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Thank you to NetGalley and Quarry Books for sending me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Study with Me is the type of book I wish I would have been able to find when I was in middle and high school. It has a lot of promise, but unfortunately I don’t think it has reached its full potential yet. I’ve been bullet journaling for several years and I can see how this book could be helpful for those just starting out who haven’t discovered Ryder Carroll (who created bullet journaling, by the way) or don’t think bullet journaling is accessible (here’s a hint: it’s 100% customizable to your needs!).
Before I dive into what didn’t work for me, I do want to mention how Study with Me encourages everyone to bullet journal and shows how accessible it can be, whether you’re looking to add more flair to your current spreads or try bullet journaling out for the first time. The authors also share some helpful tips and tricks when it comes to studying.
Now, for the not so great parts (I’ve sent my full comments on to the publisher through NetGalley, so these are only some of the issues).
In general, I don’t think these authors had a clear view of who they wanted their audience to be. Some parts seemed geared towards people who had previously failed at bullet journaling and other seemed geared for bullet journal aficionados, with no really continuity between them. Study tips ranged from helpful and unique to much too basic to be included in this book. It seemed like the advice alternated between specific tips for planner lovers and advice for people who’ve never picked a journal up in their life, which made the book pretty clunky. For either group, the level of detail is not sufficient (it’s not enough information for beginners and it’s much too general for those looking for serious suggestions).
I liked the idea of including subject-specific spreads and study suggestions, but each subject didn’t receive much space (in general, 2 pages including 1-2 photos with some exceptions), and the level of detail between subjects was extremely varied. I don’t think enough space was given to each subject and I wish there was more uniformity to how in-depth examples and spread suggestions were. Several subjects seemed to miss key points (such as, has anyone ever had a foreign language class that didn’t stress the importance of verbs and verb tenses? In the book the authors choose to focus on vocabulary spreads instead). It made me feel like the authors were adding subjects because they wanted to include them without having a good grasp of the subject matter (or just limited experience) or doing the proper research to find out what would be the most beneficial.
Study with Me is 112 pages, including photos, at the cost of detailed information. I think it should have been closer to 200 pages to properly cover the information hinted at. In multiple cases it seemed information had been cut in order to make room for a photo, which means most of the text in the book is a general overview of possibilities and not much substance. I think Study with Me could have spent more time on how the reader could identify their specific bullet journaling needs and how to use the information they’re given and less time on general information.
If you’re looking for specific bullet journal ideas I would recommend searching Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube to start with, over picking up Study with Me. If you’re looking for general bullet journal information, Ryder Carroll’s book The Bullet Journal Method goes much more in-depth of how to get into bullet journaling and customizing it for your own needs.
Overall, even though it’s not quite where it needs to be, I am glad to see a book like this finally getting made and I hope to see it flourish in the future. Thank you again to NetGalley and Quarry Books for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.
Study with Me is the type of book I wish I would have been able to find when I was in middle and high school. It has a lot of promise, but unfortunately I don’t think it has reached its full potential yet. I’ve been bullet journaling for several years and I can see how this book could be helpful for those just starting out who haven’t discovered Ryder Carroll (who created bullet journaling, by the way) or don’t think bullet journaling is accessible (here’s a hint: it’s 100% customizable to your needs!).
Before I dive into what didn’t work for me, I do want to mention how Study with Me encourages everyone to bullet journal and shows how accessible it can be, whether you’re looking to add more flair to your current spreads or try bullet journaling out for the first time. The authors also share some helpful tips and tricks when it comes to studying.
Now, for the not so great parts (I’ve sent my full comments on to the publisher through NetGalley, so these are only some of the issues).
In general, I don’t think these authors had a clear view of who they wanted their audience to be. Some parts seemed geared towards people who had previously failed at bullet journaling and other seemed geared for bullet journal aficionados, with no really continuity between them. Study tips ranged from helpful and unique to much too basic to be included in this book. It seemed like the advice alternated between specific tips for planner lovers and advice for people who’ve never picked a journal up in their life, which made the book pretty clunky. For either group, the level of detail is not sufficient (it’s not enough information for beginners and it’s much too general for those looking for serious suggestions).
I liked the idea of including subject-specific spreads and study suggestions, but each subject didn’t receive much space (in general, 2 pages including 1-2 photos with some exceptions), and the level of detail between subjects was extremely varied. I don’t think enough space was given to each subject and I wish there was more uniformity to how in-depth examples and spread suggestions were. Several subjects seemed to miss key points (such as, has anyone ever had a foreign language class that didn’t stress the importance of verbs and verb tenses? In the book the authors choose to focus on vocabulary spreads instead). It made me feel like the authors were adding subjects because they wanted to include them without having a good grasp of the subject matter (or just limited experience) or doing the proper research to find out what would be the most beneficial.
Study with Me is 112 pages, including photos, at the cost of detailed information. I think it should have been closer to 200 pages to properly cover the information hinted at. In multiple cases it seemed information had been cut in order to make room for a photo, which means most of the text in the book is a general overview of possibilities and not much substance. I think Study with Me could have spent more time on how the reader could identify their specific bullet journaling needs and how to use the information they’re given and less time on general information.
If you’re looking for specific bullet journal ideas I would recommend searching Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube to start with, over picking up Study with Me. If you’re looking for general bullet journal information, Ryder Carroll’s book The Bullet Journal Method goes much more in-depth of how to get into bullet journaling and customizing it for your own needs.
Overall, even though it’s not quite where it needs to be, I am glad to see a book like this finally getting made and I hope to see it flourish in the future. Thank you again to NetGalley and Quarry Books for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.