I, among others were just a teeny tiny bit disappointed at the lack of having to refer to the journal in Oblivion, compared to Morrowind. I loved some of the clues for directions Morrowind gave us in order to locate a specific cavern, it made exploration that extra bit fun and ultimately rewarding when you finally got there. Obviously the compass in Oblivion eliminated that and the journal was pretty much just a body for looking at what quests I had left to complete.

My question is simple. Would you like to see the journal take a more active role in Skyrim? During one of my re-plays of Oblivion I decided I wanted to write my own journal of events on my netbook as I played, it added a little extra roleplay for me, I thought that if there was at least the option to be able write down your own personal notes in the journal, it could add a great deal of immersion based on how you choose to enter information.

Other suggestions are of course welcomed.

I'd prefer well written, longer dialogs and a short journal over short conversations and an extensive journal.
But in a perfect world, I could have both!

I started my very first true playthrough of Morrowind today (I've made many characters before, but could never really get into the game) and, being an extremely avid Oblivion player, one of the main things that really stood out to me as being better than Oblivion (in my opinion) is the sense that you're truly an outlander, you don't know the land and you have to rely on NPC's directions and the few notes your character jots down in his journal to find your way around. You don't have the compass and step by step instructions in your journal telling you exactly where to go and what to do, and I absolutely love that.

Hopefully they'll bring back the feeling of mystery and the sense of exploration in Skyrim. I don't want to be led all over the place by my all-knowing map and compass.

I totally agree. I hate the compass, and I found the journal lacking. I much preferred Morrowind's journal.
I would like the ability to be able to add some personal notes. Like a few words, a sentence or two. Give the player the option to either type out their own notes, or take a small quote from the last thing they read or hear (the game comes with subtitles, so all the audio is in the game in print already) and that would just be a highlight and copy. And any player written notes could be written in a more cursive font or on an angle in the margins or something.

I would love to be able to write my own journal entries, it would add to the immersion and I would be able to keep a tab on locations that I discovered but would only like to explore in the future.

As long as I don't have to go flicking through 300+ pages to find a quest I left for a later date (it's not fun it's tedious) I wouldn't mind having to refer to my journal more, in fact i'd enjoy it.