I love your book reviews. I used to have a friend and we used to talk about movies and books. Especially books. You remind me so much of her. I miss her and our time together. But life makes us take different paths. Anyways, I've read so many good books because of you. Take care and have a wonderful winter ❄️
Yay! Will watch after work stuff. (I prefer "winging it" over a script! It feels more like friends having a visit rather than someone just talking at you.)
Since you asked ... (long comment) I typically do not annotate. Exceptions. If I suspect that I will re-read a book, I may annotate. Things I annotate are things that I don't feel will degrade the book, and will improve my read the second-time around. General interest footnotes. For example, if there is a foreign phrase, I will write the translation in the margin. If I spend more time in translation than reading, it certainly slows down the book, and ruins my experience (eg. iirc, Villette seems to be about 1/3 French; I won't ever re-read that). I feel the publisher ought to offer footnotes for those of us that are not bilingual. Because, even if I am bilingual, I am probably not familiar with English *AND* French *AND* Russian *AND* Latin *AND* Polish *AND* Portuguese, *AND* Italian *AND* Japanese *AND* Greek *AND* ... Another example, if I come across an unknown-to-me person, works of art (literature, music, painting), word, or event, I will add my own footnote. Events will place the book's setting in a country, and give a timeframe the brackets history. Works of art tends to show the hand of the author's mindset, or lean towards themes. eg. In _Demon Copperhead_ "The Battle of Blair Mountain 1921 was the largest labor uprising in United States history and is the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War." ... or if I know that if the quote or paraphrase comes from the bible, I will look it up (Num 22:38). Lastly, I may make notes that often correlate phrases, themes or ideas in other texts. eg. "This reminds me of how Vonnegut writes about xyz." or "This contrasts with Steinbeck's take on WXY"... In Juan Gomez-Jurado' _The Red Queen_ , it mentions Salazar, to which I wrote, "1937 Spanish dictator was Salazar - is this the reason for JK Rowling chose the first name for Slitheren?" or “I see all things, and all men see everything through me, the eye of the world” ― Ovid, Metamorphoses (chapter The Sun God and Leucothoe)
Great video Alana! Love how you use the ‘!’ & ‘*’ symbols! Also great idea to use post-its if there’s no room in the margins. I use acronym WOW for Words of Wisdom & underline unknown words. Thanks for taking the time to share this! Have a great Thanksgiving! ❤
Thank you for the tips! I’ve always annotated to an extent. Lately, I’ve wanted to be more intentional about it to review books or prep for book club meetings. I use a Kobo Libra Color for most of my reading and these tips will work perfectly.
I have a love for this Pentel 0.35 made in Japan. I keep a year supply and use this pen for everything except bible writing. I love love this pen! Your annotating method is inspiring especially to use to recap a book review… Thank you for sharing you’ve given me a better way to create a detailed book review. I would write everything on index cards which I must stack in boxes. I like putting everything into a notebook… thank you so much!
Thank you. A few new tips. I never thought of using a different color for books that I have reread, and hope to continue to. Yes, I like to keep my annotating simple. I do not always annotate but I do have a small notebook that I like to put some simple notes for future reference, if someone asks my thought on the book. But I that new notebook seems it hit the important points for any type level of book reviewer. Thanks and have have a lovely week ahead, also Happy Thanksgiving.
When possible, I go used. Some people are a little too generous with their underlining. If it's with heavy ink and starts to bleed through, ghosting the back of the page, that's two strikes. Gotta love quality stationary. I am lousy with post-its. Who needs post-its? I have to agree. My top two pencils are from Japan. My Best eraser is from Germany. Lets not get into the world of pens. I usually annotate electronically when I can. It's easier to look up ideas/keywords later across multiple books. Cons, different software and devices come and go. Backing up/transferring can be a process.
Great video! Love your system and I can see how efficient and enjoyable it must be for you. I don't usually annotate my books. I will tab them. I once in a while will annotate a favorite for fun but then I need to have two copies because I truly enjoy pristine books lol. Regardless I love listening to how people interact with their books!
This was so interesting! I don't annotate my books, but I need to start at least highlighting quotes I like. I always tell myself that I'll remember the page number, and then I don't. 😆
I'm guilty of following the TikTok girlies and their annotating shenanigans. I like it and do annotate as colorful and coordinated as possible but honestly, its slowing me down. Life is too busy and there is too many books to read. lol So thank you for the tips. I need to pick up the speed. I read a disturbing 3 paged chapter today and used a bright red tab so i never open that part of the book ever again lolol idk if that counts as a tip 😆
100% on Japanese and German stationary. I love your method ! glad to see I am not the only one who cannot be bothered with complex annotating systems lol
Hi Alana, just finished Lonesome Dove, loved it! The audio production was 36+ hours with a great narrator (Lee Horsley) by the end I was wishing it was longer. Thanks for the great recommendation. Happy Thanksgiving!
Squishy?! 😁😸 What are you doing to those books do you hate them or something 😸😁 Because the ones on your shelves look fine! 📚 Your note-taking is detailed and commendable! Thank you for studying The Inferno!
Loved it, super simple! I’m saving this video in my favorites. I have a hard time writing in my books but I want to interact rather than put them back on the shelf and not think about what I read. I normally use a common place book for annotations however it seems disconnected with so many pieces involved. I’m starting Great Expectations so this was helpful.
Ive never seen something like this before. Maybe other videos are out there and other people utilize similar tactics, but its new to me. First thought is, this needs to be taught to children. So many of us dont know how to read or recall properly, not to mention, developing an opinion on whats read. Second thing is, you could probably convert these strategies into like some corporate styled instruction. I can see how impactful your methods would be to a huge company. Administrators and feild workers alike. This is obviously very cool.
I read a good number of books from the library, so I'm not annotating those. I'm currently in a stage of life where I can't really annotate while reading. I might be holding a baby and only have one hand to hold the book! I prefer pencil when I do annotate, but that could change. I have mechanical pencils with 9 mm lead. The 7 mm lead breaks too easy. I used to keep a book journal with notes, but it was a lot of work. I'm not reviewing books. Currently, I just write the title in a list of when I finish books. I'd like to get back into taking more notes.
My annotations are similar to yours with the brackets, highlights and tiny doodles Great idea to highlight with one color and mark the year you used that for. I might give that a shot. I didn’t like reading on ereaders because I’m also very tactile, it’s helpful for my mind to interact with the text physically. They have a ereader now that you can write on the text and is colored so I can now annotate to my hearts content. (Kobo Libra Colour: took me some getting used to) But yea for physical books i like marking it up with Frixion highlighters or pens. They are erasable but i would be careful erasing depending on how fragile the page is. And i use Rocketbook notebooks to write longer notes separately (because having too much writing in the margins overwhelms me and I felt it made it harder for reread sometimes if the writing was too messy) and then I’m able to scan and digitize my notes so I can easily pull them up on my phone whenever I want. And I can reuse the notebook since it’s erasable. I send my scans to OneNote since the text on the images (the scans) are searchable. And sometimes I like to add further notes, images or videos related to something that was interesting to me if I decide to look more into it. I find my thoughts easily by placing a number next to the highlight in the book and then go to my notes and look for the page and number that corresponds with thought (kind of like footnotes)
Excellent video on your annotation method. I won't fight you about German and Japanese writing instruments; I use Lamy and Pilot pens. I love Japanese stationery and any paper that works well with fountain pens. The French has a good paper, Clairefontaine. Paper and writing instruments are a thing with me.
My annotation is so lame…I just stick a transparent page flag in the area or highlight it on my kindle. I feel you about being on screens all day and two phones. Luckily my kindle is easy on my eyes especially since I don’t use the backlight. I love being able to increase the font size. These eyes are getting ooooold. 😂
I love that you use the word "tacky". People don't use that word like they used to and i need to start using it again. 😅
I love your book reviews. I used to have a friend and we used to talk about movies and books. Especially books. You remind me so much of her. I miss her and our time together. But life makes us take different paths. Anyways, I've read so many good books because of you. Take care and have a wonderful winter ❄️
Yay! Will watch after work stuff. (I prefer "winging it" over a script! It feels more like friends having a visit rather than someone just talking at you.)
"Fight me!"
I had to re-watch that 3x ....love it!
I love this system! I do similar but now i need to add the highlighting. And the year!
Since you asked ... (long comment) I typically do not annotate.
Exceptions. If I suspect that I will re-read a book, I may annotate. Things I annotate are things that I don't feel will degrade the book, and will improve my read the second-time around. General interest footnotes.
For example, if there is a foreign phrase, I will write the translation in the margin. If I spend more time in translation than reading, it certainly slows down the book, and ruins my experience (eg. iirc, Villette seems to be about 1/3 French; I won't ever re-read that). I feel the publisher ought to offer footnotes for those of us that are not bilingual. Because, even if I am bilingual, I am probably not familiar with English *AND* French *AND* Russian *AND* Latin *AND* Polish *AND* Portuguese, *AND* Italian *AND* Japanese *AND* Greek *AND* ...
Another example, if I come across an unknown-to-me person, works of art (literature, music, painting), word, or event, I will add my own footnote. Events will place the book's setting in a country, and give a timeframe the brackets history. Works of art tends to show the hand of the author's mindset, or lean towards themes. eg. In _Demon Copperhead_ "The Battle of Blair Mountain 1921 was the largest labor uprising in United States history and is the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War." ... or if I know that if the quote or paraphrase comes from the bible, I will look it up (Num 22:38).
Lastly, I may make notes that often correlate phrases, themes or ideas in other texts. eg. "This reminds me of how Vonnegut writes about xyz." or "This contrasts with Steinbeck's take on WXY"... In Juan Gomez-Jurado' _The Red Queen_ , it mentions Salazar, to which I wrote, "1937 Spanish dictator was Salazar - is this the reason for JK Rowling chose the first name for Slitheren?" or “I see all things, and all men see everything through me, the eye of the world” ― Ovid, Metamorphoses (chapter The Sun God and Leucothoe)
Great video Alana! Love how you use the ‘!’ & ‘*’ symbols! Also great idea to use post-its if there’s no room in the margins. I use acronym WOW for Words of Wisdom & underline unknown words. Thanks for taking the time to share this! Have a great Thanksgiving! ❤
Thank you for the tips! I’ve always annotated to an extent. Lately, I’ve wanted to be more intentional about it to review books or prep for book club meetings. I use a Kobo Libra Color for most of my reading and these tips will work perfectly.
I just got some notebooks to start taking notes while reading so the timing of this video is just right!
This was great! I have been waiting a long time for a book tuber to do a video on annotating books. Thank you! ❤
I like how you add the color and year of first read. I’m going to start adding that to my books
I have a love for this Pentel 0.35 made in Japan. I keep a year supply and use this pen for everything except bible writing.
I love love this pen!
Your annotating method is inspiring especially to use to recap a book review… Thank you for sharing you’ve given me a better way to create a detailed book review. I would write everything on index cards which I must stack in boxes. I like putting everything into a notebook… thank you so much!
Amazing video ❤ love your annotations
Thank you. A few new tips. I never thought of using a different color for books that I have reread, and hope to continue to. Yes, I like to keep my annotating simple. I do not always annotate but I do have a small notebook that I like to put some simple notes for future reference, if someone asks my thought on the book. But I that new notebook seems it hit the important points for any type level of book reviewer. Thanks and have have a lovely week ahead, also Happy Thanksgiving.
When possible, I go used. Some people are a little too generous with their underlining. If it's with heavy ink and starts to bleed through, ghosting the back of the page, that's two strikes.
Gotta love quality stationary. I am lousy with post-its. Who needs post-its? I have to agree. My top two pencils are from Japan. My Best eraser is from Germany. Lets not get into the world of pens.
I usually annotate electronically when I can. It's easier to look up ideas/keywords later across multiple books. Cons, different software and devices come and go. Backing up/transferring can be a process.
Great video! Love your system and I can see how efficient and enjoyable it must be for you. I don't usually annotate my books. I will tab them. I once in a while will annotate a favorite for fun but then I need to have two copies because I truly enjoy pristine books lol. Regardless I love listening to how people interact with their books!
But I do keep a notebook to write about whatever book I'm enjoying.
This was so interesting! I don't annotate my books, but I need to start at least highlighting quotes I like. I always tell myself that I'll remember the page number, and then I don't. 😆
I'm guilty of following the TikTok girlies and their annotating shenanigans. I like it and do annotate as colorful and coordinated as possible but honestly, its slowing me down. Life is too busy and there is too many books to read. lol So thank you for the tips. I need to pick up the speed. I read a disturbing 3 paged chapter today and used a bright red tab so i never open that part of the book ever again lolol idk if that counts as a tip 😆
100% on Japanese and German stationary. I love your method ! glad to see I am not the only one who cannot be bothered with complex annotating systems lol
I love Sterling Ink's notebooks. (And planners) paper is similar to Hobonichi
Hi Alana, just finished Lonesome Dove, loved it! The audio production was 36+ hours with a great narrator (Lee Horsley) by the end I was wishing it was longer. Thanks for the great recommendation. Happy Thanksgiving!
Squishy?! 😁😸 What are you doing to those books do you hate them or something 😸😁 Because the ones on your shelves look fine! 📚 Your note-taking is detailed and commendable! Thank you for studying The Inferno!
Loved it, super simple! I’m saving this video in my favorites. I have a hard time writing in my books but I want to interact rather than put them back on the shelf and not think about what I read. I normally use a common place book for annotations however it seems disconnected with so many pieces involved. I’m starting Great Expectations so this was helpful.
Ive never seen something like this before. Maybe other videos are out there and other people utilize similar tactics, but its new to me. First thought is, this needs to be taught to children. So many of us dont know how to read or recall properly, not to mention, developing an opinion on whats read.
Second thing is, you could probably convert these strategies into like some corporate styled instruction. I can see how impactful your methods would be to a huge company. Administrators and feild workers alike. This is obviously very cool.
I read a good number of books from the library, so I'm not annotating those. I'm currently in a stage of life where I can't really annotate while reading. I might be holding a baby and only have one hand to hold the book! I prefer pencil when I do annotate, but that could change. I have mechanical pencils with 9 mm lead. The 7 mm lead breaks too easy. I used to keep a book journal with notes, but it was a lot of work. I'm not reviewing books. Currently, I just write the title in a list of when I finish books. I'd like to get back into taking more notes.
Hello Alana😊 nice to meet you. Love your book reviews, new subscriber here👍🏾
My annotations are similar to yours with the brackets, highlights and tiny doodles
Great idea to highlight with one color and mark the year you used that for. I might give that a shot.
I didn’t like reading on ereaders because I’m also very tactile, it’s helpful for my mind to interact with the text physically.
They have a ereader now that you can write on the text and is colored so I can now annotate to my hearts content. (Kobo Libra Colour: took me some getting used to)
But yea for physical books i like marking it up with Frixion highlighters or pens. They are erasable but i would be careful erasing depending on how fragile the page is. And i use Rocketbook notebooks to write longer notes separately (because having too much writing in the margins overwhelms me and I felt it made it harder for reread sometimes if the writing was too messy) and then I’m able to scan and digitize my notes so I can easily pull them up on my phone whenever I want. And I can reuse the notebook since it’s erasable.
I send my scans to OneNote since the text on the images (the scans) are searchable. And sometimes I like to add further notes, images or videos related to something that was interesting to me if I decide to look more into it.
I find my thoughts easily by placing a number next to the highlight in the book and then go to my notes and look for the page and number that corresponds with thought (kind of like footnotes)
Excellent video on your annotation method. I won't fight you about German and Japanese writing instruments; I use Lamy and Pilot pens. I love Japanese stationery and any paper that works well with fountain pens. The French has a good paper, Clairefontaine. Paper and writing instruments are a thing with me.
Great video Alana.
⚠️ The link is for a Couple's Journal, not a reading journal.
@@thenightporter oomph thanks! I’ll change that asap
❤
My annotation is so lame…I just stick a transparent page flag in the area or highlight it on my kindle. I feel you about being on screens all day and two phones. Luckily my kindle is easy on my eyes especially since I don’t use the backlight. I love being able to increase the font size. These eyes are getting ooooold. 😂
Also I kind of want that clever fox journal now…..
Am I an uncultured savage because I don't annotate and just throw my books to the side when I'm done??😅😅😅