Hi!! Any tips on how to annotate books? Thanks :))

[Celia]

I saw so many tiktoks of people annotating books but I don't know how to start or supplies or anything....

[Emma]

Get tabs. Label the colors and just put the tab in when a scene corresponds to one of the themes of a color!

[Sue]

tabs usually come in sets of 5 or 10 colors
personally I use the 5 bec 10 in one book is too much
then I assign each color for a certain thing in the book
fantasy is different than romance than thrillers and so on
what to assign? well it is up to you
bec reading is subjective
for example
if I am reading a fantasy there will be a tab for "sequence of events" and one for "quotes" and one for "imp moments"

some ppl have tabs for smut scenes or kisses
so, it really depends on you
but for the love of God do not put the tab in a way that sticks out too much :))

[Saturn]

It really depends on what you prefer.

Me personally, I annotate by tabbing my books as I read theme and coming up with a color coding system as I go. For example; If I'm reading a romance book, I usually tab pink for cute moments, blue for sad, and then the rest I make up as I go. If I notice the book has a lot of "beautiful description" i'll assign it a color, usually purple, Maybe yellow for moments that just make me happy.

After I finish reading, I go back through with my pens + highlights and underline/highlight the best moments,

Not all highlighted/underlined moments need to be tabbed!!! I usually only keep the tabs on the parts I find more important.

Obviously everyone has a different way of annotating, so it's really up to you and what you find most comfortable. Some people prefer not write in their books, and just add sticky notes. If that's you, I would recommend transparent sticky notes, so it feels like you're in the book but it's not permanent.

Lastly, annotating also may be different if you're doing it to understand the book vs. doing it for fun. For fun, you may just annotate funny moments while for other reasons, you may want to annotate a comment theme you see, moment of foreshadowing, etc.

I remember I needed to better understand a book for school so I made my orange pens, tabs, and highlighters for words I didn't understand and wrote next to the word what they meant. I used green for foreshadowing, and wrote next to them what ended up happening and why it was important. It's all up to you how you do this! Just remember not to overwhelm yourself with trying to make it aesthetic. Make it yours, not what you think tiktok or instagram will enjoy. <3

Sorry if I wrote a lot, but I hope this was helpful.

[Andi]

I usually just go with the flow. If i saw something that makes me feel something i highlight it or write something beside it. I tried to anotate how they tell you on tiktok, but it made me nervous sometimes cause it was so strict.

[Emily]

I never annotate.. becuz I am lazy. but the fact that u cared to ask for annotating tips is just.. MWAH.

[liv !!]

get some cute highlighters and tabs! i have a six pack of pastel highlighters and a 1200 piece pack of tabs so i have a lot to choose from. if you want to write in the margins, i would get a thin tip pen so you have more room to write, if that makes sense.

[flamentatio]

ask yourself if when you read a book there are some quotes you may want to read again for reassurance or strenght or inspiration, those you should annotate
+ best moments of a book or the ones that made you reflect on something or that helped you analyze yourself better!
💌🏷️

[ray ౨ৎ]

I usually assign colors for shocking moments and quotes, then make the rest up as I go. If you don’t want to ruin your books just use highlighter tape and book tabs. Hopes this helps!

[Miranda]

Personally,

- Get TABS!!
They are so cheap on Amazon. I used to write in my books, but after donating a handful to my local Goodwill I thought about how the next person might be discouraged to read it. At the end of the day the bookshelf will get too full and I want to pass along or donate.

- Pastel or Bible Highlighters
I love a good pastel highlighter. Most of the colors you can see well without it being too demanding. It's my favorite way to grab a good quote.

- Cute Sticky Notes
If I do decide the book is so good I just have to write in it, I will write on a sticky note and stick it onto the page. This way it is removable. Sometimes a book will do a 180 and sticky notes makes it much easier to edit or add different thoughts.

I hope someone finds this helpful! <3