;the a to z of journals

There are TWO DAYS left till Love From A To Z, and we have TWO POSTS going up today so be sure to check out Julia @ Julia Fleur‘s blog post as well!* Members of the Street Team** have been posting their excitement for the past few days, so be sure to check out their posts linked at the bottom of this one!

I have not had the joy of reading S.K. Ali’s newest offering yet. I am very excited for it though!*** I have heard many good things about it, and one thing that struck me is that in the novel, both Zayneb and Adam keep journals.

So I thought to myself, I keep a journal – kind of, anyway – too. Why not make a list of things that are fun about journals, or to keep in mind when you start a journal?

*Thank you to Rameela @ Star Is All Booked Up for putting together the countdown blog tour!
**Thank you to @gildedwolves and @airyreads on twitter for putting this street team together!
***Watch this space for a post on why I added it to my TBR.

• A for art.

  Not necessarily a thing you have to be good at, but you will definitely find yourself doodling in the pages of your journal, and it’s therapeutic.

• B for books.

  Necessary for journaling, for sure. If you don’t have a book to write in, how do you even start?

• C for constant.

  I’m not good at this one, but everybody says you should try and journal constantly. Take a few minutes a day, make it a habit, and it’ll be a breeze.

• D for dreams.

  A journal is a place you can express your dreams – whether they be literal or metaphorical. Some people keep dream journals, after all, where they take down their nightly dreams to keep track of them and to try and figure them out.

• E for expressing yourself.

  You can do it through poetry or fiction or a shorthand you only understand, but that is what your journal is for. To let yourself go and let your thoughts out.

• F for

• G for goals.

  What do you want to do with your life? What are your resolutions? They may not come out as straightforward as some people put them, but when you look at your journal, you will remember your goals and your aims.

• H for honesty.

  If you cannot be honest about your life, your self, your thoughts, in your journal, then where can you really be honest? Even if it is just honesty layered with your writing or your art.

• I for ideas.

  Writing journalers, unite! Scribbling down your vague story ideas in your journal for you to come back to isn’t something that just I do, right?

• J for
• K for

• L for lists.

  This is a personal favourite? I love to make lists. Lists of books I want to read, of things I need to do, of places I want to go, etc.

• M for
• N for

• O for organisation.

  Some of us are better at this than others, but we can use our journals for planning out our days, or our work, or even our reading and writing.

• P for pens.

  Or pencils. Or markers. Or whatever you need to write and draw and journal the way your heart desires.

• Q for quotes.

  Inspirational quotes or motivational quotes or quotes that just click with you on this day, scrawled on your pages, or handlettered to look pretty because that’s just the way you’re feeling today.

• R for record.

  Your journal can be a record for all the things you want to do, and all the things you have done. It’s a record of yourself, of your wins and your losses and your life, in whatever way you want to present it.

• S for safe space.

  It is personal and a diary, in many ways, and for someone to go through it without your permission would be a breach of your privacy and trust. It should be and is your sanctuary.

• T for therapeutic.

  Even if it’s just colouring or sketching out an image, or writing down song lyrics and doodling in the margins, you feel better after having the time to yourself to just sit and work on your journal, don’t you?

• U for unique.

  No two journals are the same. The outsides may look alike, but everything on the inside? All your own. All different.

• V for vivid.

  It is vivid in it’s honesty, in the words, in the doodles. It can be vivid in the colours, in the way you make it your own.

• W for wordy.

  This one is obvious, no? Journals will have words, a lot of words, and therefore are wordy. All your thoughts and opinions and venting can come out over pages and pages.

• X for eXtra.

  Okay, I’m going to admit. There are not many words starting with ‘x’ that could fit. So I cheated. You can be as extra – as dramatic and over the top – as you want in your journal.

• Y for yours.

  At the end of the day, journals are very personal and there are no right or wrong ways to do it. It is yours, and you decide how and what and why you want to journal, and no one can say otherwise.

• Z for zany.

  You are free to be as zany as you want. It is your journal, your truths are in the pages. No one can complain or judge you for it.

Title: Love From A To Z
Author: S.K. Ali
Genre: YA, contemporary

A marvel: something you find amazing. Even ordinary-amazing. Like potatoes—because they make French fries happen. Like the perfect fries Adam and his mom used to make together.

An oddity: whatever gives you pause. Like the fact that there are hateful people in the world. Like Zayneb’s teacher, who won’t stop reminding the class how “bad” Muslims are.

But Zayneb, the only Muslim in class, isn’t bad. She’s angry.

When she gets suspended for confronting her teacher, and he begins investigating her activist friends, Zayneb heads to her aunt’s house in Doha, Qatar, for an early start to spring break.

Fueled by the guilt of getting her friends in trouble, she resolves to try out a newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her.

Then her path crosses with Adam’s.

Since he got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November, Adam’s stopped going to classes, intent, instead, on perfecting the making of things. Intent on keeping the memory of his mom alive for his little sister.

Adam’s also intent on keeping his diagnosis a secret from his grieving father.

Alone, Adam and Zayneb are playing roles for others, keeping their real thoughts locked away in their journals.

Until a marvel and an oddity occurs…

Marvel: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

Oddity: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

GOODREADS || AMAZON || BARNES & NOBLE || BOOK DEPOSITORY || INDIEBOUND

S.K. Ali can be found at : Website || Twitter || Instagram

Don’t forget to check out the other stops!

April 23:
Rameela @ Star Is All Booked Up – Welcome Post/Marvels and Oddities in my Life

April 24:
Lilli @ Utopia State of Mind – Countdown to Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali

April 25:
Selena @ Life of a Random – Love From A To Z Playlist

April 26:
Shri @ Sun And Chai – The Marvels And Oddities Of Love From A To Z By S.K. Ali

April 27:
Aashi Ranjan @ Books Bounty Hub – Muslim Representation Matters

April 28:
Julia @ Juliatfleur – Love From A To Z Countdown
Ara @ Open Pages – ;the a to z of journals

April 29:
Nargis @ Writing Power – T Minus 1 Day Left

April 30 (RELEASE DAY!):
Amna @ YA Book Corner – A to Z Reason to read Love From A to Z
Michelle @ Magical Reads – TOUR: Love From A To Z