I like to write characters' names on the top of the page when they're introduced. There are always details that I might overlook at first, or minor characters I might forget. I do a lot of reading at night, (in the dark, trying not to keep my husband awake) using the Kindle dark mode option. I got the new Kindle Scribe because of the pen and note-taking feature (and the larger screen). You can't write on book pages, but you can make sticky notes or create separate journals and notebooks. I made a reading journal and a separate reading challenge on it.
As an English teacher, I'm a little bummed that I didn't write this first. Yes, I applaud it all and you listed all the reasons why I do the same. Great post!!
Do I have your permission to write a similar post one day? (no doubt less cogent than yours)
Here's another reason - the author may see it. I have had the pleasure of two authors in particular hold my well-worn book in their hands, spying all my notations. They were very impressed and sometimes didn't even realize they'd written personification, a simile or a paradox, for example. I asked how they crafted a certain sentence that impressed me greatly and they just marveled, "I have no idea." It reminded me of when Scout said that Atticus had an unfair advantage over others. These writers truly have all the advantage. (Zusak and Enger) Why not highlight those gems?
I think I'd like to try that. The best I've done so far is feel inspired and write articles shared on Substack or Medium. I ear-mark pages that hit home or if I've felt that I needed to share this with a loved one or a client. I take a screenshot and hit send.
I shall take your suggestion into serious consideration, as I'm reading Start With Why. I love the author's work. He's very inspiring. And so are you.
Sharing pages or screenshots with loved ones and clients is great. You could think of writing notes in your book as sharing those insights with your future self—the self that finds those notes a later date.
I LOVE this post!! I've always been an unapologetic annotator and scribbler (even in my Bible, the same one I've used for over 50 years now, and yes, Point #2!) A glance within the pages of a book will immediately tell someone how engaged I was with it and how formative it was for me.
I sometimes wince at stuff I wrote in a books years ago, but it’s also kind of fun to see what I was thinking back when and how it’s changed—or stayed the same—since then.
I like to write characters' names on the top of the page when they're introduced. There are always details that I might overlook at first, or minor characters I might forget. I do a lot of reading at night, (in the dark, trying not to keep my husband awake) using the Kindle dark mode option. I got the new Kindle Scribe because of the pen and note-taking feature (and the larger screen). You can't write on book pages, but you can make sticky notes or create separate journals and notebooks. I made a reading journal and a separate reading challenge on it.
Writing the names of characters on the tops of pages when they’re introduced is a great idea.
As an English teacher, I'm a little bummed that I didn't write this first. Yes, I applaud it all and you listed all the reasons why I do the same. Great post!!
Thanks, Sue!
Do I have your permission to write a similar post one day? (no doubt less cogent than yours)
Here's another reason - the author may see it. I have had the pleasure of two authors in particular hold my well-worn book in their hands, spying all my notations. They were very impressed and sometimes didn't even realize they'd written personification, a simile or a paradox, for example. I asked how they crafted a certain sentence that impressed me greatly and they just marveled, "I have no idea." It reminded me of when Scout said that Atticus had an unfair advantage over others. These writers truly have all the advantage. (Zusak and Enger) Why not highlight those gems?
Yes, please do! If you wouldn’t mind a link back, that’d be killer. Thanks!
I think I'd like to try that. The best I've done so far is feel inspired and write articles shared on Substack or Medium. I ear-mark pages that hit home or if I've felt that I needed to share this with a loved one or a client. I take a screenshot and hit send.
I shall take your suggestion into serious consideration, as I'm reading Start With Why. I love the author's work. He's very inspiring. And so are you.
Sharing pages or screenshots with loved ones and clients is great. You could think of writing notes in your book as sharing those insights with your future self—the self that finds those notes a later date.
Awesome idea because by then.. who will i be! Thank you!
I LOVE this post!! I've always been an unapologetic annotator and scribbler (even in my Bible, the same one I've used for over 50 years now, and yes, Point #2!) A glance within the pages of a book will immediately tell someone how engaged I was with it and how formative it was for me.
I sometimes wince at stuff I wrote in a books years ago, but it’s also kind of fun to see what I was thinking back when and how it’s changed—or stayed the same—since then.
I admire annotators, but I simply cannot do it. I handle my books carefully, try not to crease the spine, refrain from dog-earing the pages.