I love this! Taking it a step further - I love second-hand books that someone has marked up. I add my own marks, supplementing or sometimes challenging their notes. It's like having an intimate conversation.
I recently ordered a history book from a used book site. The prior owner made copious notes and thoughtful comments. As I read, I was having a conversation not only with the author, but also another interested reader. The more I read, the more I thought, "I like this guy, we could have an interesting conversation." His name was in the front if the book. A little Googling identified him as a professor of philosophy interested in history. Unfortunately an obituary showed he had died only a couple of years ago. But the obit also listed survivors, including a daughter with a unique married surname who lived in a certain city. I found her email address and sent a couple of pics of the notes. She wrote back that yes, that was her dad's handwriting, and she gave me some back story on this nice man who felt like a new friend. She was very appreciative when I mailed the book to her to have as a keepsake. So a really touching story all around, testimony to the power of marginalia, and an example of at least one time when the internet facilitated a nice connection.
I so love this little story! What a beautiful way to meet someone new; even passed on, he spoke to you and became a friend. And to reach out to his family! How lovely, how hope-producing in this hard, uncomfortable time! If you write, this delightful incident is the bones of a wonderful short story; even a novel! Thanks for sharing! It makes me want to buy used books!!
I’m reading the Journal of Solitude by May Sarton that I too bought off a used book site and it has some markings and marginalia and I’m so intrigued by it. Especially trying to decipher whether it was a man or woman! I mark all my books but always wonder whether I’m taking away something from the next readers experience of the book.
If I’m concerned about say, it’s an expensive book, I will get a journal instead. Makes my notes easier to manage and preserves the readability of the book.
I love this! How wonderful. I had a similar moment years ago, not long after I first joined Facebook. I wasn’t sure the platform was for me—but then a high school friend reached out. We hadn’t spoken in nearly 30 years. Her father, our former English teacher, was gravely ill, and she was asking folks who knew him to write.
So I did.
I shared memories from class, the ways his teaching had shaped me, and how it nudged me toward medicine. She told me he appreciated the note. He passed not long after.
Like most things, Facebook has its flaws—but in this case, it made something memorable and meaningful possible. For me, for her, and I believe, for him too.
I just cannot read E books. I need the binding, the paper, the smell. When I put it on my shelves, know I’ll be picking it up again. I look all my books over ( 2,000 or so) virtually every day; truly, they are my friends.
Oh yes, as long as it isn’t so extreme, it’s like reading along with a friend from another time. I recently read a novel on internet archives that had little pencil lines only, but they were so perfect! I can’t help but think some educator preparing to teach had marked it, and she was left-handed like me! It was lovely.
Hard agree! I recently picked up a grammar book that has pristine marginalia suggestive of a an English teacher. There’s a series of shorthand on the very first page meant for grading essays, and the previous owner even added a few of their own symbols. I imagine they were thorough, if fastidious, instructor haha.
I’m so lucky to have an amazing local second hand bookshop full of books that have been annotated. It’s so beautiful to see how someone has absorbed the text
Yes! You are blessed. I drove by a Used Book Store on my way to my grandson’s summer camp. It is 1/2 hour from my home. I am certainly going to go out there soon! So much fun, is it not? Possibly soul food!
NO! NO! NO! Please do not do this. There are people who seem to now advise marking and highlighting books. NEVER do that. It's a form of vandalism. Books are sacred. Books are passed on to future generations. When I pick up a beautiful book at the thrift store only to see it destroyed with scribble, it goes back on the shelf and ultimately gets trashed. Its useless to me and anyone else who might have had a benefit. Also, how many marks can I make in a book before it becomes unintelligible to even me. Do I scratch out old notes that were wrong? How do I then read through that junk? If you want to make notes, buy a notebook, or use an e-book where you can do that without destroying the book. Avoid this temptation as it won't help you and it guarantees that book goes in the trash when you are done.
You wrote: "When I pick up a beautiful book at the thrift store only to see it destroyed with scribble, it goes back on the shelf and ultimately gets trashed. Its useless to me and anyone else who might have had a benefit."
But the lady above you wrote, "I love second-hand books that someone has marked up. I add my own marks, supplementing or sometimes challenging their notes. It's like having an intimate conversation."
So TO EACH THEIR OWN. If you NEED a clean book, go to your nearest local bookstore and order it. That will be a gift to both them and to you. <3
Annotated books does sound fun but I guess if you don't want to scribble them, and pass them on like that- you can maybe use something like sticky notes- best of both worlds I think. Just hope they don't come off prematurely.
I don’t enjoy how a scribbled book looks, and think of the next reader or preservation of the book for resale since much of my life a used book was all I could afford, or it might be out of print. It’s the Virgo in me, acting like Lucy from 🥜 Peanuts.
This is why I opt for Post It’s notes in all sizes, but after discovering transparent sticky notes I started buying those and use different ink colors for emphasis. For art instruction or technical books I use small tab size Post It’s to return to pages with good information. So far none have damaged the page or fallen off and I find only books with poor quality paper or those that are age yellowed might have these issues and am careful to stick markers carefully so as not to remove ink from words. Slicks never damage unless they are made of very thin paper, or books made with tissue papers like a bible are the most delicate of all.
If you owned a rare first edition, your attitude would make sense, but if the book is mass produced, no. I buy books on science and philosophy to engage with them. I buy fiction for relaxation. The copies are mine. I have no special duty to minimise the authors’ royalties by preserving the book so that you can read it on the cheap.
Not all are reading on the cheap as much as cannot afford books and I was one such child. Used books became precious for a lifetime. Many used book lovers love cover art from earlier publications and I made a great friend of a man in our little beach town of Seal Beach CA named Nathan Cohen who owned a beautifully cluttered book store many of us frequented. Nathan knew where every book was located like a librarian and would walk me to those with the prized cover art on them while we discussed them. After Nathan passed there was a beautiful gathering and tribute to this beloved jazz music loving man at our pier and his many friends dedicated a plaque and bench to him. One man’s Old Used Book is another’s Precious Treasure.
I can't geninuely imagine this isn't satire, annotations are at times quite sought after in books. I actively perfer a annotated copy of texts, and the vast majority of people are neutral on the subject
I agree with this, books are a common good, and owning them also means lending them, passing them along, and donating/reselling them. I feel this article has a bit of an individualistic approach to books.
It is individual in application (I alone wrote the notes in the margins); however, it is an asynchronous dialogue, where the author is the reader’s interlocutor; note-taking is also reflexive and builds a sense of a text relative to the unfolding of one’s own beliefs. For my writing students, they learn and create multiple note-taking methods to fairly represent another’s words, to actively listen to the voice and person they construct while reading, this checks their own assumptions too since they voice those when taking notes. All to track how they build what I call their Epistemic Edifice as they learn to research and build knowledge in university courses. Marginalia also engages their desire to comment as they do in social media. A book, like Bakhtin said, is filled with words overflowing with meaning and whose origins we are ignorant of. So, add your own words, have a conversation with the author, manipulate the semiotic symbols we call words to reconfigure reality. Challenge the text cuz it’s an elaborate opinion among many.
I respect both opinions on this topic and for students I feel this is an imperative. One of my favorite classes in high school was called Understanding Man Through Literature and the teacher was amazing. We read recommended books and discussed them, sometimes with a back and forth dialog with the teacher and others where he shared his own thoughts afterward. At the time I thought this was like the great philosophers once did and each day we looked forward to the talks we had together. The students who gravitated to this course were among my favorites, some were even neighbors or long time school friends who grew up with a shared life experience.
What a wonderful memory and even better class experience. Love the title of the course, and the word understanding especially. To accurately gain Understanding via abstract symbols like language is no small feat.
I understand both opinions too. I own plenty of editions of favorite texts whose margins and pages remain blank, unwritten. But I prefer filling margins, to converse with a text’s message like a conversation that teaches me, perhaps like your teacher taught you via dialogue.
Agree. I keep journals, if it’s important. Having had several written in books, the only time so far I’ve really appreciated prior writings is when it’s like a cookbook, or similar. Of course, if the previous owner is a well-established or noted person, that would be different to me, but otherwise, it tends to get in the way of focusing on the text. Besides which, I can’t see it working for me. I get very long-winded in my notes, like with my comment here, and a cramped sentence or two or a few words generally isn’t enough commentary and just clutters it up for me.
A good long winded note can explain so much more! Yes, cookbooks are my biggest exception also and if I want to make an alternative method I’ll put it on a large post it note attached to the original, sometimes with an addendum to that note later on.
In US/Europe, great printing, hard-cover books are nearly free when compared to the prices they arrive at South America, for instance. Some cost up to 3-4 wage salaries for one harder-to-find book. In this scenario, keeping the book pristine retains its retail value.
I completely understand, if I have a book which surely will get passed on, I treat it more pristinely. Most books, especially old ones, eventually succumb to molds and such, so while I have them I use them well. Others, I weigh well what their next lives will be. Still, tools don’t do well hanging in the workshop, so my workaday books such as history, biography, theory, I mark away.
One way,,is to use pencil marks on books that correspond to,the reader’s
notes on “post-its” , affixing the post-it’s to the corresponding page.post-its now come in a variety of sizes,including narrow with adhesive edge running vertically. Or literally create a side page, which folds back into the book page using gentle adhesive painter’s tape,to affix the added page to the book page.also, this method makes it easier to write neatly. That makes entire note taking process neater and more creative.
I see his defined purpose, and Adler's, but I am arguing that that it can be accomplished in another way and that book kept in the condition to be of use to others.
It might be personal preference but easily could make a case that written-in books are trashed vs handed down and if the book is worthy of wrestling so to speak, it is worthy of passing on/down. Notes all over a book ruin the book for me and they don't allow you the freedom to form your own impressions before being given another's.
I've only done a hodge-podge of classes, but in none of mine did they address it. I'd have thought it would be several teacher's idea of helpful vs policy. The whole university wanted you to practice it? Interesting. Maybe they'd been convinced by Adler, haha
For the majority of books I also own them intellectually… for now. As memory fades it has become even more important to make that effort to preserve brain cells so they do not atrophy.
books… are… sacred?? you mean like semen to the Vatican cult?? did I just wake up in 1489? Look, you can get MORE THAN ONE copy of (nearly) ever book on the planet… sit on that one for sec. And then really(!) ask yourself when exactly you traded to content of a book for it’s mere exterior? respectfully, of course.
Respectfully, I realize that not everyone on the planet is a 1% er and to them a book is very much sacred even if it won’t be found in the gold gilded library of the Vatican.
I feel like you really didn't take anything from this whole essay, no one said make it unintelligible but annotations psychologically do help you form a deeper understanding of what your reading and makes your brain sit with it longer, even when I study I have to annote or else it just feels like I'm not retaining anything, so if I'm looking to understand a book deeply annotation is a must, at least for me but to each their own.
It might be stupid, but I purchase e-books, annotate the hell out of them, and use personal software to archive all my highlights in a personal database. And if the book really is amazing, I purchase a new physical edition of it and keep it untouched and clean in my library. I see how my system is funny, but I really love to have the books I love on my shelf, and its much easier to import my highlights from an e-book.
I’m intrigued! What software are you using for this and does it work with iOS? I’m on an iPad and also notate my ebooks but didn’t realize this was an option.
Well my honor. There are two apps for iPad: "Liquid Text" and "Margin Notes". The first one is pretty and is about drawing with Apple Pencil. The other is a bit ugly, but supports dark mode, epubs, and very organized notes. But for the ease of stuff I've moved to using Kindle where I use the txt file that has highlights for importing them.
There are two apps for iPad: "Liquid Text" and "Margin Notes". The first one is pretty and is about drawing with Apple Pencil. The other is a bit ugly, but supports dark mode, epubs, and very organized notes.
Not in the literal sense, but figuratively to many they are. Being open minded about this, I don’t mind either way, it’s your book and you can do as you please with it.
Did some of you miss the part where it says you can retain 7X’s more by marking up a book? 7X’s people! Personally, if I am keeping the book, I mark it. If I am reading it once, I use notecards and place them in an envelope. I can then review them from time to time.
It's far better to write notes and comments in a notebook! If only because you can then easily find them again. I used to write out sentences that I found interesting and pin them on a board. Just little phrases that resonanted. I am a bookbinder and often repair old books - it can be interesting to see the marginalia from the past if the book is very old. Modern books aren't made to be kept and repaired and passed on - the paper is too acid to last and the spine is coated in nasty plastic glue which is impossible to remove. Use a notebook to scribble in (I make them too)!
a paperback will fall apart after too many readings!
an expensive hardback will last years but the paper is likely to degrade because it is machine-made, probably acidic and probably with the grain running the wrong way! If you look at books from about 1940 onwards you can see that the paper turns brown and musty. It's not that they rot away - the simply fall apart!
Whilst living in Havana, I found an English translation of Guy de Maupassant's short stories. It was a paperback. When I got back to my apartment and started reading it, as I turned each page it detached from the spine. I felt as if I was witnessing a death.
Whilst living in Havana, I found an English translation of Guy de Maupassant's short stories. It was a paperback. When I got back to my apartment and started reading it, as I turned each page it detached from the spine. I felt as if I was witnessing a death.
Yes! Double-entry journal for me. It serves to mirror my thoughts and establish connection with previous reads. Metacognition. I learned this in college and have clung to it ever since.
Lovely thoughts here. My daughter was home from college a while back and expressed her interest in philosophy classes, so I went to the bookshelves and pulled out some philosophy books. Inside one were not only my marginal notes (the occasional "no" at Pascal, denoting my changing world view) but also the notes of my father from his college years when he was studying theology. I sent it with her, telling her to mark her own thoughts, so we can pass those along to the next generation.
I had a teacher in high school that said “when I read a book, I kill a book”. He then passed a copy of one of his books around the class. It was torn up bent with highlights and notes dominated the interior. But one thing was for certain. He thoroughly read and learned from it. I’ve been doing the same ever since.
I am a clinical psychologist and often instruct my patients to use this strategy of writing in margins to help them focus. Once you write a note or summarize what you read, you are more likely to remember the content and improve your critical thinking ability.
A book left pristine is like a meal left uneaten. The simple act of highlighting passages and writing a summary at the top of the page can do a lot to keep you engaged, and it comes in handy when you revisit the book and have to navigate it to find what you want.
I love this! I can't read a book without a pencil in my hand (not sitting on the table next to me, actually in my hand). I'm always looking for the words or sentences to underline or highlight with a star or a wiggly line, This marking in the book really does help me remember what I just read. Thanks for sharing this idea.
This is great! Also it makes a lot of sense considering a study found that handwriting activated neurons in the memory part of the brain that typing did not! Handwriting thoughts and notes actively triggers your brain to remember it!
I’ve been highlighting my nonfiction books for 50+ years. The result for me is reading the book 3 times. I read I highlight and read again to make sure I haven’t missed anything important 😊👍
Perhaps true as applied to new books. But many of us like to buy used books (and for older more obscure titles, sometimes the only copies available are used ones or library copies). If the book has been marked up by a previous reader, then the issue now involves reading TWO books — the original one the author wrote and the one that previous readers added in. Now that might provide a new meaning to "being on the same page" as someone else, but reading is a solitary pleasure which, as far as I'm concerned, does not welcome intrusions from the outside. That is what book clubs or book discussion groups are for, and legit only after one's own personal encounter with the text. I want to know what I think about something first without having it suddenly challenged by extra considerations — which, for example, if you’re reading a philosophical text can derail the compelexity of your own thinking process. This is how we learn to think on our own, after all. And this is why a protest against marked up books will always take precedence in sensibility.
But how do you know if it's deeply insightful or nonsense? I mean, what personal analytical tools and frames of reference do you access to determine the quality of said marginalia or highlighting?
I am asking because the longer I have lived, the more discerning I have become about books that are good or bad—and why. And analyzing why I more often find a book bad that a general majority of other people find good. For example, I think most NYT "best sellers" are shit. But it's all opinion and life experiences and preferences and formal or informal schools of thought one embraces.
Sometimes, marginalia will possibly act as an effective tool for dissent to help you hone your own reasons as to why someone else's opinion was garbage or insignificant. 😂
I was terrified of marking books for exactly the reasons described. When I met my wife we were studying for the same professional exams and I was amazed how she marked up the texts (that we were provided) with gay abandon using pencil pen and highlighter. By the end I of the course I had adopted her technique the only problem was I ended up highlighting so much information the process almost became self defeating.
You nailed it. The problem with marking books is you end up making a mess that eventually is meaningless. Plus other people might want to use your book for different reasons. Imagine what library books would look like if people did this? A notebook where you just "link" to the page and paragraph works a million times better.
Nothing!😁. It belongs to YOU! I hope when my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren inherit all my books, they will know me even better from my comments highlighting in my books. I think they will feel blessed to connect with me after I am gone. Speaking from the grave………
I buy soft cover books from second hand stores and now on Amazon with Crypto gift cards specifically to analyse them and write my own notes in them, expanding ideas triggered by the read text. I have had really profound insights about life through doing this! "Ah ha" moments of realisation pop in often enriching my own life experience! Books and what they contain are spring boards into a more meaningful life.
I often write to the authors, too, thanking them and commenting on what I was given through the words that were shared. This only adds to the profound experiences I receive through books.
Thank you. It was a long time ago and isn’t an issue anymore. We studied law where marking up documents became part of the job. I still love and perhaps have an excessive regard for books but do annotate them for the reasons set out. Thanks again.
I have a similar problem with mind maps. Whenever I try it I end up with all the information crammed in one corner. I'm a ‘visual’ guy, but some things just don't work for me.
I've got a whole host of messy books in my library! I began annotating my books, to better understand them, in high school and never stopped. Thank you for this fun, historical, and philosophical perspective. This was a great read!
You might want to share the actual article from Adler. It is all the more impressive without graphics. There are others here on Substack who have written about their note-taking with books.
I love this! Taking it a step further - I love second-hand books that someone has marked up. I add my own marks, supplementing or sometimes challenging their notes. It's like having an intimate conversation.
I recently ordered a history book from a used book site. The prior owner made copious notes and thoughtful comments. As I read, I was having a conversation not only with the author, but also another interested reader. The more I read, the more I thought, "I like this guy, we could have an interesting conversation." His name was in the front if the book. A little Googling identified him as a professor of philosophy interested in history. Unfortunately an obituary showed he had died only a couple of years ago. But the obit also listed survivors, including a daughter with a unique married surname who lived in a certain city. I found her email address and sent a couple of pics of the notes. She wrote back that yes, that was her dad's handwriting, and she gave me some back story on this nice man who felt like a new friend. She was very appreciative when I mailed the book to her to have as a keepsake. So a really touching story all around, testimony to the power of marginalia, and an example of at least one time when the internet facilitated a nice connection.
I so love this little story! What a beautiful way to meet someone new; even passed on, he spoke to you and became a friend. And to reach out to his family! How lovely, how hope-producing in this hard, uncomfortable time! If you write, this delightful incident is the bones of a wonderful short story; even a novel! Thanks for sharing! It makes me want to buy used books!!
Who can doubt cosmic connections?
I’m reading the Journal of Solitude by May Sarton that I too bought off a used book site and it has some markings and marginalia and I’m so intrigued by it. Especially trying to decipher whether it was a man or woman! I mark all my books but always wonder whether I’m taking away something from the next readers experience of the book.
If I’m concerned about say, it’s an expensive book, I will get a journal instead. Makes my notes easier to manage and preserves the readability of the book.
Post its notes work for me. I have them in several sizes and some that are transparent in all sizes.
That’s a great idea and I’m going to try that out Maureen. Thank you for the suggestion.
I love this story - surely the kernel of an essay or short story?
I wrote virtually the same comment! Even a novel………..
I love this! How wonderful. I had a similar moment years ago, not long after I first joined Facebook. I wasn’t sure the platform was for me—but then a high school friend reached out. We hadn’t spoken in nearly 30 years. Her father, our former English teacher, was gravely ill, and she was asking folks who knew him to write.
So I did.
I shared memories from class, the ways his teaching had shaped me, and how it nudged me toward medicine. She told me he appreciated the note. He passed not long after.
Like most things, Facebook has its flaws—but in this case, it made something memorable and meaningful possible. For me, for her, and I believe, for him too.
I just cannot read E books. I need the binding, the paper, the smell. When I put it on my shelves, know I’ll be picking it up again. I look all my books over ( 2,000 or so) virtually every day; truly, they are my friends.
Me too! And if I’m reading a book someone recommended to me, I love trying to figure out what bits might have stood out to them - it’s so intimate
Oh yes, as long as it isn’t so extreme, it’s like reading along with a friend from another time. I recently read a novel on internet archives that had little pencil lines only, but they were so perfect! I can’t help but think some educator preparing to teach had marked it, and she was left-handed like me! It was lovely.
Hard agree! I recently picked up a grammar book that has pristine marginalia suggestive of a an English teacher. There’s a series of shorthand on the very first page meant for grading essays, and the previous owner even added a few of their own symbols. I imagine they were thorough, if fastidious, instructor haha.
How I would love to own that book! You are blessed to have found it!😁
I’m so lucky to have an amazing local second hand bookshop full of books that have been annotated. It’s so beautiful to see how someone has absorbed the text
Yes! You are blessed. I drove by a Used Book Store on my way to my grandson’s summer camp. It is 1/2 hour from my home. I am certainly going to go out there soon! So much fun, is it not? Possibly soul food!
You can tell if a book moved me because I’ll have notes and underlines.
You can tell how much it moved me by the density of my ink
Yes!! Me too! Exactly!
I love this too!
I agree. I hardly ever find these but I do enjoy that insight into someone else's experience of the book.
Yes
Yes!!! Same here!
Indeed. Because you know the person marked it up "for themselves". We rarely see people behind what they do "for others".
NO! NO! NO! Please do not do this. There are people who seem to now advise marking and highlighting books. NEVER do that. It's a form of vandalism. Books are sacred. Books are passed on to future generations. When I pick up a beautiful book at the thrift store only to see it destroyed with scribble, it goes back on the shelf and ultimately gets trashed. Its useless to me and anyone else who might have had a benefit. Also, how many marks can I make in a book before it becomes unintelligible to even me. Do I scratch out old notes that were wrong? How do I then read through that junk? If you want to make notes, buy a notebook, or use an e-book where you can do that without destroying the book. Avoid this temptation as it won't help you and it guarantees that book goes in the trash when you are done.
You wrote: "When I pick up a beautiful book at the thrift store only to see it destroyed with scribble, it goes back on the shelf and ultimately gets trashed. Its useless to me and anyone else who might have had a benefit."
But the lady above you wrote, "I love second-hand books that someone has marked up. I add my own marks, supplementing or sometimes challenging their notes. It's like having an intimate conversation."
So TO EACH THEIR OWN. If you NEED a clean book, go to your nearest local bookstore and order it. That will be a gift to both them and to you. <3
That’s such a beautiful way to look at it. I love that perspective!
Annotated books does sound fun but I guess if you don't want to scribble them, and pass them on like that- you can maybe use something like sticky notes- best of both worlds I think. Just hope they don't come off prematurely.
The problem is that if you have obscured the text, if you leave the note long enough, it won't peel off. I found out the hard way.
I don’t enjoy how a scribbled book looks, and think of the next reader or preservation of the book for resale since much of my life a used book was all I could afford, or it might be out of print. It’s the Virgo in me, acting like Lucy from 🥜 Peanuts.
This is why I opt for Post It’s notes in all sizes, but after discovering transparent sticky notes I started buying those and use different ink colors for emphasis. For art instruction or technical books I use small tab size Post It’s to return to pages with good information. So far none have damaged the page or fallen off and I find only books with poor quality paper or those that are age yellowed might have these issues and am careful to stick markers carefully so as not to remove ink from words. Slicks never damage unless they are made of very thin paper, or books made with tissue papers like a bible are the most delicate of all.
If you owned a rare first edition, your attitude would make sense, but if the book is mass produced, no. I buy books on science and philosophy to engage with them. I buy fiction for relaxation. The copies are mine. I have no special duty to minimise the authors’ royalties by preserving the book so that you can read it on the cheap.
Not all are reading on the cheap as much as cannot afford books and I was one such child. Used books became precious for a lifetime. Many used book lovers love cover art from earlier publications and I made a great friend of a man in our little beach town of Seal Beach CA named Nathan Cohen who owned a beautifully cluttered book store many of us frequented. Nathan knew where every book was located like a librarian and would walk me to those with the prized cover art on them while we discussed them. After Nathan passed there was a beautiful gathering and tribute to this beloved jazz music loving man at our pier and his many friends dedicated a plaque and bench to him. One man’s Old Used Book is another’s Precious Treasure.
I can't geninuely imagine this isn't satire, annotations are at times quite sought after in books. I actively perfer a annotated copy of texts, and the vast majority of people are neutral on the subject
Hah, and those people never met my mother! 😉
I agree with this, books are a common good, and owning them also means lending them, passing them along, and donating/reselling them. I feel this article has a bit of an individualistic approach to books.
It is individual in application (I alone wrote the notes in the margins); however, it is an asynchronous dialogue, where the author is the reader’s interlocutor; note-taking is also reflexive and builds a sense of a text relative to the unfolding of one’s own beliefs. For my writing students, they learn and create multiple note-taking methods to fairly represent another’s words, to actively listen to the voice and person they construct while reading, this checks their own assumptions too since they voice those when taking notes. All to track how they build what I call their Epistemic Edifice as they learn to research and build knowledge in university courses. Marginalia also engages their desire to comment as they do in social media. A book, like Bakhtin said, is filled with words overflowing with meaning and whose origins we are ignorant of. So, add your own words, have a conversation with the author, manipulate the semiotic symbols we call words to reconfigure reality. Challenge the text cuz it’s an elaborate opinion among many.
I respect both opinions on this topic and for students I feel this is an imperative. One of my favorite classes in high school was called Understanding Man Through Literature and the teacher was amazing. We read recommended books and discussed them, sometimes with a back and forth dialog with the teacher and others where he shared his own thoughts afterward. At the time I thought this was like the great philosophers once did and each day we looked forward to the talks we had together. The students who gravitated to this course were among my favorites, some were even neighbors or long time school friends who grew up with a shared life experience.
What a wonderful memory and even better class experience. Love the title of the course, and the word understanding especially. To accurately gain Understanding via abstract symbols like language is no small feat.
I understand both opinions too. I own plenty of editions of favorite texts whose margins and pages remain blank, unwritten. But I prefer filling margins, to converse with a text’s message like a conversation that teaches me, perhaps like your teacher taught you via dialogue.
Agree. I keep journals, if it’s important. Having had several written in books, the only time so far I’ve really appreciated prior writings is when it’s like a cookbook, or similar. Of course, if the previous owner is a well-established or noted person, that would be different to me, but otherwise, it tends to get in the way of focusing on the text. Besides which, I can’t see it working for me. I get very long-winded in my notes, like with my comment here, and a cramped sentence or two or a few words generally isn’t enough commentary and just clutters it up for me.
A good long winded note can explain so much more! Yes, cookbooks are my biggest exception also and if I want to make an alternative method I’ll put it on a large post it note attached to the original, sometimes with an addendum to that note later on.
In US/Europe, great printing, hard-cover books are nearly free when compared to the prices they arrive at South America, for instance. Some cost up to 3-4 wage salaries for one harder-to-find book. In this scenario, keeping the book pristine retains its retail value.
Hear hear! I only put little post-its on the side of the pages.
I completely understand, if I have a book which surely will get passed on, I treat it more pristinely. Most books, especially old ones, eventually succumb to molds and such, so while I have them I use them well. Others, I weigh well what their next lives will be. Still, tools don’t do well hanging in the workshop, so my workaday books such as history, biography, theory, I mark away.
Seems it can be both. Use the book-tool well and leave it usable by others
One way,,is to use pencil marks on books that correspond to,the reader’s
notes on “post-its” , affixing the post-it’s to the corresponding page.post-its now come in a variety of sizes,including narrow with adhesive edge running vertically. Or literally create a side page, which folds back into the book page using gentle adhesive painter’s tape,to affix the added page to the book page.also, this method makes it easier to write neatly. That makes entire note taking process neater and more creative.
The author of the article defines the purpose of writing in books (which I agree with). I feel this is personal preference anyway lol
I see his defined purpose, and Adler's, but I am arguing that that it can be accomplished in another way and that book kept in the condition to be of use to others.
It might be personal preference but easily could make a case that written-in books are trashed vs handed down and if the book is worthy of wrestling so to speak, it is worthy of passing on/down. Notes all over a book ruin the book for me and they don't allow you the freedom to form your own impressions before being given another's.
I agree.
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Question, did the teach marginalia(or a form of) in college? It was emphasized at my university pursuing my English degree
I've only done a hodge-podge of classes, but in none of mine did they address it. I'd have thought it would be several teacher's idea of helpful vs policy. The whole university wanted you to practice it? Interesting. Maybe they'd been convinced by Adler, haha
Point was proven in the article, "Adler begins with a simple distinction: owning a book physically is not the same as owning it intellectually."
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But, I can see the argument for both sides.
But one can obtain all the goods he enumerates via a commonplace book/notebook/exterior notes.
Yes! I'd argue even that a notebook is better, because it allows to reflect on the big picture, not only on the page at hand.
Same here, taking the moderate path it’s fine to do either depending on factors that can only be weighed and balanced by the owner.
And what do you do?
I mentioned in my replies ☺️
For the majority of books I also own them intellectually… for now. As memory fades it has become even more important to make that effort to preserve brain cells so they do not atrophy.
books… are… sacred?? you mean like semen to the Vatican cult?? did I just wake up in 1489? Look, you can get MORE THAN ONE copy of (nearly) ever book on the planet… sit on that one for sec. And then really(!) ask yourself when exactly you traded to content of a book for it’s mere exterior? respectfully, of course.
Respectfully, I realize that not everyone on the planet is a 1% er and to them a book is very much sacred even if it won’t be found in the gold gilded library of the Vatican.
Generally, I’d agree but my favorite second-hand book is filled with marginalia and notes of the previous owner. It’s fascinating.
May I ask what book that is? I'm curious :)
That’s what book covers are for, keeping people at the poolside from peeking at the title while judging us! Hah
I feel like you really didn't take anything from this whole essay, no one said make it unintelligible but annotations psychologically do help you form a deeper understanding of what your reading and makes your brain sit with it longer, even when I study I have to annote or else it just feels like I'm not retaining anything, so if I'm looking to understand a book deeply annotation is a must, at least for me but to each their own.
Exactly. I underlined that section of the essay and I put a star by your reply above. I think I got it now!
It might be stupid, but I purchase e-books, annotate the hell out of them, and use personal software to archive all my highlights in a personal database. And if the book really is amazing, I purchase a new physical edition of it and keep it untouched and clean in my library. I see how my system is funny, but I really love to have the books I love on my shelf, and its much easier to import my highlights from an e-book.
I’m intrigued! What software are you using for this and does it work with iOS? I’m on an iPad and also notate my ebooks but didn’t realize this was an option.
Well my honor. There are two apps for iPad: "Liquid Text" and "Margin Notes". The first one is pretty and is about drawing with Apple Pencil. The other is a bit ugly, but supports dark mode, epubs, and very organized notes. But for the ease of stuff I've moved to using Kindle where I use the txt file that has highlights for importing them.
How do you annotate your ebooks?
There are two apps for iPad: "Liquid Text" and "Margin Notes". The first one is pretty and is about drawing with Apple Pencil. The other is a bit ugly, but supports dark mode, epubs, and very organized notes.
Yep. Keep a notebook instead.
Books aren't sacred, and this is a ridiculous stance to take.
Not in the literal sense, but figuratively to many they are. Being open minded about this, I don’t mind either way, it’s your book and you can do as you please with it.
Did some of you miss the part where it says you can retain 7X’s more by marking up a book? 7X’s people! Personally, if I am keeping the book, I mark it. If I am reading it once, I use notecards and place them in an envelope. I can then review them from time to time.
Exactly. I underlined that section of the essay and I put a star by your reply above. I think I got it now!
I think it depends on what you value more. The book being free of scribbles or learning optimally from the book.
It's far better to write notes and comments in a notebook! If only because you can then easily find them again. I used to write out sentences that I found interesting and pin them on a board. Just little phrases that resonanted. I am a bookbinder and often repair old books - it can be interesting to see the marginalia from the past if the book is very old. Modern books aren't made to be kept and repaired and passed on - the paper is too acid to last and the spine is coated in nasty plastic glue which is impossible to remove. Use a notebook to scribble in (I make them too)!
How long does a modern book last, in your opinion? Does this mean I can’t pass my books down generations without them rotting away? :(
a paperback will fall apart after too many readings!
an expensive hardback will last years but the paper is likely to degrade because it is machine-made, probably acidic and probably with the grain running the wrong way! If you look at books from about 1940 onwards you can see that the paper turns brown and musty. It's not that they rot away - the simply fall apart!
Whilst living in Havana, I found an English translation of Guy de Maupassant's short stories. It was a paperback. When I got back to my apartment and started reading it, as I turned each page it detached from the spine. I felt as if I was witnessing a death.
That’s so interesting, thanks for sharing!
So sad😭
Whilst living in Havana, I found an English translation of Guy de Maupassant's short stories. It was a paperback. When I got back to my apartment and started reading it, as I turned each page it detached from the spine. I felt as if I was witnessing a death.
most books made today
even the hardbacks
are crap and definitely will not hold up for generations
Yes! Double-entry journal for me. It serves to mirror my thoughts and establish connection with previous reads. Metacognition. I learned this in college and have clung to it ever since.
Lovely thoughts here. My daughter was home from college a while back and expressed her interest in philosophy classes, so I went to the bookshelves and pulled out some philosophy books. Inside one were not only my marginal notes (the occasional "no" at Pascal, denoting my changing world view) but also the notes of my father from his college years when he was studying theology. I sent it with her, telling her to mark her own thoughts, so we can pass those along to the next generation.
amazing!
I had a teacher in high school that said “when I read a book, I kill a book”. He then passed a copy of one of his books around the class. It was torn up bent with highlights and notes dominated the interior. But one thing was for certain. He thoroughly read and learned from it. I’ve been doing the same ever since.
I tell all my students the same!
I am a clinical psychologist and often instruct my patients to use this strategy of writing in margins to help them focus. Once you write a note or summarize what you read, you are more likely to remember the content and improve your critical thinking ability.
A book left pristine is like a meal left uneaten. The simple act of highlighting passages and writing a summary at the top of the page can do a lot to keep you engaged, and it comes in handy when you revisit the book and have to navigate it to find what you want.
Nicely said!!!!
Nice simile!
Perfectly said! I completely agree.
I love this! I can't read a book without a pencil in my hand (not sitting on the table next to me, actually in my hand). I'm always looking for the words or sentences to underline or highlight with a star or a wiggly line, This marking in the book really does help me remember what I just read. Thanks for sharing this idea.
Interesting. I’m the same as you. I need a pencil & I use my bookmark as ruler to underline haha
This is great! Also it makes a lot of sense considering a study found that handwriting activated neurons in the memory part of the brain that typing did not! Handwriting thoughts and notes actively triggers your brain to remember it!
I’ve been highlighting my nonfiction books for 50+ years. The result for me is reading the book 3 times. I read I highlight and read again to make sure I haven’t missed anything important 😊👍
Books are tools for thinking — and tools are meant to be used.
Perhaps true as applied to new books. But many of us like to buy used books (and for older more obscure titles, sometimes the only copies available are used ones or library copies). If the book has been marked up by a previous reader, then the issue now involves reading TWO books — the original one the author wrote and the one that previous readers added in. Now that might provide a new meaning to "being on the same page" as someone else, but reading is a solitary pleasure which, as far as I'm concerned, does not welcome intrusions from the outside. That is what book clubs or book discussion groups are for, and legit only after one's own personal encounter with the text. I want to know what I think about something first without having it suddenly challenged by extra considerations — which, for example, if you’re reading a philosophical text can derail the compelexity of your own thinking process. This is how we learn to think on our own, after all. And this is why a protest against marked up books will always take precedence in sensibility.
yeah totally, imagine reading something filled with the scribblings of some stranger, it could be anything from deep insights to complete nonsense
But how do you know if it's deeply insightful or nonsense? I mean, what personal analytical tools and frames of reference do you access to determine the quality of said marginalia or highlighting?
I am asking because the longer I have lived, the more discerning I have become about books that are good or bad—and why. And analyzing why I more often find a book bad that a general majority of other people find good. For example, I think most NYT "best sellers" are shit. But it's all opinion and life experiences and preferences and formal or informal schools of thought one embraces.
Sometimes, marginalia will possibly act as an effective tool for dissent to help you hone your own reasons as to why someone else's opinion was garbage or insignificant. 😂
Yeah,but you buy books for yourself first.
I was terrified of marking books for exactly the reasons described. When I met my wife we were studying for the same professional exams and I was amazed how she marked up the texts (that we were provided) with gay abandon using pencil pen and highlighter. By the end I of the course I had adopted her technique the only problem was I ended up highlighting so much information the process almost became self defeating.
You nailed it. The problem with marking books is you end up making a mess that eventually is meaningless. Plus other people might want to use your book for different reasons. Imagine what library books would look like if people did this? A notebook where you just "link" to the page and paragraph works a million times better.
What could possibly be wrong with me writing in my own book?!😵💫
Nothing!😁. It belongs to YOU! I hope when my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren inherit all my books, they will know me even better from my comments highlighting in my books. I think they will feel blessed to connect with me after I am gone. Speaking from the grave………
I buy soft cover books from second hand stores and now on Amazon with Crypto gift cards specifically to analyse them and write my own notes in them, expanding ideas triggered by the read text. I have had really profound insights about life through doing this! "Ah ha" moments of realisation pop in often enriching my own life experience! Books and what they contain are spring boards into a more meaningful life.
I often write to the authors, too, thanking them and commenting on what I was given through the words that were shared. This only adds to the profound experiences I receive through books.
Nobody should write in a library book, obviously. But writing in the margins is a healthy way to interact with a book.
It's not such a big problem, it's all mentality.
Don't think about it as a giant problem and think what you can personally do to change that.
I suggest you just to highlight the most important things that however can act as a bridge between other things and having information in the middle
Thank you. It was a long time ago and isn’t an issue anymore. We studied law where marking up documents became part of the job. I still love and perhaps have an excessive regard for books but do annotate them for the reasons set out. Thanks again.
I have a similar problem with mind maps. Whenever I try it I end up with all the information crammed in one corner. I'm a ‘visual’ guy, but some things just don't work for me.
I've got a whole host of messy books in my library! I began annotating my books, to better understand them, in high school and never stopped. Thank you for this fun, historical, and philosophical perspective. This was a great read!
Love this 🙏☝️👍👍👍👍👍
You might want to share the actual article from Adler. It is all the more impressive without graphics. There are others here on Substack who have written about their note-taking with books.
https://stevenson.ucsc.edu/academics/stevenson-college-core-courses/how-to-mark-a-book-1.pdf