I have been a reader who never does highlight sentences or scribble(or taking notes on my thoughts) on my books. However, I feel like keeping books clean and never reading them again leaves me kind of lonely and kind of not gaining anything, especially because I don’t ‘read’ that much and think much these days.
Of course, I used to make a ‘sentence book’ years ago where I wrote down some good sentences that had the finest structure, vivid descriptions or things that just got me. This was very much time-consuming and I wish I had just highlight on the book directly with my pencil. But keeping a nice, clean book and making a commonplace book instead would be another choice if you want to keep your book clean.
This is a very difficult matter to me. So, I’d like to listen to your opinions and preference. Do you usually write your thoughts while you’re reading books? or do you keep your books clean with another notebooks to write your thoughts, sentences, etc? I would like to know how to be an active reader and thinker and if you have some good idea, please share with us.
by Victoria9273
16 Comments
The good thing about modern printing is that printing a book is cheap, and the resources used are mostly renewable. Which means that if you scribble in or highlight your book, you aren’t depriving the world of anything. We can print another easily, and then grow more trees to make more paper.
Traditionally, there’s a lot of respect for the written word, which makes sense in any time but the modern era because books used to be scarce and precious and people used to keep them carefully. Now, it’s not the physical object that matters; it’s access to the information. Destroying a physical book isn’t a threat to the book’s content anymore; banning it from a public library is.
So if you want to scribble in your books, cut them into sections to take smaller parts with you, or dogear the edges–go right ahead. You’re using up a *copy* of the book, but not the book itself. The book itself is made of information.
That said: I generally feel no need to write in my books. If I have thoughts about a book I’m reading, it gets written down in my journal when I write my entry that day. My journals over the years have included a LOT of book reviews and philosophical ramblings sparked by my reading material.
I write in the books I read, there’s coffee stains on them, they’re dog-eared… I respect the contents in them, not the physical books themselves. Btw, I am an author of management books—I expect readers to ‘destroy’ them. Just use and treat books how you wish. In my view, the physical form is not sacred.
I’m making the highlights in self-help books on my e-reader only. Like ‘It could be useful for me’.
If there’s something I like in a book, I’ll remember it. If there’s something I want to refer back to, I’ll make a note in an exercise book. If there’s a passage in another language, I’ll pencil in an English translation of that passage – especially if it’s likely that I’ll be lending that book to someone else.
It strikes me as very arrogant to write in a book, generally – other than writing my name and address on the opening leaf, or a greeting on the title page if it’s a gift for someone.
I don’t write in them or dog ear pages or anything. Not because I want them pristine, half the books I’ve bought were used and a good number of them are beat up and/or have writing in them.
I just don’t care to make notes or anything. If there’s a passage or something I like I’ll just stick a sticky note or something to mark the spot, but that’s it. On kindle I might highlight something, but I think I have one ore two highlights from the ~50 or so books I’ve read this year
I don’t write on or in my books unless its a book that was specifically made to be wrote in.
My books often end up beaten and stained, but I still can never bring myself to write in them. I take notes on a separate sheet of paper as I read, and then check out or buy a digital copy and write my notes in there.
I used to try and make notations in my college reading material- always starts strong, then gradually trickles off as I just wanted to read the damn thing, not have a conversation with it.
I’ve never even considered writing in a book I own. I just don’t have any desire to. I just read. If I need to take notes I use a notebook.
Fiction: no marks
Non fiction: all of the marks.
I correct typos and misprints in my own books and, in light pencil, in library books.
Normally, I write my name & the date of acquisition on the Title page then nothing else! EXTREMELY RARELY, I might underline a word or sentence, but it would have to be something extraordinary! Textbooks (VoTech & College) I took notes in, highlighted, drew mnemonics, anything I needed to do to keep that info in my brain!
I make notes and underline things. Dog ears all over too.
It depends: I usually keep my books clean, but I covered some of my favorite books with notes, especially if I want to remember a quote
I picked up a book from the early 1800s at a book fair – the letters of Robert Burns.
It had the original owner’s name and address written in the cover. Turns out he was my many great’s grandfather! Amazing moment.
So yes i support writing in your books.
I have a separate notebook especially for nonfiction. I don’t see a point in writing in a book when I can take notes and a page number to easily find an exact spot.