I read and discussed Fleming Rutledge's book, Crucifixion, with a friend. It is 612 pages long. For my first read, I made 557 marginal notes, anything from an exclamation point to a long comment. Another friend wanted to read and discuss it with me. I wasn't sure whether I would give it a serious reread, but I did. Another 345 marginal notes were made. 912 notes. It is now a treasure trove for edification, writing, and teaching.
When I taught at Wheaton, I headed over to the Wade collection. I saw C.S. Lewis's copy of Paradise Lost, which I love. The marginalia were meticulous, small, but legible. If a man who got a triple first at Oxford thought writing in books was a good idea, who am I to disagree?
Last, and strangest example. William F. Buckley had me over to his house for a wonderful lunch. It was just the two of us and his chef. He said I could roam around. I saw a fifty-year reunion book for Yale. In it, there were pictures of Bill's classmates and of course, him. I noticed that he made notes by some of the pictures to remind himself of various things about certain persons. I'm sure no one felt the need to put a note of explanation by him!
That Buckley story is great. Re Lewis, there’s a new book on the influence of Romanticism on his thinking (reading it now) that’s heavily based on an examination of his marginalia.
Just not in someone else’s book or in a library or school copy! Even in my own books, if done poorly, it can limit my later experience of reading the book again. I almost need to buy another copy for a reread or to lend without embarrassment. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve purchased a “lending copy” of several books that sit side by side on my shelves.
Yes, I get that. I recommend multiples for books you really love anyway. But you bring up a downside of marginalia and underlining—by drawing your attention back to one thing it can prevent you from seeing something else.
Which is exactly why I always buy my own books. I am an ardent supporter of libraries overall, but I don't actually use them for this very reason. I write in my books, highlight key points etc. I have just learned it is easier to buy books and then, from time to time, donate those I no longer want to a used bookstore or our church's garage sale.
I was with you all the way Joel, until you mentioned scribbling in the hundred year old book - that I just can't do. I have a collection of antique books and love reading them, feeling the print on their thick pages, but I could not bring myself to write in those. However, everything else is fair game (I'm even an avid "dogearer" of non-fiction). I will write short notes in the margins, but most often I prefer having a notebook alongside and will copy passages and my reflections in there, the additional effort helps to ponder the words more deeply.
Also, interesting detail about John Adams you offered. I just read that when he was sent to Paris by Congress (to obtain funds) his ship leaked and he disembarked by Finisterre and followed the way of St. James in the reverse pilgrims route, but regretted never having made it to Santiago de Compostella.
I definitely hesitated over writing in it, but found it very useful once I did. I used pencil. I still browse that—and a few other similarly old books—that I’ve decorated and consider those pencil marks just part of the biography of the book now. That said, I’m not a collector of antiquarian books; I just happen to own some. If I were more of a collector—especially if I were holding the books for their potential market value—I probably wouldn’t leave a mark.
Couldn't agree more! My books are always thoroughly marked-up. I probably underline a little too much for it to be useful, in fact, but I think it helps me focus on what I'm reading. I also think your opening estate sale comment offers a glimpse into the psyche of a writer: we all secretly hope that people will be so interested in what we think that even after we're dead they might still want to read our marginalia!
I’ve recently begun writing in my books, and I’ve found it helps me read on a far deeper level. I love it when I buy a second hand book and they also have marginalia in.
Absolutely, I've found some of the comments very astute, and some rather charming and eclectic, including an illustration and brief definition of a Battenburg cake.
I feel so seen! My books are filled with marks, comments, highlighted passages—it’s sometimes embarrassing to lend them 😅! I love when I pick a book for a quote to for the simple pleasure of rereading, when I read my own comments and find myself having a conversation with my past self.
I enjoy (spare) marginalia in used books -- I've been on a Blake kick lately and someone wrote exuberantly in a margin OH MY GOD BLAKE WAS A LIBERTARIAN AS THOUGH I COULDN'T LOVE HIM MORE!!!! which made me smile -- but I despise others' underlining and highlighting. It's far too distracting and renders a book unreadable. But to each his own!
My own procedure is to read with a pencil in hand and make light stars, or short comments, next to passages that are particularly worth remembering or referencing, and later I transcribe them into a digital commonplace. (I'd prefer handwritten but it takes too long). I also keep a large post it in the back of each book and write down themes as they occur to me as I read and those become the tags I apply to the note in my commonplace. I use Notion for easy cross referencing. But I also pick up books I've read and skim my starred passages and penciled reactions too and it's great fun (and often mildly embarrassing.)
Haha! That Blake note makes me happy. And how cool that you now get to share the original marginaliaist’s enthusiasm with us because they scribbled that in their copy!
Using Notion for your commonplace book is a great idea.
I’m rethinking my stance. I rarely write in books. But I have to admit I enjoyed reading the marginalia of a book a friend first loaned to me then gave me to keep. It’s like having her with me every time I open that book.
I tend to take notes when I read. That way library books and loaners can be “kept”. The downside is that it takes forever to get through an entire book.
Maybe I will try the sticky note approach. I do hate searching through the occasional book I’ve marked up to find a specific margin note.
At least after reading this I feel more okay about leaving my marks. Thanks!
I’ve always been terrified of scribbling in my books but also, I always want to take notes and remember certain quotes. This has really inspired me to start marking and annotating
Joel , what a wonderful post! I always underline and use asterisks as I read, novels and non-fiction. It definitely helps me to engage with and absorb and remember the ideas. You clearly articulated what I have been experiencing as I mature as a reader. I have had a vague sense of guilt about it, but now I’m casting that off! Thank you, Joel!
il dislike reading borrowed or offered books because I can't mark them up. I'd rather just buy my own. It is also one of the things I dislike about ebooks - not nearly so satisfying to make notes that don't appear at the relevant text. not that I don't read both sorts of books - I read almost anything that comes my way....unfortunately.
I've found using a Kindle Scribe makes marginalia easier -- I'm not limited by space and don't have to write at an angle or sideways! Plus, on rereading it is like opening a little surprise if I don't remember the original thought when I see the "text box" indicator of a note next to the passage. But I absolutely agree on not reading borrowed books due to the inability to mark up, Nicki!
Very good arguments, very persuasive, but I still cannot write in my books.
1) It doesn't help me remember. With my photographic memory and ordinal-linguistic personification synesthesia (yes, it is a thing - it means seeing letters and numbers as each having a personality and even gender), I can already remember where I saw information in a book.
2) It gets in my way. I naturally speed read - never learned it, been doing it since I learned to read as a child. When I read for information, I quickly scan the entire page, instinctively picking out key words and thoughts. Underlining, highlighting, and handwritten marginal notes hide these key points. When I pick up a used book and see the pages all marked up, it actually feels like the book's information has been muffled for me - I never buy a book like that.
I used to have no trouble remembering every book I ever read, but since I have started using e-library books, because they all look the same on the eReader so I can't remember them for how they looked and felt, I have started writing lists of the books I have read or reread in a year. Just reading the title can usually bring up the book again in my mind.
A must for reading and a delight.
Three quick examples:
I read and discussed Fleming Rutledge's book, Crucifixion, with a friend. It is 612 pages long. For my first read, I made 557 marginal notes, anything from an exclamation point to a long comment. Another friend wanted to read and discuss it with me. I wasn't sure whether I would give it a serious reread, but I did. Another 345 marginal notes were made. 912 notes. It is now a treasure trove for edification, writing, and teaching.
When I taught at Wheaton, I headed over to the Wade collection. I saw C.S. Lewis's copy of Paradise Lost, which I love. The marginalia were meticulous, small, but legible. If a man who got a triple first at Oxford thought writing in books was a good idea, who am I to disagree?
Last, and strangest example. William F. Buckley had me over to his house for a wonderful lunch. It was just the two of us and his chef. He said I could roam around. I saw a fifty-year reunion book for Yale. In it, there were pictures of Bill's classmates and of course, him. I noticed that he made notes by some of the pictures to remind himself of various things about certain persons. I'm sure no one felt the need to put a note of explanation by him!
Rutledge's "Crucifixion" is beyond description. Thank you for bringing it up. I too have highlighted it and written all over it. What a treasure.
That Buckley story is great. Re Lewis, there’s a new book on the influence of Romanticism on his thinking (reading it now) that’s heavily based on an examination of his marginalia.
Barbeau's new book crossed my radar and does look good!
I read Tim Larsen's terrific book on George MacDonald which is also in that Hansen lecture series.
Memory fails me, but I do recall a highly regarded scholar saying that short books based on lecture series tend to be very good.
The Mark Noll book in that series was awesome.
Just not in someone else’s book or in a library or school copy! Even in my own books, if done poorly, it can limit my later experience of reading the book again. I almost need to buy another copy for a reread or to lend without embarrassment. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve purchased a “lending copy” of several books that sit side by side on my shelves.
Yes, I get that. I recommend multiples for books you really love anyway. But you bring up a downside of marginalia and underlining—by drawing your attention back to one thing it can prevent you from seeing something else.
Which is exactly why I always buy my own books. I am an ardent supporter of libraries overall, but I don't actually use them for this very reason. I write in my books, highlight key points etc. I have just learned it is easier to buy books and then, from time to time, donate those I no longer want to a used bookstore or our church's garage sale.
We’re pretty much on the same page there.
The only book I regularly add marginalia to is the Bible, which I have been doing for nearly forty years.
That’s a rich treasury of past insights!
I like to call it, tongue firmly in cheek, "my inspired commentary"!
I was with you all the way Joel, until you mentioned scribbling in the hundred year old book - that I just can't do. I have a collection of antique books and love reading them, feeling the print on their thick pages, but I could not bring myself to write in those. However, everything else is fair game (I'm even an avid "dogearer" of non-fiction). I will write short notes in the margins, but most often I prefer having a notebook alongside and will copy passages and my reflections in there, the additional effort helps to ponder the words more deeply.
Also, interesting detail about John Adams you offered. I just read that when he was sent to Paris by Congress (to obtain funds) his ship leaked and he disembarked by Finisterre and followed the way of St. James in the reverse pilgrims route, but regretted never having made it to Santiago de Compostella.
Thanks for your writing Joel!
I definitely hesitated over writing in it, but found it very useful once I did. I used pencil. I still browse that—and a few other similarly old books—that I’ve decorated and consider those pencil marks just part of the biography of the book now. That said, I’m not a collector of antiquarian books; I just happen to own some. If I were more of a collector—especially if I were holding the books for their potential market value—I probably wouldn’t leave a mark.
Ok, well if it was pencil it might be forgivable :) I'm not a collector per se - I just love old books.
I get that. There’s nothing more booky than an old book!
Couldn't agree more! My books are always thoroughly marked-up. I probably underline a little too much for it to be useful, in fact, but I think it helps me focus on what I'm reading. I also think your opening estate sale comment offers a glimpse into the psyche of a writer: we all secretly hope that people will be so interested in what we think that even after we're dead they might still want to read our marginalia!
True! The hitch, of course, is that there are only a few living members of the species who can read my handwriting!
After 25 years of scribbling comments in the margins of student papers, I am familiar wiht that problem also!
I’ve recently begun writing in my books, and I’ve found it helps me read on a far deeper level. I love it when I buy a second hand book and they also have marginalia in.
Yes, me too! It’s like you get a peek into someone’s mind—and then all the fun of puzzling out what they were thinking.
Absolutely, I've found some of the comments very astute, and some rather charming and eclectic, including an illustration and brief definition of a Battenburg cake.
I feel so seen! My books are filled with marks, comments, highlighted passages—it’s sometimes embarrassing to lend them 😅! I love when I pick a book for a quote to for the simple pleasure of rereading, when I read my own comments and find myself having a conversation with my past self.
Yes! It’s so great.
I enjoy (spare) marginalia in used books -- I've been on a Blake kick lately and someone wrote exuberantly in a margin OH MY GOD BLAKE WAS A LIBERTARIAN AS THOUGH I COULDN'T LOVE HIM MORE!!!! which made me smile -- but I despise others' underlining and highlighting. It's far too distracting and renders a book unreadable. But to each his own!
My own procedure is to read with a pencil in hand and make light stars, or short comments, next to passages that are particularly worth remembering or referencing, and later I transcribe them into a digital commonplace. (I'd prefer handwritten but it takes too long). I also keep a large post it in the back of each book and write down themes as they occur to me as I read and those become the tags I apply to the note in my commonplace. I use Notion for easy cross referencing. But I also pick up books I've read and skim my starred passages and penciled reactions too and it's great fun (and often mildly embarrassing.)
Haha! That Blake note makes me happy. And how cool that you now get to share the original marginaliaist’s enthusiasm with us because they scribbled that in their copy!
Using Notion for your commonplace book is a great idea.
YES! The book becomes more valuable in all the ways that matter when it includes the reader’s scribbled notations.
Agreed!
I’m rethinking my stance. I rarely write in books. But I have to admit I enjoyed reading the marginalia of a book a friend first loaned to me then gave me to keep. It’s like having her with me every time I open that book.
I tend to take notes when I read. That way library books and loaners can be “kept”. The downside is that it takes forever to get through an entire book.
Maybe I will try the sticky note approach. I do hate searching through the occasional book I’ve marked up to find a specific margin note.
At least after reading this I feel more okay about leaving my marks. Thanks!
My pleasure! I love using sticky notes, too!
I’ve always been terrified of scribbling in my books but also, I always want to take notes and remember certain quotes. This has really inspired me to start marking and annotating
Excellent! Glad to have helped!
Joel , what a wonderful post! I always underline and use asterisks as I read, novels and non-fiction. It definitely helps me to engage with and absorb and remember the ideas. You clearly articulated what I have been experiencing as I mature as a reader. I have had a vague sense of guilt about it, but now I’m casting that off! Thank you, Joel!
My pleasure, Arlene!
Love this! I write in all my books. There is so much writing in some, it is difficult to read the book!❤️
LOL. I love that.
il dislike reading borrowed or offered books because I can't mark them up. I'd rather just buy my own. It is also one of the things I dislike about ebooks - not nearly so satisfying to make notes that don't appear at the relevant text. not that I don't read both sorts of books - I read almost anything that comes my way....unfortunately.
I've found using a Kindle Scribe makes marginalia easier -- I'm not limited by space and don't have to write at an angle or sideways! Plus, on rereading it is like opening a little surprise if I don't remember the original thought when I see the "text box" indicator of a note next to the passage. But I absolutely agree on not reading borrowed books due to the inability to mark up, Nicki!
That sounds intriguing.
Totally agree on ebooks. I like some of the functionality and experience, but any notations seem invisible.
Very good arguments, very persuasive, but I still cannot write in my books.
1) It doesn't help me remember. With my photographic memory and ordinal-linguistic personification synesthesia (yes, it is a thing - it means seeing letters and numbers as each having a personality and even gender), I can already remember where I saw information in a book.
2) It gets in my way. I naturally speed read - never learned it, been doing it since I learned to read as a child. When I read for information, I quickly scan the entire page, instinctively picking out key words and thoughts. Underlining, highlighting, and handwritten marginal notes hide these key points. When I pick up a used book and see the pages all marked up, it actually feels like the book's information has been muffled for me - I never buy a book like that.
I used to have no trouble remembering every book I ever read, but since I have started using e-library books, because they all look the same on the eReader so I can't remember them for how they looked and felt, I have started writing lists of the books I have read or reread in a year. Just reading the title can usually bring up the book again in my mind.
I get that. It’s not for everyone.
Delightful post, thanks!
My pleasure!