This article is intended to be a chronological list of books on diaries and journals, including how-to, self-help and discussions of the diary or journal as a genre of literature.

For a list of fictional diaries, please see the list of fictional diaries. For a list of diarists, please see list of diarists. For a list of diaries notable for high word-count or duration, please see list of longest diaries.

+ Table of books on diaries and journals. Author Title Publisher Date NotesLowell, Amy; Omori, Annie; & Doi, Kochi Diaries of court ladies of old Japan Houghton Mifflin 1920 Includes the Sarashina diary, the diary of Murasaki Shikibu, and the diary of Izumi Shikibu.Forbes, Harriette M. New England Diaries: A descriptive catalog of diaries, orderly books and sea journals Privately printed 1923 A substantial work of over 440 pages; brief descriptions only.Thomas, William S. American revolutionary diaries. Also journals, narratives, autobiographies, reminiscences and personal memoirs The New York Historical Society 1923 "Considerably more than three hundred titles are presented…" (p. 1) 46 pages, very brief descriptions.Ponsonby, Arthur English Diaries: A review of English diaries from the sixteenth to the twentieth century with an introduction on diary writing Methuen & Co. Ltd 1923 120 English diarists included.Ponsonby, Arthur More English Diaries: Further reviews of diaries from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century with an introduction on diary reading Methuen & Co. Ltd 1927 37 English diarists included.Ponsonby, Arthur Scottish and Irish Diaries: From the sixteenth to the nineteenth century Methuen & Co. Ltd 1927 28 diarists.Fyfe, James Gabriel Scottish diaries and memoirs 1550–1746 Eneas Mackay 1928 Over 460 pages, includes 29 diarists and The Lyon in Mourning (1745/46), "a remarkable collection of journals, narratives, and other documents written, or communicated orally, by men and women who participated in the Jacobite rising of 1745" (p. 436).Ponsonby, Arthur British diarists Ernest Benn Limited 1930 80-page booklet in the "Benn's Sixpenny Library" series (no. 70)Field, Joanna A Life of One's Own J. P. Tarcher, Inc. 1934 Joanna Field is a pseudonym of Marion Milner.D'Oyley, Elizabeth English diaries Edward Arnold & Co. 1935 Includes Charles Wriothesley, Henry Machyn, Anthony À Wood, Samuel Pepys, Henry Teonge, John Evelyn, Elizabeth Byrom, James Boswell's Journal of a tour to the Hebrides, Fanny Burney, Dorothy Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott, & Captain Robert Scott.Ponsonby, Arthur The little torch: Quotations from diaries of the past for every day of the year George Routledge & Sons Ltd. 1938 366 quotations from 222 diarists.Aitken, James English diaries of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries Pelican Books 1941 155 pages, 19 diarists.Aitken, James English diaries of the 19th century 1800–1850 Pelican Books 1944 160 pages, 22 diarists.Matthews, William American diaries: an annotated bibliography of American diaries written prior to the year 1861 University of California Press 1945 O'Brien, Kate English diaries and journals W Collins 1947 48 pages. O'Brien states "…the best English diaries have been written by bores" (p. 7). Includes several illustrations and portraits.Spalding, Philip Anthony Self Harvest: A study of diaries and the diarist Independent Press Ltd 1949 112 pages, includes 91 British diarists. Matthews, William British diaries: An annotated bibliography of British diaries written between 1442 and 1942 University of California Press 1950 Waite, Vincent English diaries and journals A. Wheaton & Co,. Ltd. 1952 Includes 20 diarists; vague chapter headings such as "A king"; "A country doctor"; "A woman novelist"; "A poet's sister" etc. Also includes the fictional work The diary of a nobody (1892) by George and Weedon Grossmith. Dunaway, Philip & Evans, Mel A treasury of the world's great diaries Doubleday & Company, Inc. 1957 Fothergill, Robert A. Private chronicles: A study of English diaries Oxford University Press 1974 Progoff, Ira At a Journal Workshop: The basic text and guide for using the Intensive Journal Dialog House Library 1975 Batts, John Stuart British manuscript diaries of the nineteenth century: An annotated listing Rowman & Littlefield 1976 Rainer, Tristine The New Diary: How to use a journal for self-guidance and expanded creativity Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam 1978 Capacchione, Lucia The Creative Journal: The art of finding yourself Ohio University/Swallow Press 1979 Lifshin, Lyn Ariadne's Thread: A collection of contemporary women's journals Harper & Row 1982 Arksey, Laura; Pries, Nancy; & Reed, Marcia American diaries: An annotated bibliography of published American diaries and journals. Volume 1: Diaries written from 1492 to 1844 Gale Research Company 1983 Mallon, Thomas A Book of One's Own: People and their diaries Ticknor & Fields 1984 Over 125 diarists listed, almost all from Europe and North America.Kagle, Steven Early nineteenth century American diary literature Twayne Publishers 1986 Arksey, Laura; Pries, Nancy; & Reed, Marcia American diaries: An annotated bibliography of published American diaries and journals. Volume 2: Diaries written from 1845 to 1980 Gale Research Company 1987 Vivian, Frances Letts keep a diary–A exhibition of the history of diary keeping in Great Britain from 16th–20th century in commemoration of 175 years of diary publishing by Letts Charles Letts & Co Ltd 1987 Fulwiler, Toby The Journal Book Heinemann 1987 A collection of essays on using journals in K12 classrooms.Havlice, Patricia Pate And so to bed. A bibliography of diaries published in English The Scarecrow Press, Inc. 1987 Blodgett, Harriet Centuries of Female Days: Englishwomen's private diaries Rutgers University Press 1988 Blythe, Ronald The pleasures of diaries: Four centuries of private writing Pantheon Books 1989 Brett, Simon The Faber book of diaries Faber & Faber 1989 Adams, Kathleen Journal to the Self: Twenty-two paths to personal growth Hachette 1990 Blodgett, Harriet Capacious Hold-All: An anthology of Englishwomen's diary writings University Press of Virginia 1992 Stevens, Carla A book of your own: Keeping a diary or journal Clarion Books 1993 Schiwy, Marlene A. A Voice of Her Own: Women and the journal-writing journey Simon & Schuster 1996 Price, Dan How to Make a Journal of Your Life Ten Speed Press 1999 Taylor, Irene; & Taylor, Alan The assassin's cloak: An anthology of the world's greatest diaries Canongate Books 2000 Williams, Kate; et al. Great Diaries: The world's most remarkable diaries, journals, notebooks, and letters DK Penguin Random House 2000 Bender, Sheila Keeping a journal you love North Light Books 2001 Jolly, Margaretta Encyclopedia of life writing: Autobiographical and biographical forms. Volume 1 A–K Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers 2001 Jolly, Margaretta Encyclopedia of life writing: Autobiographical and biographical forms. Volume 2 L–Z Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers 2001 Johnson, Alexandra Leaving a Trace: On keeping a journal Back Bay Books 2002 Diehn, Gwen The Decorated Page: Journals, scrapbooks & albums made simply beautiful Lark Books 2002 Alaszewski, Andy Using Diaries for Social Research SAGE Publications 2006 Kominars, Sheppard B. Write for Life: Healing body, mind, and spirit through journal writing Cleveland Clinic Press 2007 Lejeune, Philippe On diary University of Hawai'i Press 2009 Johnson, Alexandra A brief history of diaries: From Pepys to blogs Hesperus Press Limited 2011 Kempthorne, Charley Narrative Journaling: 28 days to writing more or less happily for the rest of your life The LifeStory Institute 2014 Bayley, Sally The Private Life of the Diary: From Pepys to tweets Unbound 2016 Henderson, Desirée How to read a diary: Critical contexts and interpretive strategies for 21st-century readers Routledge 2019 Ben-Amos, Batsheva; & Ben-Amos, Dan The diary: The epic of everyday life Indiana University Press 2020

See also Diary Intensive Journal Method List of diarists List of fictional diaries Literary technique Notetaking Othergates - a series of market guides that was published in the 1980s

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