How I Annotate Books 

As far as not donating annotated books, I personally LOVE getting a used book and finding someone's notes in it (as long as it doesn't interfere with the legibility of the text)! It's cool to see what someone else felt was significant/impactful enough to underline or take note of.

I didn’t even realise that annotating books was a thing until I heard people on Booktube talk about it and it was like when you learn that something from your childhood isn’t as universal as you thought.

As a teacher, I have my students annotate readings (especially dense research) because recent studies have shown that making it more interactive does increase retention, metacognition and a general interest. Reading with a purpose can increase your retention in general.

This discussion on the habit of annotating books while you read reminds me of two things. First, my father, a former historian and curator of maritime history at the Smithsonian was want to say: "WRITE IN YOUR BOOKS! You purchased it; now make it your own!" Good advice. I've been annotating books (including color coded tabs & writing with pen and ink important citations into my MANY journals, also annotated and tabbed) for more than 55 years. My father was correct. I pass on that inheritance to all. NOW. for the second. I am sure you have read The Book Nobody Read by Owen Gingerich--a fascinating study of the annotations and marginal notes in the original copies of Copernicus's work, DE REVOLUTIONIBUS. This is where he writes out the solarcentric model of the solar system. Why? In 1959, Arthur Koestler's book, The Sleepwalkers, claimed that no one read Copernicus's original publication. Gingerich sets out to prove him wrong, which he does in a fantastic account of tracking down the remaining first editions of Copernicus's book and copying down the marginalia in each book. Not only is he able to describe WHAT the annotations were and what they were about; BUT, WHO wrote them. In many cases, individual books had multiple owners across generations, each owner adding their own annotations as they read. I love your videos. I confess being in my seventies I am a little more reserved than you; but not by much. Especially about annotations. For example, I have been studying the work by Moses Maimonides, The Guide of the Perplexed, translated by Shlomo Pines (Chicago, 1963) for the last 22 years. I read through one cycle; then start again. Sometimes I do not read in linear order. But for each time I read, I always leave the Date and the limits of what was read. THAT being done, the poor old copy, tattered and worn, each page is filled with annotations, illustrations I have made, cross references within The Guide, and citations of external books that might bear on this section. What pleases (and amazes) me is that for each page, I know when (during the last 22 years) I was there, what I was thinking, and where I went next. How wonderful it is to see where I have grown, changed my mind, or maintained the same position. It's YOUR book; MAKE IT SO. Thank you for this topic.

I almost cried when you were talking about being able to let your kids have a piece of you whilst reading the book you've read and annotated. That's pure love. I love you and I'm going to steal that idea hahaha. Thank you for this video🤍

my grandmother was a journalist & writing professor. she used to assemble photo albums and write out captions/cop for each of them. this talk of annotating made me think of her.

I like annotating at my own leisure, but when my English teacher makes me annotate The Lord of the Rings under a *time constraint*, that's where I draw the line. It slows me down too much. But when it's for fun, I'm testing the waters of annotating, and so far it's not so bad...?

3:45 I actually take a picture of quotes I like and have a section on my gallery where I throw all of them. I recommend doing that because I also can't move my hand to write the quote down considering that would interrupt my reading 😅 Edit: You were actually the first person I've seen who writes on books. When I heard it the first time I thought it was a travesty but then I tried and now I like it, my books now are full of ranting and theories of the future so thanks 😅 Now my cousin sees me writing and she thinks it's a travesty as well, oh destiny.

My color code for annotating is: Yellow= new word I didn’t know Green= new character Blue= beautiful prose or important scene.

when merphy says 'brief', it means 'very elaborate'. and I'm not complaining :)

I like annotating unless it's a slower type of book. If it's slow, I don't mind sinking into the world and experiencing it at a reduced pace. Some treat reading like it's some huge race, but I'm fine with rereading sections just to really get into the heads of the characters.

I have never annotated a book before, but it seems like so much fun!! I'll definitely try it sometime. I'm still getting used to "ruining" books, until a few years ago I always kept them looking brand new and viewed annotating, breaking spines, folding corners etc. as a literal crime haha. But I realized how all these things make a book look like it's somehow alive, like it contains a part of you. They really make it your book, not just any other copy and I think that's so cool.

I didn't even realise annotations had so much values like reading with our past selves, passing our thought process down the generation. I always thought my book should be in prestine condition like as when it was brought and always maintained that. May be i should try annotating books just for the values i mentioned first.

I think you could definitely donate annotated books (as long as the original text is readable and the annotations aren't rude). I don't personally annotate but I love it when I pick up a used book full of annotations - it makes me feel close to the books history. If you're buying used, I think most people expect scribbles and underlining on the pages as well as earmarks and creased spines. Or you could post them to subscribers for the cost of postage or as a tier reward for patreons?

I'm an english university student,i got a ton of reading material. I'm sure that these tips would help me with my studies. Thank you for sharing.

Oh my goodness. What you described is exactly what I do when I beta or alpha read a story, I just didn't have a word for it. I always just called it a "running account of raw emotions, thoughts, and theories" for authors I was reading for for the first time and hoped it would make sense. Now, I have a word!!

I forced myself a few years back to actually start a notebook with quotes I love, because I used to write them down in the most random places. Now I'm on my second notebook/agenda and they're great for getting me through a reading slump, like a personalized reminder of why I love reading ;)

I love the idea of annotating since i forget crucial part of my favorite stories after year or 2. but annotating makes rereading so much more satisfying and i got into annotation from your video. So Thank you for that.

I absolutely adore annotating books. It makes the writing feel even more alive and more like a collaborative experience. I don’t annotate all the time, it depends of my mood and what I’m expecting from the book or rereading. I love that writing in books is becoming more popular too. It make me excited to go to second hand book shops and look for books with writing in them.

I know you're not much of an ebooker, but I annotate on my Kindle and it automatically displays all of the annotations (both notes and highlights) on a single page. I can also view all of my annotations from all of my books in a single view. As an author, this is my primary source of inspiration. If I am struggling with characterizations, I quickly reach more my Joe Abercrombie annotations.

That's the key! I should start annotating! A brain injury has mauled my memory and I still enjoy books but only because my emotions remember far better than the logic part. I remember they said something about that earlier and it was a stirring scene but the specifics are a mystery.... This will fix the blurred part! Plus I'll be able to remember my reactions from reading it the first time! Awesome!

You know what 👁👄👁 that’s a great idea annotating little summaries at the end of chapters. I’m gonna start doing that for series, so when I read a sequel months later and I don’t quite remember well what happened in the previous book, I’ll just go back and read my summaries instead of rereading the whole book

Is it just me or annotating books slows down my reading speed by at least half of the time I would take without?

I have the worst time remembering characters by name, so I keep a piece of paper inside the book I'm reading and write the characters' names, their particularities and family tree. Sometimes I do write a piece of information that seems essential as well. This way, I can always go back to the notes and remember who the heck John Doe is xD edit: oh, I do also write the page number where there's a quote I like :)

Yesss was waiting for an updated version. Thank you!

There are some that would say a book has not even been read unless you are annotating while you read.

This is an amazing introductory video!

Chapter bullet points are nice when you pick up a book the next day. You can read the last set of notes and see where you are.

This is the first time I’ve truly seen annotating in a positive light, your enthusiasm for it truly makes me view annotation in a different way so thank you, genuinely! My high school sophomore English teacher decided that we weren’t really retaining the books we read unless we annotated, so we were “required” to annotate. I was a big reader who’d never really heard of annotation before, so of course I resented it when it was presented that way. I was like “I’ve read just fine without annotation, why should I start now?” But seeing you talk about annotation as a mark of love and enjoyment, rather than proving something, is kind of undoing a decade of resentment started by that teacher. Tl;dr loved this video!

You can definitely donate annotated books! Heck, I've BOUGHT used books that had annotations on them (as long as they're in pencil).

Great video. I love annotating my books and frequently go back and refer sections. I never thought of chapter summaries. Love it! I love buying used books and if I find one that has been annotated I will usually get it based on that alone. It's so interesting to see what other people thought while reading the book.

I really appreciated this. I've only annotated nonfiction and its helped retain more than when I read my fantasy. I am really excited to try it out on my next book Lord of Chaos!

merphy thank you for this video. I just started to annotated in my books now. thanks for all the different ways to annotated. having a wonderful time 😊.

My half price books store will take my books that I write in. I usually take the tabs out thou beforehand. Annotating is so relaxing for me and it's also just so much fun. I really don't have a system. I really love Annotating for quotes and my favorite scenes from the books. I started reading more in romance books, and I love Annotating the relationship parts of the book and I really find almost quotes and favorite scenes. And I like to yell at my characters if they do something to upset me. And to cheer for them if something awesome and Amazing happens to them. Love Annotating videos and love your video.

I see annotating an important tool for enhancing your comprehension of the story you just read, as well as keeping the memories fresh when you just open a certain note of some random book.

I loved this post. Great talk on your method and I really enjoyed your personal reflections on why you annotate and how you react to what you're reading. Powerful thoughts on going back and reading your first reactions in the annotations 👍👍... your insights are inspiring and I am moved by your passion for reading. Thank you so much for taking the time to share. I enjoy your videos very much!! 😁😁😁👏👏👏

For many, many years I revered books so much that I protected them from being 'vandalised', but about 20 years ago I started annotating too. I realised that the book belongs to me. Who was I protecting it for? It isn't a rare book then why not engage with it in a more visceral sense? My annotation now takes the following form: - I underline words I do not understand and write their dictionary meaning at the back of the book - I use a highlighter to mark phrases, sentences, or passages that I believe are important to the story / have an interesting idea or concept / or I just love the prose - in the margins I write questions for the author, or ideas that seem related that come me. Anything goes really. Basically, I'm having a conversation with the author through the margins of their book - last year, I started adding the month & year I finished reading a book in the inside of the cover or title page. I found that taking a book of the shelf and reading my annotated thoughts lead to me wondering when I had those thoughts and, consequently, when I read that book. Since reading as a child and considering all books as treasures to be protected I now see them as conversations with the author or a means of exploring my own beliefs and life experiences.

I’ve just started reading Dune, so this has been a helpful video, Merphy!

I started annotating to help myself retain what i read easier, too. I also felt like it helped a lot!!! and I do feel more connected with the book, author and the characters more when I write my respond in a book!!!

I absolutely wish you were my friend! The thought of borrowing books you've annotated and adding my own reactions to it is just so appealing!

When I come across a line or a moment in a book or any other type of media that really resonates with me, I pop it in my gratitude journal on my phone. Because I am so grateful for those moments, and going back through them helps centre me when I'm feeling apathetic.

I literally *just* started writing chapter summaries at the end of each one that I read so that I can retain things better, and if/when I post a video about the book in question, I'll be more confident that I'm touching on all of the things I want to touch on. So glad to hear I'm not the only one that likes this!

we have very similar thoughts about annotating! also i never thought about using sticky notes for manga, that's really smart, now i want to reread my favorites all over again to annotate them!!

I have always underlined words and sentences that I liked but always wanted to do more. I've noticed your post it's marking things and love that idea as well.

I've never been in to annotating because it physically pains me to write in or mare a perfect book😂 But after watching your video, I'm REALLY interested in at least going back and annotating (possibly with sticky notes) my favorite books for all the reasons you mentioned! I hadn't really thought of it before, but even with my all time favorites, I forget parts I love or can't remember the exact quotes that stood out to me. And I can see how valuable annotations would be for that! Thanks for such a great video!!

I want to start doing this now. I’m on book three in the Mistborn trilogy, and several things have caught my attention. I feel like this method will help me retain that information too. Thanks Merphy!

Annotating is a great part of reading for me, and I enjoyed a lot

I literally just learned about annotating this semester in school and honestly I’m excited to do it.

Tip for noting your favorite quotes: if you get the Read More app on your phone, you can take a picture of the quotes you like and file it away under the book listing for your records. The app has a text from picture to typed text section, so it will not stay a photo, but will turn into a quote you can copy and paste anywhere. Love that feature... also it let's you add notes and keep track of how long each book takes to read along with a whole bunch of other things. I love that app!

You pretty much convinced me to buy the Gentlemen Bastards series, so I pretty much have those in the backlog, and also Pet Cemetary I hope they're good :3

I,m learning to annotate myself, thanks for the tips.

If your enjoying manga I think you would like bakuman. Its about 2 boys making a manga and the challenges that come with. and it gives you a pretty detailed look into the manga industry. Its a pretty good story too imo

I started doing this too! I always annotate my philosophy books and it occurred to me that I ought to do it with fiction and it’s been life changing. I can’t go back!

I'm not sure which study you're thinking about but I was actually reading an article recently about why it's easier to remember books you've read in high school and it's because we interact more with the texts. It seems like the way you annotate allows you to better interact with the text which is why it's easier to remember what you've read. I've been really wanting to start annotating but I just feel like it can easily pull me out of the story if I start writing, but I definitely have moments where something so spicy happens that I have to stop reading for a second anyway so maybe I'll try to start annotating with those moments! Also, I just love you're aesthetic for tabbing! It's so pretty 😍😍

OMG HOW DID YOU KNOW I WANTED TO WATCH ANNOTATING GUIDES LATELY ❤️❤️

This is fantastic. I started annotating in Notion so I can search for words or phrases. However, the idea of my kids reading a book with my own annotations and writing in it just might make me switch to writing directly in the book itself.

I annotate on books…I’m more marking quotes that I like and put a sticker on it. also if the quote is good enough I’m writing it on the wall in my room I have a wall of quotes, it has quit a lot of quotes now😅

My Daughter will be 18 in 10 months and it's killing me. Every time you talk about annotating in hopes your children see it makes me emotional. I feel what your saying so much and it's beautiful

*It's like I'm reading with my past self* ...my fave line! 13:36 that's so sweet; it's what I think many times too!

It physically hurts me to write in or mark up a book XD

The first book I've ever annotated (and I mean with writing, highlighting and everything, not just on sticky notes), was a book that I took on vacation and it got smashed with some fruit I had in the bag, then it got burnt by fire and lastly got wet in the rain. I always felt like I can't write in books because it's damaging them, but this one was already so damaged I just did it. I wrote everything that happened with the book and it's a cool memory. It's always the first step that is the hardest but using a book that is really not that high stakes is very good advice I think.

I’ve been afraid of annotating books, but you may have convinced me. I would also like to start a “my favorite quotes” notebook as well. That’s a great idea. Thanks for the tip. I also love books that have been well loved and read many times. They do look prettier!

This helps a lot. It's difficult personally to read even a page of a book when I turn my empathy 'switch' on, because there's so much emotion and I'm trying to understand/feel it all. And how characters emotions influence other characters. I think this annotating will give my empathy the space it needs to do this without becoming overwhelmed. It's so very magical.

I think I'll try anotating books ! I sometimes discuss books on discord with spoilers and chapters numbers, and i love seeing my first reactions and theories ! Andlike you I really like books that look used :D

I annotate all the time. It's gotten so crazy that I've created a database to track quotes, glossary, key ideas, etc. I also track intertextual references between books. It creates an incredible, intense understanding of what I'm reading. I do this with gothic literature, cyberpunk, philosophical - basically anything. When Merphy says "more deeply immersed," she's totally correct. I'm glad I'm not the only one that does this. Thank you!!

Sticky notes are a big brain idea for manga, thanks for the idea!

I like to turn corners of pages at new chapters so I can plan ahead when I can slip a chapter or two in, especially before work and while on a lunch break.

Plethora is a fun word

I never annotated my books but you make me wanna try ! I love it when I buy a second hand book and there are annotations of a person I know nothing about, it's like having two stories in one ! (Also I'd love to know your "annotation routine" with audiobooks and ebooks)

I found In A Holidaze in one of the little free libraries in my neighborhood. I took it because I recognized it from your channel, and I decided I would annotate it. I wrote some amusing notes in there, but I decided not to keep it because I found some of the scenes nasty, and though I generally enjoyed the book, it wasn't like I loved it or anything. I put it right back in the little free library, annotations and all. I haven't seen the book since, so I guess someone took it. I kind of like the thought of whoever has it now reading through my annotations. If I ever pick up an annotated book, whether it's from a thrift store or one of those little free libraries, I would absolutely join in on the page, and possibly pass it on to someone else, maybe a stranger, so they can join in too.

I only annotate non-fiction. Hearing how you do fiction is interesting.

Hmm an interesting legacy through your books i like it

I never annotate books and honestly this kind of makes me want to start doing it. I've been struggling getting through a book sometimes and I take big breaks because sitting and just reading is not the most exciting thing even if I love what I'm reading. I tend to also take massive breaks in between chapters and I think I might take that time I'd usually have a break to write notes down in the book. I also usually get scared to mark up my book and write stuff all over it and I'm ruining it but this sounds genuinely fun and I think I get annotations now more than ever. I never knew what I'd write until I saw this video. I'll see how this goes and if it helps me be a more engaged reader!

I just started annotating my books. I can't write in them yet but I do write on sticky notes and I really love it.

I only annotate if it’s a book for uni or if it’s a reread in which case I’m just fangirling all over it

I think I could literally feel my anxiety curling up my spine as you talked about writing directly on paper. 😂 I am more of a DO-NOT-SULLY-that-book kinda gall. The newer it looks, the prettier! :D But I do annotate books that I feel deserve it, usually if I borrow it from a friend, so they can see my reactions, or I just underline nice quotes or sentences that really showcase the writer's style.

I love getting books secondhand that are annotated, yet I only annotated the books while I was in college. I may start annotating again.

hey merphy my 4th grade teacher when we read a book we used to annotate in all the books we read(aka every page pretty much)

Great video!

I am the kind of reader that reacts out loud but it usually annoys people or make me feel like a crazy person when I read in public, I will try to annotate instead, seems fun !

It took me forever to be able to overcome my upbringing of not writing in books (thank you, University professors!), but I have come to love it. I still don't annotate every physical book I read either, but ones that I know I'm going to re-read, I do.

I just finished reading and annotating the sun is also a star by Nicola Yoon, and im so glad our annotating systems are kinda same. i kinda think should i be screaming into the margins like that and now that i know you do too i feel relieved lmao. the no system for tabbing is so relatable 😥, and there's big sections in between pages that have no notes, higlights or tabs because im too lazy to grab stationery.

hahahaha not me knowing EXACTLY what “he better not be dead be” my partner just got to that point in his audiobook last night! I’m so happy to share my favorite books with others!

I would like to annotate my books to make them mine but whenever I read I feel like I don't know what I could put in them, so thanks for the video, it will help me. 😁

I annotated during the first half of wheel of time which definitely made it more fun. I then stopped because I always forget to bring a pencil and tabs when I was reading somewhere else. But I always annotate books I have to read for school, not only for comprehension and remembering important parts but also for pleasure

I love the idea of annotating. All my reading is through audiobooks so I don't get to though... But wouldn't it be awesome to go to a library and all the books there were annotated? Like you see six copies of the same book and you wonder "why is there six copies of the same book" and then you find out that each one was annotated by a different person and not only was reading the book fun but reading their annotations as well. I could see that becoming a thing.

I like annotating because I know that on a second read, I can jump to the highlights that stood out to me. Right now, I'm reading 'Meditations' by Marcus Aurelius who repeats himself often so the highlights are greatly appreciated

love the idea of handing annotated books to your children 🙏

If you want to try annotating but don't want to write into a book, my piece of advice is to try it in a ebook. It's digital, easily deletable, but also really easy to go back to your notes. (Though you don't have the nice look of the tabed up book)

I gave my friend the first volume of one piece during grade seven to hopefully get him to read it, he had it on him until grade nine when he finally read it, along with all other volumes I owned. He finished 96 volumes in under 2 months.( it was a spare volume so my collection wasn’t incomplete for 2 years)

I like the idea of summarizing chapters. I'm doing it, but just little one liners.

I’ve recently started getting into annotating bc for a long time I thought it despicable to write in a book but Ive gotten over that and now I just underline sentences I like and write little notes of my thoughts in the margins *however* I still need a bit of time to get past only writing in pencil bc I dont like the idea of putting something that I cant erase in such an important thing… idk maybe its not some i need to get over

The first time I ever annotated a book was my Anne of Green Gables and I kept track of how old Anne was as the seasons were changing.

I have only annotated textbooks, never literature. Not even what I had to read for school. Sometimes when I want to find a quote I don't remember too clearly, I end up re-reading the whole thing... and I love it 😀

Merphy how does it feel to know that Brando sando falls in the pro-"word that shall not be uttered" camp. "It sounds like what it represents" -brando sando during the Halloween q&a

I love your idea of "tearing up" a book you didn't like. I recently read a book that won an award, and honestly, I have no idea why. But now, I am going to write a big note in it. ^.^ I tend to underline, squiggle on the side, and/or star things that strike me for whatever reason. If it is something I really like, I will write it on an index card and display it. I have a key ring of index cards that I put my favorite quotes on and display a quote so I can read it often. I use post it notes if I need to make a lot of notes and there is no room. I will also use index cards or a notepad if the notes are extensive. This mostly is when I read Japanese and make notes of words I don't know, which are a lot. (It is very time consuming.) And I will do the occasional edit of a typo. I can't help but notice them. Sometimes books really question your core beliefs, and engaging with them directly can be like a journal in a sense. Reading books can supply the words you have for a feeling you can't describe, and making a note of it in some way can also be a form of "journaling." I love reading books other people have annotated and engaging with them, so I would totally donate an annotated book. Leave it in a neighborhood library thing, or on a bench, in a cafe, or something, if you can't donate it for some reason. I have actually thought about starting some kind of book buying/sharing thing of only annotated books so people can get other books that have been annotated and make a chain of some sort, you know?

My problem with annotating is that I mostly read on the sabbath and writing is forbidden, so I can't annotate

Are you planning on continuing the Dune series? The movie was awesome!

You have convinced me to try to overcome my skin crawling response to writing in my books. Probably use sticky notes or companion notebook.

i got a geography textbook from the school and the person before me left annotations on sticky notes. I want to bless that person. Studying became so much easier as they summarize the most important points. And sometimes I add my own notes into it