I’ve been reading for about 9 years now and whenever I read non-fiction I at least highlight passages I like.
This means that I don’t listen to non-fiction books
One downside, is that I never listen to podcasts without having something to take notes on. (**I know lots of people listen to podcasts for fun – so ignore this, I’m just giving context**)
In the past week I tried to read two non-fiction without taking any notes (and I’ve started going through episodes from a philosophy podcast).
In 2 days I finished Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. Technically even if I had made highlights, their use would be just as useless as now that I don’t have any highlights.
The benefit is that I can read more books. The downsides are theoretical but don’t seem to be practical (the highlights from other books I’ve read are stored in my computer but …
Over these 9 years I am a changed person, am I just because I read, or because I took notes/highlights without ever having had the need to use them?
I know “reading is about enjoyment, do what gives you joy…”. Just **please, if you read without making highlights or taking notes**, do you feel you have learned stuff?
by gate18
9 Comments
I only do it when I feel like it really will enhance what I’m reading. With Peter Heather’s Christendom, I ended up creating a timeline and keeping it up-to-date as I read partly because as we got to the dark ages he was looking at different geographical areas and I was having trouble tracking when we were. Having the timeline at the end definitely helped me sum up in my own mind what I learned in terms of the big picture.
I took notes on Piketty’s Capital for the same reason, sort of, to keep the parts that I found most relevant in terms of my future teaching in one place where I could look it over more quickly.
>(I know lots of people listen to podcasts for fun – so ignore this, I’m just giving context)
This is basically the argument to use for people who don’t highlight or take notes when reading non-fiction.
Also, “non-fiction” can be as educational as fiction, or not in the same way. I don’t (very rarely) mark my books, but I can still tell you about the author, story, and key points. Some provide more education than others, but non-fiction covers a wide range of books: journalistic reporting, memoirs, biographies, histories, analyses . . .
>Just please, if you read without making highlights or taking notes, do you feel you have learned stuff?
Yes.
I definitely enjoy nonfiction, and since college, I’ve never written in or underlined/highlighted anything in a book, (I imagine teachers and librarians of my childhood collectively screaming at the idea.) I can always jot a note elsewhere if I want to remember something, but I rarely do — I’m reading for fun.
I listen to a lot of non-fiction and certainly learn. Often it is how the information is presented that is the biggest take away. Such as Ed Yong’s I Contain Multitudes. I won’t remember the species names of all the things discussed, but the general explanations and the concepts is what sticks.
Try listening to subjects that you are interested in, but aren’t so into that you need notes that you’ll revisit. That way it’s different than university learning.
I haven’t taken notes on a book since college.
I read non-fiction often and I’ve never felt compelled to highlight or take notes. I’m ultimately reading for fun and learning can be bonus, but that’s just me. If you feel like you really want to take notes or it somehow expands your experience then do it, but literally no one else on the planet will ever care whether you did or not, so relax and do what you want.
Edit: to be clear, yes I feel like I learn things from almost everything I read, despite my lack of notes to show for it at the end.
I do not highlight or mark my books, whether fiction or non-fiction, but I still feel I learn without it. Everyone is different.
I don’t take notes. I read for fun.
I almost never take notes. It would not occur to me to do so.
The only exception is if the book is academic. I do not make notes on the pages of books, though. That would be untidy.