I love annotating books, but I tend to only do it when I re-read a book. sometimes, when I'm annotating on a first read it pulls me out of the story. I really want to make an effort to do it more often though because I feel like it makes a book have so much character! like it's been loved and appreciated by someone!
I don’t know if you will see this but I hope you do bc I need a answer I just started tabbing my book and found out that went I took the tab off some of the words came off and it looks faded. If I leave them on is it going to ruin my book and leave spots and fade the words away?
oh wow that is interesting. I never really tried annotating until now. I thought i’d lose interest in reading the book. But surprisingly it made me feel so excited to read because i could tab my books based on how i was feeling. I’m able to understand what i read.
I literally feel the same!! But the urgency to highlight a really emotional or important moment overtakes the fact that i will have to withdraw from the story
in case there's someone (like me) who can't bring themself to write directly in the book: there's transparent, almost invisible sticky notes you can put on the page. it makes it look like the writing is on the book while keeping it perfectly "clean" ☺️
@@Luna_Matilde try using a different kind of pen, specifically not water based because they don’t stick well on plastic. I recommend sharpie fine liners
annotating my books is how I show my love for them. I've had a lot of people telling me that I was "ruining" my books, that it was a waste of time and money. What I always say is "my books. my choice. I bought the book, I do whatever I want with it". Do what makes you happy
I looove love love annotating books, although i’m still on the “scared to write on the page” club. This happens to me because I’m really picky with the books I buy and keep because if I don’t like it i end up selling it so it can’t be written on. However in these past 6 months i’ve been writing on my books with a pencil since it’s so easy to erase it afterwards! 😊
there are clear post-it’s on amazon! they make it a lot easier to write for me and you can directly underline/highlight stuff and not get it on the pages, i totally recommend them if you’re worried about that 👍
can we get a video of you flipping through some of your annotated books or annotations in general? (of course if they're not personal and you feel comfortable sharing them.) I just really like seeing other people's annotations! and your annotated books just look SO neat and aesthetic and beautiful, I love it :D
I got so excited when I started annotating! I’m someone who forgets EVERYTHING and this is so necessary for me now. Your annotating looks so beautiful to me 😍😍
I'm considering starting to annotate because I have the same problem, I'm very forgetful, I could read something one week and forget it the next lmao so I'm glad it worked out for you, hope it does for me as well
Uuh i wanna share too, what i annotate: 1. Quotes 2. Fav. Scenes 3. World building 4. Plot twist 5. Emotions trigger; yknow.. like when I feel bored, cryin, mad, frustrated etc 😂 Also, i use different colors of tabs, usually i match it with the color palette of the book based on the cover 🙂
Great video! Here is her color coded tab order Lilac-Foreshadowing Pink-Anything you love/ Romance ❤ Dark Purple-Themes/Triggers Blue-Sad 😢 Pale Green-World/Character Building (unique world/character development) Green-Deeper thoughts/talk back to the book/yourself, needing more thought Yellow- S-H-O-C-K Orange-Interchangeable with pale green, more focused on word building aspect tho Pastel/Beige-When ur pissed of at the book (opinion) Red-EXTRA SUPER DUPER DEEEP DO NOT FORGET (opinion) more on worldbuilding/character development
I literally just watched your first annotating video a couple of days ago taking notes on how I'm gonna annotate my first book next year (Jade City) and then you upload this life saver before I went out and bought my supplies. A Queen knows 😭❤️
Your annotations are SO satisfying to look at omg 😍 I highly recommend annotating to anyone who reads, even if it’s very minor… I started annotating this year and I find I retain more info and connect more with the stories.
Annotating has helped me so much with reading! I have troubles focusing and annotating seemed to solve that. It helps me get into the text more and it also aids with retaining what I just read. It's so fun to do! I think tha tyou'll hate annotating only when you focus on its aesthetic value and not for its practicality. Just like what Mel said, have fun when you do it!
I occasionally annotate my books, but its mostly just little comments I have while reading. Basically, my book equivalent of when I make a comment while watching a movie with my sister. Its fun to just get the thought out instead of sitting there with it. I was using tabs for a bit but I found that it took away from the reading process, personally. I will occasionally tab a really good quote, though
I love annotating my books - quite a lot of our processes are super similar 😊 One thing I love doing is using differebt coloyrs of pen for each reread and reply back to myself etc
I’m a somewhat new reader and I have been annotating and something that I’ve really been enjoying is making my tabs as I read so each book has a unique tabbing system plus I love making really cute custom book keys that I put in my book and sometimes use as a bookmark to keep track of what each color means for each book
Here for this!!!! I watched your other annotating video several times and have it saved. I'm a fellow book defacer, too (evil laugh) so I love seeing how other people do it. And honestly, not going to lie, watching other people talk about annotating makes me feel validated. I annotate books differently also but for the most part I mainly highlight my favorite quotes & write thoughts on sticky notes. In classics I will also circle or underline words I don't know. In certain series I have a tabbing system on top of the highlighting and sticky notes. And with the Bridgerton series that I started this year I have been drawing hearts next to my favorite parts & stars next to parts that are important. I don't think I'll do that with all the books I read but for some reason I felt the need to do it with the Bridgerton books. I might start using those longer sticky notes for writing summaries when I read longer classics & series! I bet that will be a life safer for remembering all of those little but important details when a book or series takes longer to get all the way through, or I put it down for a while and pick it up way later.
I only annotate my re-reads but only if it’s an all time favorite. I just use the tabs and assign a feeling or reaction to each color, like for Caraval anytime there’s something that makes me visual or establishes a certain atmosphere it gets a neon pink tab and I keep all my color coded the same across my books so I can look at them and see what the vibe is for that book based on the majority color
if only i could bring myself to reread😂 idk why i find it so hard, but that's partly why i annotate on the first round!! and... i love the option of tabbing atmosphere and visuals, i may steal that one and throw it into my system in a few books to try out👀😳💖
I recently just got back into annotating after having a phase of wanting to keep my books pristine bc of booktube LOL I feel like back in 2016 most ppl on here were so serious about keeping their books clean. In middle school before I discovered book tube I would crack the spine to mark pages I loved, dog ear, scribble, highlight etc. Then 2016 booktube happened to me where ppl constantly talked about how you’re “evil” if you dog ear pages or crack spines. Then I started caring about my editions matching bc everyone had such pretty bookshelves where the book heights line up. It wasn’t until recently when I realized who cares if I treat my books differently. So I’m really glad that there’s been more & more ppl on booktube/IG/tiktok that talk about annotating & personalizing their books
I've been thinking about annotating, as a writer, I heard this is a great way to get ideas for your own books by learning more about the books you read which fall in the same genre.
I have annotated before. But I haven't lately while reading and want to get back to it, definitely helps me understand what I am reading more. I'm gonna start back.
i do a similar tabbing system like how you did for our violent ends but instead of using post it notes for those key moments, i just dog ear the pages! it makes it easier for me to flip through the book and reread those moments that i loved so much
I am trying to get into annotating my books now. I was always scared of it but I have recently started tabbing my books a little but I am wanting to start doing it more. I plan to use just sticky notes to write commentary at first until I decide if I feel it is something I like enough to start actually writing and highlighting in my books. I think it's a really cool thing since I am a huge book reader and like to keep a reading journal where I write my own private little reviews. I think annotating may help my reading journal process.
I have adhd and I've avoided doing this my whole life which resulted into quite a struggle to learn things. I noticed my learning improved by actively taking notes and tabbing. Like I'm not even lazy, I literally sit for hours wasting time reading, whereas when taking notes and tabbing my time spending gets so much more efficient.
OKAY THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED i love "overly complicated" systems and annotating is awesome for getting all that you can out of a book! I'm gonna need to try this on Jade City and a few other books I'm intimidated by so i can really understand them to the best of my ability!
just started annotating and I love it. I started with writing sticky notes and the tabs themselves. now I highlight, underline, and write in the book. For special editions I want to get clear sticky notes so I don't write on the book itself but can still underline and write on the pages and see the words in the book as well
So I rip pages out of the books that I would read when I was in elementary school or something, but I use the pages to put into my reading journal! It’s a fun way of using old books that are already ruined from when younger me used to take crappy care of them. Loved this video!
As someone who studies literature, annotating saves me, however my system changes drastically from book to book. If I read for pleasure in my free time I usually just underline with whatever pen is available and I take notes in the book. For books for uni my coloursystem changes depending on what I look for in the book, and I both write in the book and I write on post-it’s. I prefer paper tabs because I can write on them too. Really cool video, it’s so interesting to see different peoples systems
I recently started writing in my books👀; I had only used tabs before.. although I’m only writing in my favourite books as I’m re-reading them😂. also I was nervous about writing in books, so I had bought the paperback version of my favourite book(s), and wrote in them - it’s reassuring that i have a hardback, pristine version even if I mess up lool
When I annotate each color is different. Sometimes. I Sometimes don't tap/ highlight. I just write in pen. Lol I love see other people's colors means to them & what they use it for.
I love how detailed this video is! I've been annotating books for 2 years now, but this video still helped and gave me more ideas on it! Thank you omg what a queen
Here I am, gave up annotating in November and now that I’m seeing this video it makes me want to reread the book from the start that I’m reading now and make annotations 😫
Most of the time i annotated my feelings and thoughts at this moment when i read… but some reading friends found it really weird that they can read my thoughts when they borrowed my books… now i just write it down in my book journal and highlight for example just the sentence where i want to say something! Maybe i will change it again bc u are right this books are mine and i can do what i want with them! So thank u for this wonderful video. Love from Germany and sorry for my english it isn’t my first language ❤️
In case anyone isn't aware, post-its glue can leave marks and residues in your books. Not saying don't use them, but for people who wants to keep their books pristine, be aware that it might be something that happens.
You could also annotate on your phone. If I don’t know if I want to keep it/want to annotate but come across a part I want to annotate if I like it, I’ll go to Snapchat, take a picture and use the drawing tools to annotate that page
@@MelReads not the queen responding, brb while I go cry tears of joy! I love annotating with my phone because I don’t take my annotating supplies in public with me so I’ll just use my phone and I’m able to go back and write down my first time thoughts
Yeahhhh….I really really can’t bring myself to write/highlight in my books 😂. I love to pass on books to friends after I’ve read them and I sort of see having written notes/reactions in the book as a spoiler? Idk. But I do love your idea/example of annotation with Scythe and using post-it notes are a great tool!
since i don't reread books a lot, if i do pass it along to a friend it only really has first timer thoughts so (thankfully lol) they don't get spoiled!! and yesss, post its are lifesavers💖
I love your annotating system. I just started with some books this year, it has been awesome to mark them. I feel like I'm leaving part of my soul in the book. I don't have a system, I just put the post-it wherever my heart tells me that the line or paragraph is beautiful hahaha
I annotate key parts of the book or in good girl bad blood the podcast at the start and I use a colour that mostly matches the front cover ❤hope it helps 😀
i'm a bit of an ocd person, but i still like writing down foreshadowing, character analyses, and random stuff that i think about. i don't do it in the book though. because i hate writing on my own books (i don't blame those that do, i actually really like the ones that are written on), i like to put a sticky note and write it in a journal! i also like to annotate on the second read because it feels like it takes away the fun if i do it on the first read. annotate however you want, and know that it's not bad that you're doing it. you're writing down your thoughts to remember later when rereading, and i think it's fun to find little things you've forgotten but really like the idea of!
I mostly annotate to mark quotes or pieces of language I love and don't want to lose. I love books that appear worn and loved and cherished with dog eared pages and creased spi es.
I LOVE annotating my books. But my dad gets so offended every time he sees me at it 🤣🤣 Before I worked weekends, we'd sit together Sunday mornings reading our books and drinking coffee and every time I wrote in my book, he'd be like, "Why are you doing that!? You aren't supposed to do that." And then one day he drops that his grandpa, who I never met, used to write in books too and was actually a lot like me in a lot of ways--our hobbies and interests, the things we read, the way we talk and gesture. So funny to me
I really like to annotate my books. i actually annotate almost every book i read because i like to write my thoughts down so that i feel like im in the story. I use tabs and sticky notes. The sticky notes i use for summary every 50 or 100 pages. And so because i annotate in every book i use pencil so i can erase it if i want to sell the book. Im planning to buy those pilot frixion pens/markers/highlighters so i can make it a little but colourful and just to try it to see if i like it because i like to be lazy and just use 1 thing to write/ underline with.
it's exactly that! it's the perfect way to interact with the plot, characters, etc🤩 that's the best part, most times- just experimenting and finding out what works for you💖
I feel like booktuber often use color coded tabs or pens/highlighters, which is ofc valid and cool, but i find it a bit overwhelming for me because i don't feel like i am that analytical when i read. What i do instead is get a big tab of post-its, cut it into 5-6 smaller pieces so it looks like normal tabs, and just write on that! I just write my thoughts or commentaries, like my reactions to a passage! Some of my tabs say "autism moment", "drama queen omg", "foreshadowing? character s*icude?", "me frfr", and stuff like that. If there is a sentence or passage i really resonate with or find profound, I'll underline it with my pen, but other than that I don't write in the margins or anything. I just found it a bit simpler and less scary to not color code, use tabs made out of post-its (cuts cost a little), and just record my reactions/thoughts instead of trying to be analytical! Just a tip if you find annotating a little scary or overwhelming when you see experienced annotators use color coding etc:)
This is what I've been looking for. I just got into reading and I'm going all in atm so this is really helpful. I'd love to see more videos like this, thank you for sharing. Greetings from Argentina 🇦🇷🤎
I have started annotating with the last 4 books I’ve read (one is a trilogy of books) with just post it’s. With the last book I read and the one I’m finishing now I’ve started underlining certain moments with little thoughts next to it. But considering that I keep a book highlight on my ig it’s fine if I toss out the post its after bc I can look back at a certain story😂
5:45 omg so I’m currently using these tabs to annotate razor blade tears and I love them BUT I will say that I personally wouldn’t recommend them because a lot of the darker colors are pretty hard to see through, I however push past that and still use them because I’m halfway through and I’m committed to the color tones that Match the book
My most annotated book of all time is definitely "The Chris Farley Show" by Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby. I used small Post It notes. I usually annotate by writing the page numbers on the back page.
Is that... House of Leaves I see? I read that one recently, and I don't think I will ever get over it. Now, to scroll through your videos to see if you made a video on it.
OMG, why are we so alike. It must be the Scorpio in us lmao. My annotating system is super similar. I use a little bit of everything. All the colors, tabs, highlighters, special pens, post-its, and long post-its. Sometimes, I'm like only I would have such a crazy system. But now seeing that you have a similar one as well, makes everything better. 😍🤩
I started annotating bc of you!!🥰 do you do it on the first read? And how do you annotate world-building stuff, I feel like I’m highlighting everything😭
6:13 I have used those tabs, the colours of some of them are a bit dark which makes it hard to see the writing. They sell ones that are white with just the colour on the end, those are better bc it's easier to read the writing through it
Honestly I have never before had any desire to annotate my books, I didn't really even get why somebody did it... That was until I read The Starless Sea and suddenly I want to annotate the hell out of that book and here I am looking for tips how to do it 😂
I used to not like annotating books because I’m against writing and coloring in them, I don’t know why I can’t bring myself to it but think I started annotating a book but there’s only 4 sticky notes tabs but I didn’t write in it and the only reason I wanted to because of a nice quote
I think it's great that alot of yall have this kind of system for annotating. But do you feel like reading is work when you do this? I just highlight whatever I liked or related to and tab it with any color. And then important information (only if its complicated and I feel like I wont remember it) gets underlined with a black pen. If I really really loved a quote then I'll highlight it and then also underline the specific part of it that got me. And then if a book just isnt that deep then I dont annotate at all.
I don’t annotate my books but I do take notes in my phone where I have different categories and I put the page numbers under the categories that I want to remember
To the people who say annotating books ruins them and it's a waste: nothings a waste if you're using it even if it wasn't intended to be used in that way!
I just started defacing my books this past couple of months. I am not going to lie. I absolutely love it. Though I just tend to use a pencil to write and underline, then tab for the feeling of it.