My experience of keeping a book journal in 2016

I've been a long-time lurker of this subreddit but this is my first post. I wanted to share my experience of keeping a book journal for a year with you guys!

In 2016, my New Years Resolution was to read 30 books. I've always loved reading, but in the 6 years before making this resolution, I'd probably read a grand total of 10 books (blame 4 years of undergrad and 2 years of grad school). 2015 had been a really rough year, so I decided to make an effort to do something I really loved in 2016. My only rule, besides trying to make it to 30, was that each book had to be one that I had not read before. I wanted to keep a journal because I honestly have a terrible memory, and there's no way I'd be able to remember which books I had read during the year. I can always remember very broadly what I liked or disliked about a book I've read, but I also wanted to capture little details, or small things that I really loved in each book.

For each journal entry, I noted the title, author, number of pages, and the dates during which I read the book. I got to 22 books (so close!), finishing my last one on January 1st, 2017. Each entry ranged from 3/4 of a page to as long as 4 pages, and consisted of my general thoughts on the book. I didn't follow any rigid rules for my entries, just wrote what I thought about it, what I liked or disliked, if I related to a character in any way, etc. They're not the most academic entries (I loved English class in high school, but these days I'm pretty sure 95% of the symbolism in books goes right over my head), but I still love my book journal more than anything. It's now one of my most valuable possessions. I've never let anyone read it, but I'm still really proud of it. I didn't make it to 30 but I'm still happy that I made it to 22!

Overall, it was such an enjoyable experience. To be honest, there were only a handful of books that I really loved. There were quite a few that I felt very "meh" about, and about 3-4 that I had to struggle to get through. My initial thought was to pick my top 5 at the end of 2016 and buy those books for my personal library (I've been getting them from the library), but I live in a tiny apartment so I'm rethinking that. I got quite a few of my recommendations from this subreddit, and others from friends and colleagues, and still others from a running list of books I want to read that I've been keeping since high school. A few I just picked up on a whim from the library, and some I've been wanting to read for years and never got around to (like Fahrenheit 451).

Anyway, I just wanted to share this experience with you guys, since I really am very excited that I made it to 22, and that I was really good about journalling about each book I read. I'm also curious if anyone else keeps a book journal. Do you follow guidelines for your entries, or just write your thoughts like me? How long have you kept it for? Do you have any advice/suggestions for my book journalling in 2017 (e.g., making entries more rigid, following a guide for writing about books somewhere online, having a new goal)?