April 2025 Do you mark up your books while you read?

[Lynn, Old School Classics]

This month's question comes from our moderator Sara. She asks, "Do you mark up your books while you read? Highlight? Take notes in margin?"

[Lynn, Old School Classics]

As a child I wrote in my Dr. Seuss books. At some point my mother must have told me to stop because I remember never, ever writing in books or even turning down the page corner. All that changed in college and I was back to highlighting and underlining. That habit continued for stories we would teach in the classroom. The fancy word for it was "annotating" and the students were required to annotate in their workbooks to answer comprehension questions. I would walk around and check their annotating.

Now that I'm retired I just read for fun. I read a mix of kindle and physical books. I don't use the highlight function on the Kindle books. The only time I write in physical books now is for my short story collections. I actually put a date in the table of contents next to a story to tell the month I read it. I don't mark passages within a text.

[J_BlueFlower]

Yes. A lot! Mostly when I read non-fiction. I mostly read on my tablet. When I finished reading a book I email the highlights to myself and read them on my computer and then place them in a searchable folder.

Last millennium in the age of paper books and serious study I underlined in two different colours and pencil in the margin. (I am not kidding!)

[Sara, New School Classics]

I never write in a book. Weird hang-over I suppose from childhood (when most of my books came from the library) and even college when I had to buy my course books second hand (I hated when others had already marked things and would spend a lot of time looking through them in the bookstore to find an unmarked copy).

I keep a notebook next to me and make notes as I go or open a document in my computer and take notes there. I really love that about Kindle...I can highlight and make a note if I want to!

[Terris]

I don't, but I like to read a book that someone has underlined and made marks in! I feel a connection to them :)

[Marcus]

When I’m reading fiction, I don’t write in the margins or mark the text. I usually do this in nonfiction’s books.

[Darren]

I would never harm a book, but do occasionally mark favourite quotes with little mini post-its

[Franky]

Funny you ask this. I used to do this so much all the time. I suppose it is because when you are in college you tend to mark up books you are reading for literature and other subjects because they are used and you want to take notes. So I did this in college and it transferred over to my books for years. In recent years, with all the books I have that I want to try to give away, I have opted not to write in them (because I would like them to be in better condition) but instead keep a notebook filled with notes as I read. I always feel like I have to take notes on ideas and thoughts.

[Anisha Inkspill]

yes only my digital books, it helps me, especially the tough reads

[Kathleen]

I almost always read physical books, more often than not library books. But even the ones I own I can't bring myself to mark in them. I use Darren's process, only I do it all the time and use at least a medium sized post-it. :-) When I'm done reading, I copy the notes from the sticky into a word doc where I write a review. That way I can search for stuff. A blend of old and new school!

[John Dishwasher]

The books I like the most I basically destroy with underlining and notes that I write in the margins and flyleafs for my reviews. This can be problematic sometimes because, for example, I just came across this rare Mexican publication that's 50 years old and I know it's never been read before because I had to actually cut the pages myself to read it. The book felt a little bit sacred but I overcame my respect for its form and showed my respect for its content by marking it up anyway.

[Terry]

I’m a post/it gal. But I am still hard on books, so it’s the least I can do.

[Sara, New School Classics]

I admit I am feeling a bit better...I was assured by my sister that I might be the only person on the planet who doesn't want to mark a book and keeps notes separately.🙂

[Lynn, Old School Classics]

Darren wrote: "I would never harm a book, but do occasionally mark favourite quotes with little mini post-its"

I have used post-its as well. I sometimes look in an book I read years ago to find a note card or piece of lined notepad that will have notes. One memorable thing I looked up last year (related to a book I was reading) was the known history of everyone who had controlled the area that is now Iraq. There have been multiple Empires that controlled that land over the last 5000 ish years. This research/note taking will sidetrack me sometimes.

For 20,000 Leagues under the sea, I located multiple reference websites on geography and ocean wildlife. I bookmarked those and would frequently refer to them while reading.

[Erin]

Nooo, I abhor any notes, underlining, highlighting, etc. in books! I am also very careful with my books’ spines. My husband has teased me that I should read my books with museum curator gloves, and that’s not a bad idea… 🤔

I DO want to start taking notes while reading, but I’m probably overthinking what I’m supposed to take notes on… I’ve only ever done so when reading a textbook, paper, etc. for information.

[Donna]

I rarely do, but occasionally will make pencil notes/underlines in nonfiction books that I know I’ll be keeping.

[Neer]

I underline words and sentences and scribble in the margins though never in ink, I use a pencil. I also love reading margenalia, it makes me feel connected to the previous readers of the text.

[Shaina]

Never! I didn't mark my textbooks ever, nor do I mark books that I read now. I use post-its in different colours and sizes depending on the size of the book. I rarely highlight things in my ebooks, too. I do have a yearly notebook to track my monthly reads and challenges in which I have a section for quotes I want to remember. If my notebook is not handy, I type them out on Evernote on my phone.

[Marcus]

Reading the answers here, I’m feeling guilty; I’m feeling sad. I do mark my books, mostly nonfiction. I also write in the margins (with pencil).

[CJ]

I use post-it tabs/flags nowadays. I have dysgraphia and my handwriting has only gotten worse with age, and I hate seeing my own handwriting and shaky underlining in my books.

[Lucija]

This is an interesting topic to me, especially since I frequently bump into pictures of people underlining, writing comments, and using all sorts of stickers and post-its, but honestly, I sometimes think that a lot of people do it for the aesthetic of their Instagram feed or Pinterest photos, rather than making notes for reviews or studies.
I generally don't write in books, as I prefer to use sticky notes with a written word on them to remind me why I put it there. If I do buy thrifted books, I'm happy to find something, maybe a bookmark, a dedication or a thought, I find it sweet :)

[J_BlueFlower]

My first big philosophy book I had half year long battle with. I had long discussions with myself in the unusually large margin. I still have that book. It is about 30 years ago. I look forward to reading it again some day. I look equally forward to reading the text and my own discussion.

This tread also made me think of my first algebra course. The professor had written the book and it was only printed on every other page: The left hand page. The idea was that the right hand page was for notes. He said so.

[KeenReader]

Marcus wrote: "Reading the answers here, I’m feeling guilty; I’m feeling sad. I do mark my books, mostly nonfiction. I also write in the margins (with pencil)."

They're your books (at least I hope so ☺️). No need to feel sad or guilty if you make notes in them or mark them

[Erin]

KeenReader wrote: "Marcus wrote: "Reading the answers here, I’m feeling guilty; I’m feeling sad. I do mark my books, mostly nonfiction. I also write in the margins (with pencil)."

They're your books (at least I hope..."

Exactly! Just because I want my texts unmarked by no means would I judge those who write, underline, draw, whatever in their own books — whatever helps YOU engage with the text! 😊

[Marcus]

Sure! Only with my books I have this relationship.

[Beda]

I do not mark up books. I am not in school. There will be no test. I read for enjoyment. And to me, marking up books and taking notes feels like work, not enjoyment.

That said, I do enjoy the notes already provided in books. Like the annotations in Penguin classics or the wonderful annotated Jane Austen novels by Shapard.

[Sara, New School Classics]

I have found this conversation very interesting. It seems most, like me, don't actually mark in the books, and those that do use pencil. I don't think this is a right or wrong question, just a bit of curiosity, since we are all avid readers. Before GR, I kept a reading journal and wrote little short reviews of each of the books I read and put quotes there...which of course I mostly do online now.

I actually find I enjoy books more when I take notes, Beda, but then I always liked school.

[Annette]

Like others, I like to use little post-it flags. In college I took notes on strips of paper that I then used to bookmark the location of the notes. The act of writing helped me remember, I could keep the notes and I also got a higher textbook resale price.

[Franky]

I agree about this being and interesting topic and it's intriguing to hear all the different perspectives. Now that I think about it, I used to use post it notes too for college so I didn't mark up books so I could keep them in better shape, but I always hated that process. I, like Sara, kept and still do keep a little notebook/journal to write down ideas while I read and that seems to work well.

[Shaina]

For the past year or so I’ve tried using sticky notes and tabs for annotating books. I used to go hard with pencils and highlighters but then I started sharing books with friends. I bought a kindle scribe last year and that really helped me keep my physical copies in better shape.

I agree with others saying as long as it’s your book, do what you want 😂

[Kathleen]

I agree and can see value in all these processes. Whatever helps us read more and enjoy more is a good thing! Like Annette said, the act of actually writing helps me remember, something I learned in college, writing and re-writing notes.

[Lynn, Old School Classics]

Marcus wrote: "Reading the answers here, I’m feeling guilty; I’m feeling sad. I do mark my books, mostly nonfiction. I also write in the margins (with pencil)."

LOL Marcus this was not meant to be a lecture. Please know you are released from any guilt. haha Goodreads strikes again.

[Lynn, Old School Classics]

J_BlueFlower wrote: "My first big philosophy book I had half year long battle with. I had long discussions with myself in the unusually large margin. I still have that book. It is about 30 years ago. I look forward to ..."

What a great idea for a textbook. The Reader's Notebooks I taught from used margin notes areas. The 9 and 10 year old children answered specific questions in those areas. They were essentially paperback textbooks with poetry, prose and non-fiction stories for children and questions to answer in the book.

[Darren]

when Coppola was developing The Godfather, he cut up two copies of the novel into individual pages and pasted them onto A4 so that every page would have an extra large margin that he could write in
:oD

[Franky]

Kathleen wrote: "I agree and can see value in all these processes. Whatever helps us read more and enjoy more is a good thing! Like Annette said, the act of actually writing helps me remember, something I learned i..."

I agree. Something seems a bit odd when I am reading a book and not writing down the thoughts that come to mind. I realize we all read for enjoyment, but a lot of us have so many thoughts that we want to get across, insights into what we were thinking while we were reading.

[Sara, New School Classics]

Books I read that never inspire me to take a note are generally ones I forget almost as soon as I close the cover. There are books that are a pleasure when reading them but which don't leave us with much to ponder afterwards--which is fine--but the ones that have a true impact on me will result in pages and pages of notes.

[spoko]

I only really read audio & eBooks, and yes, I certainly mark up the latter. As I’m listening, I will often pause & leave myself voice memos of passages I want to highlight or annotate. And then later I will pop open the PDF & harvest all those thoughts. It’s an interesting process, honestly—it’s often really enjoyable to do the harvest well after I’ve already finished the book, and revisit the ideas it spurred.

As Sara said in the post above this, any book that I don’t feel called to add notes to is probably not a book that’s going to stick with me. Even a decent genre novel will usually have me noting something.

Before I started doing this exclusively, I marked up books directly—I found that Micron art pens were great for it, because I could write very small and still legibly. I long ago abandoned any preciousness about physical books, in any case. Unless it’s some kind of special edition or something, it’s just a book.

[John Dishwasher]

Scribbled notes in books are a little bit like a conversation with the author, I feel. And when you read a book that is already all scribbled up it becomes almost like a three-way conversation. This thread has given me fantasies of finding a copy of my novel full of notes in the margins and flyleaf(s). This would be especially interesting if the notes were interpreting it in some way different than I intended.

[Darren]

^ this idea is used in House of Leaves

[John Dishwasher]

Darren wrote: "^ this idea is used in House of Leaves"

Marvelous. I was just thinking after I posted that how much you could do with it in a meta way in fiction. Cool to know someone has explored that. Just added to my TBR.

[spoko]

My daughters and two of their friends do a really cool thing where they read the same book, and each leave margin notes, drawings, underlinings/highlights, etc., in it. By the time all four have been through it, the book will be thoroughly marked up. But it’s also like they’ve all had an asynchronous conversation among themselves. They love it, even when the book itself isn’t any good.

[Sara, New School Classics]

That is a super idea, Spoko!

[Franky]

Darren wrote: "^ this idea is used in House of Leaves"

Interesting you brought this up. It's a fascinating concept for sure, and makes for quite the metafiction. I think this is why I thought House of Leaves was one of the more unique books I've ever read.

[Terry]

Soko’s post reminded me that when I get a used book with margin notes, I often enjoy the perspectives of previous readers.

[Bárbara]

Sara wrote: "I admit I am feeling a bit better...I was assured by my sister that I might be the only person on the planet who doesn't want to mark a book and keeps notes separately.🙂"

I prefer this too!

[spoko]

Sara wrote: “That is a super idea, Spoko!”

I think it’s a BookTok thing; pretty sure that’s where they got the idea (e.g., https://www.tiktok.com/@cadence.reads... ). But they have definitely run with it.

[Lynn, Old School Classics]

spoko wrote: "My daughters and two of their friends do a really cool thing where they read the same book, and each leave margin notes, drawings, underlinings/highlights, etc., in it. By the time all four have be..."

That sounds like a lot of fun. How lucky that she has a group of friends who love to read with her.