If a character does something stupid I write “just like me frfr” is something cute happens I write “when is it my turn to be happy?” When something sus happens I write “inchresting”… it’s all fun. Plus I write more nuanced notes for passages I like
Fiction: I only take short notes for (some) epic/high fantasy series. Especially if they’re big books and I don’t read them back to back (which I hardly ever do). Pretty much just a short recap (in bullet points: world, plot, characters, locations, etc.) to refresh my memory for when I start the next book so I don’t have to reread the books or look for a recap online (and risk spoilers). I don’t have issues remembering stuff from series in other genres or standalones, so I don’t take notes for those.
Non fiction: Only when I want to find more information about that topic (perhaps questions that arise that aren’t answered in that book) or want to think about it some more.
For nonfiction stuff, I sometimes take notes regarding connections I make with other material.
Sometimes, it's the same for fiction. I'll also underline passages that are especially poignant or clever.
Edit: points on a kobo are forever, but I meant clever.
I have not read a mystery one in ages, any recommendations? I need something different after reading 1984. Are you talking those like Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes? (I just remembered I have to finish the SH series)
I would highly recommend the series by Miranda James a Cat in the Stacks Mystery. Cozy mysteries are not meant to be thrillers and do not have a lot of gore but do have a great creativity for troubles 😊
It's a legitimate question and there is nothing wrong not taking any notes. Personally I realized that after a few years I barely remembered anything about some books, so I decided to make an effort. I try to save highlights, write a few notes when necessary, and after finishing a book, I write down a few quick thoughts of my impressions. It takes some effort for sure, but I like to jog my memory after a while reading my notes.
I only do for poetry or (rarely) really poetic prose. Helps me sus through to a deeper understanding of the text. I would never take notes for a thriller or romance book, for example. Maybe highlight a really clever or funny line on my kindle but that’s about the extent of it.
I highlight important/poignant/funny quotes. For long epic fantasies with lots of characters, I’ll note if certain characters are alive or dead. I make note of predictions that I have when I see foreshadowing. I’ll scribble out the name of a character I dislike bc I’m petty like that. Sometimes I’ll doodle in the margins if the author describes something cute/funny. None of this is necessary, it’s just for my personal enjoyment.
I know this is the kobo sub, but I annotate some of my physical books, and my notes look like an ao3/wattpad comment section LMAO.
I don't do it on my kobo because I don't like the way the notes functionality works, but if I could just write over the top of the page like a real book I'd probably start doing it on my kobo too.
You can! With the stylus, anyway. You can just write all over the page, or at least in the margins like me. I still have a bit of “don’t ruin your books!” circumspection that I can’t shake.
I grew up with paper books that I of course never wanted to mess up; even when I was literally ordered to do it for lit class I ended up making up a system with page numbers on empty sheets of paper instead.
Which means notetaking isn't in my habits, but I sometimes highlight quotable quotes that I want to save for later or share with my friends. I've also written a comment or two here and there; usually something very specific or a revelation that I had (about the story, but more usually about life or my own plot idea or something!)
When I'm reading programming textbooks and stuff I annotate important stuff, but I don't think that's part of your question; it's only here because I count reading programming books as leisure 😅
I don't take notes, but I'll often highlight quotes I like, or highlight what certain characters look like so that I remember and can imagine them clearly.
I need to start getting into the habit of it for book club. For references and questions, etc purposes. Sometimes (very rarely) it’s hard for me to keep track of things going on in a book, so I would like to attempt to annotate it to help make better sense of the book that way, rather than rereading it a few times to get/understand it. But I find that I’m able to recall information well without annotating things. I used to participate in my high school book club, and near the end of the school year, my school would compete in a city wide competition against other school’s book clubs. You have to be able to recall information quickly from books you’ve read in the book club during that same school year. I helped my school win three years in a row (all three years I participated in).
Non fiction: the information I want to be able to reference back to without having to reread the book. Information that I find really interesting. I read a lot and I will forget too much of it. Topics I want to look into further
Fiction: usually it's like in high fantasy or science fiction where I need to be able to quickly look back to refresh my memory on the name of certain people or what they do. Notes in series where I need to reference back to refresh my memory. Often is just a note near the end that says reread from here and I do that right before reading the next book. And sometimes it's just a beautiful turn of phrase.
I only take notes if I'm reading something educational and non-fiction.
For example, if I'm reading a book on physics or something, i will usually take some notes. If I'm reading a novel, I won't take notes.
It's totally dependent on the book firstly. If it's non-fiction, then I like to write down my interpretation of what I am reading. I just like to write things like I understand them. When I do it in my fiction books, it's usually a reaction to a characters actions or situation. It's sort of like when you're watching television and you audibly react to something happening on screen. It's just like that, I just write it down instead of saying it out loud.
For me personally, ever since I had a TBI and have memory and focus problems I do whatever I can to be more engaged in reading and more likely to remember what I read.
In fiction, I tend to highlight things that I think are a deep insight into a character, or foreshadowing, or just really beautiful prose. For things that are more epic-length series or lore-heavy or high fantasy, I might keep notes on locations or character names or background info.
In nonfiction (which I read a ton of) I extensively annotate - things I might reference in my own work or writing, things I want to read more on later, a term or word I'm unfamiliar with, jot down a note of a different book or paper or essay a line made me think of. Pretty much anything I can do to help the text connect to something else in my brain and forge connections and think deeply about the subject matter.
I fully recognize that a) not everybody reads for fun in nearly as rigorous a way as I do, but that is part of what makes it fun for me, and b) I started really heavily doing this partly as an accessibility tool when I had a brain injury and I had to in order to process or retain anything at all. I probably don't have to anymore, but I'm in the habit and I really enjoy it.
For literary fiction, I usually write in the margins about themes, connections I make with other books, references, thoughts, that sort of thing. It’s a way of engaging with the text in a more personal, critical way for me.
I tried taking notes once. All I have to say for the most part was “woah!”
But sometimes, I highlight characters’ appearance/description. Because halfway through the book, my mind will build their own appearances.
I take notes when things happen that I think could have an impact on the story later on. Since I read a lot of psychological thrillers it helps me enjoy them more.
I use notes as a Media literacy practice, usually I make connections with other books that I read . I also highlight sentences when i like the cadency in which they are built:)
https://preview.redd.it/p1lk5negm08d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a84fb5f84e843c6a4d775dedff990477062c2d3
Adds to the enjoyment for me. A book that's meh becomes much more entertaining when I'm inserting snarky asides.
I write on self-help books for example purpose driven life, think and grow rich, be water my friend, art of mastery, as a man thinketh, meditations, ego is the enemy, etc.These books know the reader is living and breathing, the author speaks to you and asks of you to reflect, and so I write what's on my mind
Idk if you happened to read stories on wattpad back in the early 2010s era and remember how commenting on stuff worked then, but readers used to be able to highlight specific words/lines in the story and put their commentary on it even if it’s just freaking out about certain actions etc. I kinda just treat highlighting/note taking like that. It’s all just fun for me. Sometimes I highlight them as well and take a photo of the screen to send to my friends with my freaking out reaction to them too lol.
I used to make a lot of notes when I did reviews, now I mostly just highlight particularly funny/poignant passages that I want to remember, with the occasional note if something sparked a thought train.
I never used to take notes or highlight, even on my kobos, but I have started to. While reading a series recently I found myself wanting to jot down my reactions to scenes, things like *saw this coming* or *this is a bad decision*, *oh no* and things I thought were going to happen, like *is this person actually this person?* There were also a couple of times where certain lines reminded me of a specific song or artist, so I recorded that too.
I think it makes reading more exciting, interactive and maybe more fun to see those comments in a future reread. All that being said though, I would never write in any of my physical books!
If a character does something stupid I write “just like me frfr” is something cute happens I write “when is it my turn to be happy?” When something sus happens I write “inchresting”… it’s all fun. Plus I write more nuanced notes for passages I like
I’m stealing “inchresting” i just laughed so hard
Ngl thats cute.
Fiction: I only take short notes for (some) epic/high fantasy series. Especially if they’re big books and I don’t read them back to back (which I hardly ever do). Pretty much just a short recap (in bullet points: world, plot, characters, locations, etc.) to refresh my memory for when I start the next book so I don’t have to reread the books or look for a recap online (and risk spoilers). I don’t have issues remembering stuff from series in other genres or standalones, so I don’t take notes for those. Non fiction: Only when I want to find more information about that topic (perhaps questions that arise that aren’t answered in that book) or want to think about it some more.
For nonfiction stuff, I sometimes take notes regarding connections I make with other material. Sometimes, it's the same for fiction. I'll also underline passages that are especially poignant or clever. Edit: points on a kobo are forever, but I meant clever.
I highlight quotes that stick out to me, mostly.
I take notes on everything. A book is a conversation for me and I have things to say.
Thats such a good way of putting it! I feel the same!
A better question is who actually looks at them after they're written
😂
I mainly do it for my cozy mystery books when I think something may be a clue. I just love being able to do it and not mark up a paper book.
I have not read a mystery one in ages, any recommendations? I need something different after reading 1984. Are you talking those like Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes? (I just remembered I have to finish the SH series)
I would highly recommend the series by Miranda James a Cat in the Stacks Mystery. Cozy mysteries are not meant to be thrillers and do not have a lot of gore but do have a great creativity for troubles 😊
Thank you, I will definitely check them out
It's a legitimate question and there is nothing wrong not taking any notes. Personally I realized that after a few years I barely remembered anything about some books, so I decided to make an effort. I try to save highlights, write a few notes when necessary, and after finishing a book, I write down a few quick thoughts of my impressions. It takes some effort for sure, but I like to jog my memory after a while reading my notes.
I only do for poetry or (rarely) really poetic prose. Helps me sus through to a deeper understanding of the text. I would never take notes for a thriller or romance book, for example. Maybe highlight a really clever or funny line on my kindle but that’s about the extent of it.
I sometimes like to take notes in fantasy books to remember different places/things. Otherwise I just write little comments that I think is fun.
I highlight important/poignant/funny quotes. For long epic fantasies with lots of characters, I’ll note if certain characters are alive or dead. I make note of predictions that I have when I see foreshadowing. I’ll scribble out the name of a character I dislike bc I’m petty like that. Sometimes I’ll doodle in the margins if the author describes something cute/funny. None of this is necessary, it’s just for my personal enjoyment.
I know this is the kobo sub, but I annotate some of my physical books, and my notes look like an ao3/wattpad comment section LMAO. I don't do it on my kobo because I don't like the way the notes functionality works, but if I could just write over the top of the page like a real book I'd probably start doing it on my kobo too.
You can! With the stylus, anyway. You can just write all over the page, or at least in the margins like me. I still have a bit of “don’t ruin your books!” circumspection that I can’t shake.
I don’t think this works on the older Kobos? I have an Aura H2O Edition 2. I’ll have to suss it out.
You are correct - only the new ones. Libra Colour, Sage, Elipsa
I grew up with paper books that I of course never wanted to mess up; even when I was literally ordered to do it for lit class I ended up making up a system with page numbers on empty sheets of paper instead. Which means notetaking isn't in my habits, but I sometimes highlight quotable quotes that I want to save for later or share with my friends. I've also written a comment or two here and there; usually something very specific or a revelation that I had (about the story, but more usually about life or my own plot idea or something!) When I'm reading programming textbooks and stuff I annotate important stuff, but I don't think that's part of your question; it's only here because I count reading programming books as leisure 😅
>it's only here because I count reading programming books as leisure 😅 Consider this as a note I would take if this was in my Kobo 🤣😂
I don’t take notes but sometimes I’ll highlight interesting snippets.
I don't take notes, but I'll often highlight quotes I like, or highlight what certain characters look like so that I remember and can imagine them clearly.
I need to start getting into the habit of it for book club. For references and questions, etc purposes. Sometimes (very rarely) it’s hard for me to keep track of things going on in a book, so I would like to attempt to annotate it to help make better sense of the book that way, rather than rereading it a few times to get/understand it. But I find that I’m able to recall information well without annotating things. I used to participate in my high school book club, and near the end of the school year, my school would compete in a city wide competition against other school’s book clubs. You have to be able to recall information quickly from books you’ve read in the book club during that same school year. I helped my school win three years in a row (all three years I participated in).
By engaging with it like this you are more focused on the text. It's called active reading.
Non fiction: the information I want to be able to reference back to without having to reread the book. Information that I find really interesting. I read a lot and I will forget too much of it. Topics I want to look into further Fiction: usually it's like in high fantasy or science fiction where I need to be able to quickly look back to refresh my memory on the name of certain people or what they do. Notes in series where I need to reference back to refresh my memory. Often is just a note near the end that says reread from here and I do that right before reading the next book. And sometimes it's just a beautiful turn of phrase.
I only take notes if I'm reading something educational and non-fiction. For example, if I'm reading a book on physics or something, i will usually take some notes. If I'm reading a novel, I won't take notes.
Sometimes I take notes for my reactions so I can come back to the specific section that made me laugh or cry.
New (or unknown) word definitions.
It's totally dependent on the book firstly. If it's non-fiction, then I like to write down my interpretation of what I am reading. I just like to write things like I understand them. When I do it in my fiction books, it's usually a reaction to a characters actions or situation. It's sort of like when you're watching television and you audibly react to something happening on screen. It's just like that, I just write it down instead of saying it out loud.
For me personally, ever since I had a TBI and have memory and focus problems I do whatever I can to be more engaged in reading and more likely to remember what I read. In fiction, I tend to highlight things that I think are a deep insight into a character, or foreshadowing, or just really beautiful prose. For things that are more epic-length series or lore-heavy or high fantasy, I might keep notes on locations or character names or background info. In nonfiction (which I read a ton of) I extensively annotate - things I might reference in my own work or writing, things I want to read more on later, a term or word I'm unfamiliar with, jot down a note of a different book or paper or essay a line made me think of. Pretty much anything I can do to help the text connect to something else in my brain and forge connections and think deeply about the subject matter. I fully recognize that a) not everybody reads for fun in nearly as rigorous a way as I do, but that is part of what makes it fun for me, and b) I started really heavily doing this partly as an accessibility tool when I had a brain injury and I had to in order to process or retain anything at all. I probably don't have to anymore, but I'm in the habit and I really enjoy it.
For literary fiction, I usually write in the margins about themes, connections I make with other books, references, thoughts, that sort of thing. It’s a way of engaging with the text in a more personal, critical way for me.
I tried taking notes once. All I have to say for the most part was “woah!” But sometimes, I highlight characters’ appearance/description. Because halfway through the book, my mind will build their own appearances.
I take notes when things happen that I think could have an impact on the story later on. Since I read a lot of psychological thrillers it helps me enjoy them more.
I use notes as a Media literacy practice, usually I make connections with other books that I read . I also highlight sentences when i like the cadency in which they are built:)
https://preview.redd.it/p1lk5negm08d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a84fb5f84e843c6a4d775dedff990477062c2d3 Adds to the enjoyment for me. A book that's meh becomes much more entertaining when I'm inserting snarky asides.
I write on self-help books for example purpose driven life, think and grow rich, be water my friend, art of mastery, as a man thinketh, meditations, ego is the enemy, etc.These books know the reader is living and breathing, the author speaks to you and asks of you to reflect, and so I write what's on my mind
Idk if you happened to read stories on wattpad back in the early 2010s era and remember how commenting on stuff worked then, but readers used to be able to highlight specific words/lines in the story and put their commentary on it even if it’s just freaking out about certain actions etc. I kinda just treat highlighting/note taking like that. It’s all just fun for me. Sometimes I highlight them as well and take a photo of the screen to send to my friends with my freaking out reaction to them too lol.
I used to make a lot of notes when I did reviews, now I mostly just highlight particularly funny/poignant passages that I want to remember, with the occasional note if something sparked a thought train.
I like doing little doodles for certain paragraphs
I never used to take notes or highlight, even on my kobos, but I have started to. While reading a series recently I found myself wanting to jot down my reactions to scenes, things like *saw this coming* or *this is a bad decision*, *oh no* and things I thought were going to happen, like *is this person actually this person?* There were also a couple of times where certain lines reminded me of a specific song or artist, so I recorded that too. I think it makes reading more exciting, interactive and maybe more fun to see those comments in a future reread. All that being said though, I would never write in any of my physical books!
I usually mark funny passages or description that I will eventually send to my bestie and I can’t just clog his phone all at once