s no one style that’s paramount which I found really appealing. It’s all about using the journal in a no-rules, practical way. You can find out more about New and her books on her website.
The 1000 Journals Project by Someguy, with a forward by Kevin Kelly, reveals journaling at its grittiest. In other words, if you’re looking for pretty you definitely won’t find it here. The pages are filled with political rants, rough sketches, collages, snapshots and diagrams. There’s even one entry written entirely on Post-it-Notes.
To give you some background: in the summer of 2000, Someguy—graphic designer Brian Singer—started leaving blank journals around San Francisco. Each journal included instructions to contribute something, pass it on, and then once it was complete, to mail it back to him. Since Singer started his project, contributors from every U.S. state and 40 countries have participated. He describes the process as “an experiment where the journals themselves are a museum and every participant is an artist.” For more information on the project, check out the 1000 Journals website.