Taking notes while reading.

[A.L.]

Taking notes whilst reading would seem far too much like English homework to me;)
That said I have a terrible memory so might be useful.

[Gary]

Interesting facts, something amusing or just a memorable sentence: they all end up in my journal.

[Eddi]

Gary wrote: "Interesting facts, something amusing or just a memorable sentence: they all end up in my journal."

What sort of journal Gary electronic or paper?

[Paulfozz]

Laurel wrote: "I may be a visual learner (don't know really...) For me, I think it has more to do with my love of "organizing" information. It's more physical than visual. And the ACT of writing something down ha..."

I find this too; if I write a note then it's unlikely that I'll need to refer to it as the act of writing it down helps fix it in my memory… it has broken down in my current job though - too many tasks to remember them all and it's stretched my ability to remember details in books as I think I've got too much 'run-time' tied up with keeping track of what I'm doing at work!

I don't really write notes when reading for pleasure though; I know I could benefit from it but it feels conceptually as though I'd be crossing a line from reading for pleasure to studying… and I'm not sure I'd be able to write coherent notes without breaking my flow.

[Gary]

Eddy wrote: "Gary wrote: "Interesting facts, something amusing or just a memorable sentence: they all end up in my journal."

What sort of journal Gary electronic or paper?"

If I'm on my laptop, then electronically. If not, there's always a notebook and a pencil handy. What about you?

[[deleted user]]

I missed this topic during the original discussion, and I'm finding the comments fascinating. My system of reading books has changed in the last year, almost entirely due to GR. I've begun taking notes much in the way Greg has described. (I have the luxury of the free time to allow this.) For about the last 6 months I've just kept a 3 x 5 post-it in the back of the book, taking note of passages to remember. (I also keep a notebook of beautiful writing, or just writing that means something to me. I'm on Volume 7 in composition books for this.) But my process of reviewing books has changed lately, and I find I need these notes to do the kind of job I want. (Even though I'm never happy with the result.)

I greatly admire the reviews Jean and Angela write. I was quite interested to learn the process that goes into them.

I used to write a review on every single book I read. I've been relaxing this lately, just as I'm trying to relax in other areas of life. I'm trying not to be too much of a perfectionist.

[Angela M]

Terri , thanks for your kind words . It means a lot coming from you . Even though I read mostly on my kindle , when I read a paper book , I don't highlight the book , but I still note passages and my feelings on my phone or iPad .

When I was in college , I had no qualms about highlighting or writing in a book . I still have my Complete Works of Shakespeare with all my notes . It's pretty old - I'm afraid to open it for fear of it coming apart !

[Albert]

I missed this discussion when it originally took place as well. I take notes on a 3" x 5" index card, similar to Terri, which I leave inside the book. Sometimes, multiple cards are required. I was intrigued by Greg's method. Mine is a bit of a hodgepodge of what he does. It depends on the book. Sometimes I am taking notes on characters. Sometimes on the plot. Sometimes, a reference to a line or paragraph that I think are amazing. Most often it is what I think of the book and what I think some of the interesting themes of the book are. I use the notes later to refresh my memory before I write my review of the book. However, I think the process of writing the notes down actually helps the most to lock the information into memory. Now I have to think about whether I want to refine my approach to incorporate some of Greg's methods!

[Susan]

I only take notes if I plan to review the book, and then my system is a bit like Greg's. I use a notebook and a set of tape flags, noting the page numbers of particularly good quotes, and jotting down a few thoughts as I read.

The discussion about using a highlighter pen reminds me of an installation I saw a few years ago at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. The piece was just a textbook with all the pages carefully removed and fanned out in an artistic fashion. Every single line in the textbook, on both sides of the page, was highlighted with a bright pink highlighter pen!

The artist was inspired by a young woman he saw travelling home on the train one night. She was studiously reading a textbook and highlighting relevant paragraphs. As the artist watched in fascination, she highlighted more and more passages, until it seemed that she was highlighing the entire book.

I wonder if the student ever saw the installation!

[dely]

Susan wrote: "I wonder if the student ever saw the installation! "

She should ask for money seen that it was she that gave him the idea :D

[[deleted user]]

I agree with Greg and I find character notes or a family tree to be helpful, especially while reading historical fiction. Since 75% of my reading is done on a kindle, I try to highlight and bookmark passages that are important to me, especially if the book is part of a group discussion.

For non-fiction books, I prefer the hardbound versions and mark pages with post-it notes, underline passages and make notes in the margins. Occasionally I write down my thoughts in a notebook but sometimes that interrupts the flow of my reading too much.

[[deleted user]]

Love Susan's comment about the highlighted book installation piece at the museum!! How easy it can be sometimes to get carried away with a highlighter pen. For academic books I tend to read two pages and then go back and highlight what I perceived to be the most important information. That usually prevents me from "over-highlighting", lol!!

[Caecilia]

:-) I do not take notes while reading, but I have several (cute) post-its at home so I can mark interesting sentences.

[DJ]

I am an avid note taker whilst reading. Post it notes everywhere!
before I reference/cross reference and check it again and again
this is much easier on an Ebook obviously and is really handy.

[Meran]

Every one of my reviews are weitten as I read the book. In this way, I write about it as I feel, about how a certain scene may hit me hard, or how it applies to my own philosophy, etc.

[Caecilia]

Meran ~ wow! but, that is a good idea :-) to also write down what a book is making YOU feel.

[Mattie]

I am part of Emma Watson's book club "Our Shared Shelf" and normally I don't take notes due to I rent them from the library. This current book I am reading from her club is my own. What I have done is written my favorite quotes on this website under the quotes tab and then I underline the first two words in the book with a pencil. I also have sticky notes and small tabs I can write on and put them in my book. I normally don't take notes in books but if it's on an important subject I will.

[Zippergirl]

I'm really surprised that more of you don't use the Kindle highlights and notes feature. I read 95% Kindle, and the rest of my reading is done on Bluefire when I am working on a book for review. I rely on my notes for all my reviews.

The search in book feature is also indispensable when I can't remember a character. Instant refresher.

[Leslie]

DJ Zippergirl wrote: "I'm really surprised that more of you don't use the Kindle highlights and notes feature. I read 95% Kindle, and the rest of my reading is done on Bluefire when I am working on a book for review. I ..."

I definitely use that Kindle feature -- I might hesitate to underline or highlight in a print book these days but it is so easy to do in the Kindle & is less permanent.

[Caecilia]

:-) with me, it is 50/50. If I really want a book, I tend to buy it in hardcover/paperback - but new releases are sometimes, very expensive ... here, I go for the Kindle version.

with those books that I read on the Kindle, I use the highlighting option.

[Meran]

And now ALL my post is gone. Sorry. I'll attemp again tomorrow.

[Leslie]

Meran wrote: "And now ALL my post is gone. Sorry. I'll attemp again tomorrow."

Oh no!! That has happened to me -- so frustrating!

[Mimi]

I absolutely take notes. I have a journal type of book where I write them down, mostly as memorable quotes.
When I'm writing a review I take serious notes/feelings as I go.

And I also have stickies and index cards all over. I even put them in my kids drawers and lunch boxes...haha. And yes, they do roll their eyes. lol

:-))

[Mimi]

Greg....."Dry factual information is hell for me to remember....." got me lol. I'm with you on that one. Even long prologues and descriptions leave me cold....:-))

[Karin]

I only write notes for some nonfiction books. If I own the book, I might write right in the book, depending on what it is. Otherwise, I only take notes in a notebook if I'm working on a teaching or I get excited about doing a big study, usually Biblical, but if I think I'm going to write a novel (I haven't yet, but always think I will and have started a few) I might take notes for research.

[Beth]

I take notes sometimes, but more often (at least with fiction) I just put bookmarks in my favorite passages and then go back later to write them down.

[Greg]

Mimi wrote: "Greg....."Dry factual information is hell for me to remember....." got me lol. I'm with you on that one. Even long prologues and descriptions leave me cold....:-))"

:)

[Nefeli]

I just bookmark pages that contain a lot of useful information about the plot, worldbuilding or the characters.

[Alice]

Me too, especially characters/dry factual information. I am awful with remembering names, even for my favorite book characters....When I was reading Anna Karenina I found a used version for $1 and marked up the different characters in colored pencil so I could keep track of who was who, and it helped a lot! I like to keep track of quotes but usually I just take a picture of the page on my phone (because who wants to stop reading....ever? ;) and type them all up in a Word document at the end :)

Kindle is really cool, but since they don't allow copy/paste I rely on them more when I'm reading non-fiction. That way all my notes for that book are contained...I tend to like to spread my notes on fiction books around, and without copy/paste it really doesn't make a difference for me whether I'm on Kindle or not.

[Pam]

I don't take written notes but, if I think I will write a review or participate in a group discussion, I start a Note for the book on my iphone. It's so easy & quick, using the microphone, I can dictate my thoughts or a quote that I want to remember. Sometimes I will note words that I learned or that I want to look up later.

[Haaze]

Pam wrote: "I don't take written notes but, if I think I will write a review or participate in a group discussion, I start a Note for the book on my iphone. It's so easy & quick, using the microphone, I can di..."

That's an excellent idea Pam! I never really thought about that particular approach. Very efficient! :)

[Lauri]

I only take notes if the book will be discussed later. I keep saying (but only to myself!) that I will write a novel someday. I do have a bunch of rather disorganized notes from various books I've read over the years -- plot or style that I admire, etc. Character development always gets me. I just want to immerse myself in a book and forget real life for awhile!!

[Angela M]

Since I write reviews for everything I read , I jot down thoughts as I go go along on my IPhone notes and it helps significantly when I write the review. I'll have to try dictating - thanks Pam.

[Arielle]

I've actually just started a book journal, but I use it more to reflect and share my thoughts after I've actually finished reading. However, I have started putting sticky notes by my favorite quotes and turning points I want to remember for later.

[Deb]

Alice wrote: "Kindle is really cool, but since they don't allow copy/paste I rely on them more when I'm reading non-fiction. That way all my notes for that book are contained...I tend to like to spread my notes on fiction books around, and without copy/paste it really doesn't make a difference for me whether I'm on Kindle or not. "

Leslie wrote: "I definitely use that Kindle feature -- I might hesitate to underline or highlight in a print book these days but it is so easy to do in the Kindle & is less permanent. "

Regarding making notes on a Kindle - whenever you highlight/make notes on a Kindle, it goes into a file on your Kindle called "My Clippings", along with info on the book and place in book. You can then copy that file to your computer by plugging in your Kindle and simply copying the file. It's a plain-text file, so you can use it to copy/paste/keep notes permanently/do whatever else you want with them. I drop the file into Evernote, which keeps it easy for me to organise and search for whatever info/quote I want.

[Karin]

While I do underline and take notes in my own books, mostly nonfiction, the one thing I don't like is when other people's highlights show up on a kindle book I bought. Is there a way to change the settings so that I don't have to see that? I find it distracting, and I don't always what those places highlighted because it's a personal decision, etc.

[Antonio]

Karin wrote: "While I do underline and take notes in my own books, mostly nonfiction, the one thing I don't like is when other people's highlights show up on a kindle book I bought. Is there a way to change the ..."

I don't know whether there's a way to cancel those highlights. I was also annoyed by them at first, but in the course of time I've found them helpful, since they may help my reading, I may agree or disagre with who made them ...

[Deb]

Karin wrote: "While I do underline and take notes in my own books, mostly nonfiction, the one thing I don't like is when other people's highlights show up on a kindle book I bought. Is there a way to change the settings so that I don't have to see that?..."

From the Menu, choose Settings, then Reading Options. There's an option for "popular highlights" - just turn that off and other people's highlights won't show up.

[Karin]

Debstr wrote: "Karin wrote: "From the Menu, choose Settings, then Reading Options. There's an option for "popular highlights" - just turn that off and other people's highlights won't show up. ."

Thanks! Hopefully I can do that with it on airplane mode :)