Episode #314 - Notation or Desecration

[Sue]

I was nodding along to this episode in the car, as it's a topic that's been on my mind recently.

I've found as I've become a heavier user of Goodreads, I need a way to better remember the books I read, so I can talk about them or review them here later. I've started to make sure I have a notebook and a pen with me when I'm reading, to note quotes or page numbers or words that are new to me. I find it to be true that just the act of writing something helps to reinforce it in my brain, and makes it easier to recall much more about the book later on.

I have one notebook, but usually more than one book going at once, so I'll leave a few blank pages between books and hope it's enough room to get everything down.

However, I'm learning that I probably need to be more expansive about the things I choose to note, or I end up with things like this:

" 'Entomophagy' ice cream, made of bugs."

Huh?

Well, it's a start.

Anyway, I still have a hard time underlining or dog-earring books, even if they're mine, but I am enjoying using a notebook for a fuller reading experience.

[Maria]

I was interested to hear about Ann's experiences with "The Curious Incident..." - I saw it on the stage myself in Denmark last year and was absolutely blown away by it. I'd read the book before seeing it, my friend hadn't, and she liked it just as much :)

[Loretta]

I buy those little post-it tabs that look like bits of Scotch tape with little colored flags at the end. I use them to mark passages in books that I love, which has two advantages: (1) because I leave the flags sticking out a little, it's easy to take a book off my shelf and quickly find my favorite parts and (2) they're easy to remove if I ultimately decide to swap or give the book away.

[Sue]

That's a great solution, Loretta. I think I'll try to remember to keep a pack of those on the nightstand. They can get expensive, but they're reusable, so that helps.

Loretta wrote: "I buy those little post-it tabs that look like bits of Scotch tape with little colored flags at the end. I use them to mark passages in books that I love, which has two advantages: (1) because I l..."

[Readnponder]

Thank you for the link in the show notes to Laura Miller's article on C.S. Lewis's method of marking. Several of his marked up books were on display at Wilson Library at UNC-Chapel Hill. (Most everything else is at Wheaton or the Bodleian.) I loved examining these volumes and seeing his notations across the top and the lists on the flyleaf.

Several years ago I decided to use Lewis's method ON Lewis's books. It has turned out to be useful in tracking his more complex arguments in books such as "The Abolition of Man."

[Rita]

I love this idea Loretta! I'm definitely going to start doing this.


Loretta wrote: "I buy those little post-it tabs that look like bits of Scotch tape with little colored flags at the end. I use them to mark passages in books that I love, which has two advantages: (1) because I l..."