I really love how you explained why you started annotating. “Books are just objects, and objects are not important. It’s much more important what’s in the book.”
I'm starting to annotate my books, mainly using highlighters and sticky notes. I think if people like keeping their books perfect and they don't feel they *need* to annotate it, it means that they're reading books that don't mean that much to them. I like marking parts that are important to me.
I am so happy that you get so much out of annotating, it's the same for me. :) It really is a form of engaging deeper with the literature you consume. :)
What? I don’t think that at all, I have books that mean a lot to me, I don’t need to mark up my book and write my thoughts because they change over time. let’s say I want to read it again I won’t be able to concentrate because of all of the stuff going on inside. I love my books that’s why I keep them clean. People like to over analyze things in books and I just like being entertained with whats been written inside.
That is so not true and outrageous that you think that if you don't ruin your books they don't mean anything. I love my books. I re-read them, sometimes I just stare at them or something. I don't have to write in it and make it look ugly as hell in order to appreciate them. I respect the book, and I also think that a book should contain what the author wanted it and how the aouthor wanted it and we have no right to write in it. That doesn't mean i don't have opinions, thoughts on the book, but instead of doing this, I write rewievs, talk about it with my friends, family etc. To remember quotes, I use sticky notes that leave no sing on the book if i get them off of the book. I don't think it's a problem if you use these or bookmarks, clips or st, just please don't leave anything temporary, don't tear it, write in it etc. Also, how are you comfortable reading it if there are random drawings, comments and highlights on the book as in the thunbnail? It looks uncomfortable to read
You convinced me to annotate my books. I always felt sad when I was done reading a book that I loved and seeing that it was so blank, meaning that it didn’t look like I’ve read it and I never could find out where my favorite quotes and scenes were.
Thanks :) I also wanted to tell you that I found a great essay online about annotating books and it really helped me overcoming my fear of writing and scribbling in my books. It’s called ‘How to mark a book’ by Mortimer J. Adler and I strongly believe every book lover should read it ^^
i really like that you research things but also sticky them into your books, it actually makes so much sense so that next time when you read it you won’t be confused, i’ll definitely be trying that out!
Thank you for making this video! I have such a fascination with annotations in books, and I'm always curious to hear other people's methods and what exactly they write in their books. So basically I'm really looking forward to your next video on how you annotate! I enjoyed hearing about your evolution of annotation in this video too! :)
Blatantly Bookish you're in for a treat then because my annotations are not always of academic nature, and sometimes just crys of "BITCH WHAT THE FUUUCK" 😂😂
I know it's been a (loooong!) while but I finally got around to uploading that video on how I annotate. You can watch it here if you want: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SBJ7N2e9_p8.html :)
I am also struggling with remembering books I've read because there are so many I read. I JUST started annotating (not in books cause I use the library a lot) and I actually love it. The first book I annotated is definitely deeply ingrained in me now and I'm loving it!
Yes, annotating helps so much with making the book stick out. And it's so cool that you frequent the library that often and still found a way to annotate. :)
Oh yes! I got the tip to use a separate notebook from Nayareadsandsmiles because 80% of the books I read are from my local library and I wanna keep it standing lol
I have wanted to get into the habit of annotating my books lately, but I haven't had the courage to do it. Seeing all of your marked up books and hearing your reasons for writing in them was just the push I needed. I can't wait to start my next book and try it for myself!
Words cannot express how spot on you are with this. I felt the same way about books in general, and writing in books (guilt, shame, anxiety, fear, etc.) But now that I’m writing in my books I’m realizing how beneficial it is. Thank you for this video.
Love that you annotate and dogear! I think it's beautiful to be able to look back on your thoughts. Gives the book a bit of character all its own, too (;
Your annotating spectrum makes me smile! Thank you for showing the different ways you can annotate a book :D I normally just underline in black pen, myself, which I reserve for really beautiful lines/passages. I love all your reasons for annotating and hope this video urges more people to individualize their books by marking them up!!
Amanda Center thank you so much, Amanda! Oh yeah, the good ole black pen's a life saver! :D I would love for more people to give annotating a shot, not because I think it's the right way for everyone, but because I think the stigma surrounding "defacing" books in our community is keeping a lot of people from trying it out, and that's just a damn shame!
Indeed, though I think it's difficult to truly know the overall habits of the BookTube community. I know of a couple of BookTubers who like pretty editions of books, but also don't mind wear-and-tear through reading. Stereotypically, YA-reading BookTubers like keeping things neat and pristine, but then there are many readers who can't afford new, pretty books and mostly buy used, which naturally are more likely to be mismatched and battered. It's really hard to tell!! :)
Amanda Center Very true, I was more referring to how newbies perceive the community, and since it is dominated by the "keeping things neat"-YA readers, they might be put off from being a bit rougher with their books because "everyone" (that's how I perceived it as a newbie) is showing off books with unbroken spines etc. but I totally agree, once you really get into the community you get to know a diverse set of readers who all handle things differently, which is just wonderful! :)
Totally agree with all the points you mentioned. I’ve been highlighting my books for quite some time, but since I don’t like seeing neon blocks of text too often I’ve moved on to annotating purely with regular graphite pencil and it’s been such a joy! The first book I annotated in depth (not just highlighting quotes but also writing in the margins) was a romance novel and it felt so cathartic to not have reservations and just underline words like ‘my darling’ just because the way it was said and the situation it was said under made me swoon! Though I understand that different people have different philosophies in approaching reading or ownership of books, but I truly think people can get more joy if they remember that, like you said, owning books isn’t about the object itself but the thoughts and experiences recorded in them.
Yes, yes, yes! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with annotating. Nowadays I also prefer annotating with a regular old pen, and I only sometimes use fancy highlighters. ;)
Thanks for awesome annotation journey m. Can’t wait to get messy in Dracula. Which I’ve been reading. I have tons of books I’d like to read, I think I’ll spend more time reading those if I start having fun like you said. There’s definitely things I have been missing while reading Dracula. I think my mind wanders and I start thinking it’s a race to get through all these books on my shelf
Oh boy, good luck finishing _Dracula_ - Personally, I struggled quite severly with the story because Stoker's depiction of women as "pure, virginial figures" really good on my damn nerves. :D But I'm curious to know how you'll like it. Let me know!
Dog earing (gasp).. I would really like to start annotating my books. Right now I'm just using flags and sticky notes. I haven't found the courage yet to highlight or write in them. I do enjoy seeing your progression, maybe I have to do it gradually like you did. I loved, loved, loved that you added the dates and location of when you started and finished.
I committed a bibliophile's cardinal sin. ;) Gradually easing into annotating/highlighting definitely helped me to see the fun and merit in it without feeling overwhelmed. Nowadays, I couldn't imagine not annotating my books. :D
Loved this video and your thoughts on this! I too have wanted to do this but keep chickening out. I am now so inspired to start so thank you! Love to see the next part of this video and more on your annotating process.
Whatching this (a bit late) and I couldn't agree more with you. I started university and when I had to write about certain topics it was so much easier to reference books I had read, because not only I had underlined important ideas, which I came to use at my papers, but I also had written reflexions on those ideais and it was amazing how much time it saved me and how much it improved my learning at uni. I have been annotating for like a year and a half, but I'm still only confortable annotating with pencil and sticky notes. Also I love writing silly things too and making fun of some writers.
Happy to hear annotating your books works this well for you. Even though I don't study literature at uni I can totally see how having annotated a book would come in handy. :D
Dieses 'shallow' in Booktube stört mich echt ein wenig und wie manche Leute hier so overprotective sind und die Bücher müssen so aussehen als wären sie nie gelesen! Nagut jedem der seine aber ich finde es toll was du machst, ich schreib auch manchmal in meine Bücher aber lange nicht so ausfühlich und toll wie du, vielleicht sollte ich das mal machen :) haha has du bei deinem Moby Dick die äußerste Schicht weggerissen? Das hab ich auch mal mit einem Buch gemacht und das sieht jetzt so ähnlich aus :D
Sina Smialy Da stimme ich dir zu, jeder soll mit seinen Büchern machen, was er will, aber andere beschämen, weil sie in ihre Bücher schreiben, geht einfach gar nicht... Ich hab letztens auch ein Video von einem Mädel gesehen, die meinte "ja, es gibt ja auch solche, denen Lesen nicht so wichtig ist, und die schreiben dann halt in ihre Bücher, weil sie die dann eh wegwerfen" - ich dachte mir nur so, ehhh wer hat dir denn ins Hirn gesch----? 😂 Und haha, da hast du mich erwischt. Ich hab so ganz unschuldig an der Cover-Folie gepult und schwuppdiwupp, keine Ahnung wie das passieren konnte *hust*, war dann das ganze Cover ab 😂😂
was für ein bescheuertes Argument!!! Oh mann das passt doch Vorne und Hinten nicht... haha:D das ist ja auch nervig wenn sich beim lesen die Seiten von der Folie ablösen und einrollen, klar dass man die dann noch mehr abreißt :D
The first book I annotated was IT by Stephen king , I just used a simple way to do it by using tabs and pencil as an underline and write my thoughts on it , and now that I look back at it , it's really fun and I always enjoy what I wrote on it and my thoughts on it !
Thank you, Ms Leynes. I usually annotate my books if I need it for school, though I am still bit skeptic on using highlighters. Ha-ha. You mentioned that you will discuss about how you annotate your books, no, to your next video, but I couldn't find it. Let me know if you've prep new one on annotation! Love your insights.
Thank you so much! I'll definitely let you know when I upload my next video on annotating. I somehow never got around to filming it but since so many people have asked, it'll definitely happen. :)
I have never annotated or highlighted. Aside from the fact that my mother would have skinned me alive if I ever wrote in a book, I read ebooks that I borrow from the library, so there is no physical copy to annotate. I have started journaling about my reading though. I keep a bullet journal about my reading with a table of contents listing authors, titles, dates, and the number of the page of the journal where I've written my summary and thoughts. I like the idea of having all of my reading notes together in one place where I can flip from book to book and compare and contrast.
I keep a reading journal as well (in addition to goodreads which I consider an online reading journal since my full-lenght reviews are all there). Nonetheless, I love the feeling of immediately writing my thoughts in the margins and highlighting what I deem beautiful whilst reading. It's like breathing to me nowadays and adds so much to my reading experience... but there are so many different systems out there and I'm glad that everyone is doing what works best for them.
Have just found your channel after it was recommended by Portal in the Pages and subscribed as soon as I had watched this video. Can't wait to watch your other videos. I love to annotate and tab my books and am always curious to see how others do it. Any idea when you might be doing the follow up to this?
How lovely! Welcome to the channel. :) I'm planning on doing the video on Christmas break but I don't know for sure yet. I should definitely prioritize it since so many are interested in it.
Hey Anne, I know it's been a (loooong!) while but I finally got around to uploading that video on how I annotate. It's even my copy of Alexander Hamilton so it could be interesting for you. :D You can watch it here if you want: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SBJ7N2e9_p8.html :)
Love love love this video. Did you end up doing a part two on how you annotate? I can't find it on your channel. I would be super interested in your process xx
So many people have asked for part two and my lazy ass never got around to filming it. Gah! It will definitely come sometime in the future. I apologize for the delay!
I know it's been a (loooong!) while but I finally got around to uploading that video on how I annotate. You can watch it here if you want: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SBJ7N2e9_p8.html :)
(New viewer here, just starting to watch this video.) True story: I did not know highlighting/taking notes in books was called annotating. I thought annotations only referred to the official, professional notes that are put into books. I still can't get over this fact. I am in my 40s. How did I never hear this before? I used to highlight all the time. But I'm forever searching for a highlighter that doesn't soak the pages, bleed through and/or fade with time. Underlining doesn't work for me because I am terrible at writing straight lines. Crooked/slanted lines drive me crazy. (OCD, much?) I also read on the go (trains, outside, etc.) so underlining with a ruler is not an option most of the time. I also used to have nice handwriting. But it's gotten ugly through the years because who really needs to hand write anything anymore? Then there's the fear of making a mistake in a book and ruining it and never being able to look at it ever again. But writing in pencil always fades, especially in the cheaper paperback books. Can you tell this is a source of great thought and stress for me? Maybe the best way would be flagging and writing longer comments on sticky notes. That way, I can redo them if they come out messy. And if at some point I no longer want the book, I could give it away or sell it. I wouldn't want others seeing more personal type comments.
Oh, Yesica, my sweet summer child (I know you're in your 40s but I needed to put that Game of Thrones reference in), it seems we have a lot of barriers to break through. :D I am glad that you are somewhat comfortable with highlighting, but I would really say that you shouldn't stress so much about "fucking up". What if a line isn't straight? What if a highlighter soaks through? What if your handwriting is "ugly"? This is all YOU and it deserves to be preseved. For me, annotating is about getting as much out of the reading experience as possible without taking up too much time. So, maybe don't overthink this too hard. :) But sticky notes are a great alternative, without a doubt, see what's working best for you. :)
I agree, I have to get over it! This video made me so happy. Part of my problem is I did not grow up in a reading family. It's not my parents' fault. They didn't have the opportunity to develop a love for reading. But because I love it so much, I constantly feel guilty that I am "wasting time." This was true even when I was working full time, paying rent, and fulfilling all my adult responsibilities. It makes me happy to know there is at least one other person on the planet that finds reading, annotating, reviewing, and thinking deeply about their reading to be something valuable and even fun!
Oh wow, that's such an interesting insight. I've never met a person who considered reading a waste of time. It's such a wonderful thing, and stories can teach us so much, so please, never fell guilty about it again. :) And you should really get into booktube - it's our bookish community here on youtube. There are thousands of creators who cherish reading and share their love for literature online. :)
Yes, thank you. I have been watching Book Tube for a while and it's been so wonderful to see other, real people who love reading as much as I do. Thanks again. I look forward to watching many more of your videos.
I don't do any permanent annotations to my books because it colours the way I reread too much, and I can't form new opinions as easily. It distracts me too much. I am trying to think of a solution for non fiction though, I struggle to read non fiction and annotations and notes help me to stay focused for that. I am thinking of keeping a notebook for my non fiction notes but I'm not sure what I want my solution to be yet. It was need to see the different ways you have gone about it though!
bee Dampsy uh, that's so interesting! I re-read a few of the books that I've annotated and luckily, it didn't distract me, moreover it enhanced the experience. If I didn't agree with an annotation, I simply made a new one! But I definitely understand your reasoning, the idea of using a notebook sounds great. I don't know how often you re-read, but another idea might be to annotate your copy on your first read, and then get the book from the library for your re-reads. Just an idea. :)
-I really love to reread, although there is so much new material i want to try some times it is hard to make time for it, but I have books on my shelf that ive read 3, 5, 7 10 times... I've been trying to read a lot more books from the library, but I admit the imposed deadline often puts me off, currently about half the fiction i read is from the library, but non fiction takes me too long...
bee Dampsy I feel you on this. When I was younger I constantly re-read things (I read the entire Harry Potter Saga at least 10 times), because I didn't know of all of the other books that were out there... Right now I wanna read all the things and it's quite overwhelming! I agree, nonfiction is a lot harder to get through, and needs more research on the reader's part, so don't put yourself under pressure. It's perfectly fine to take your time with it! :)
@ bee Dampsy "I don't do any permanent annotations to my books because it colours the way I reread too much, and I can't form new opinions as easily. " Oh, that is a very good point. Maybe sticky notes that you can remove would help? Or writing in a notebook? I tend to read difficult nonfiction like theology/philosophy books and I have to take notes in order to process it all. But it does get cumbersome, especially because I do very little of my reading at home. I have back pain and I don't have a good chair/desk set up. Also, I'm often on the train, or outside in good weather. I don't know how people manage to write while on the train and also just with a notebook on their lap. I've tried it several times and it looks like a 5 year old's writing. I haven't found a satisfactory solution yet. I am thinking maybe the sticky notes method will help. I can jot things quickly/messily and then maybe go back and write it out in more detail, either on a larger sticky note to put at the back of the book, or into a notebook. If only the rest of life could be put on hold so I could spend 95 percent of my time reading! Good luck to you. I hope you find your solution as well.
hi, I just started annotating my books as well, always was a purist before, keeping the book as nice and perfect as possible. However, I review non-fiction books as well as fiction, and non-fiction books are sometimes just too complex for me to remember everything I want to mention. That said, I still do not annotate in fiction books but keep an index card with the book so I can make notes on that. Nice to meet you. Oh, I have a question - do you have a blog as well? Would be fun to see your blog too. Blessings!
Claudia H. Blanton Using an index card sounds really effective! :) Unfortunately, I don't have a blog, but if you're interested in my reviews you can follow me on Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/45198798-leynes :) Have a nice day!
I find this video super interesting. I must admit I cringed when you showed the dog ears because that is a pet peeve of mine, but so is annotation. Last time I annotated a book I used a pencil and then I went though the book when I was finished and erased all my notes. After seeing this video I am going to try and annotate with sticky notes because this video has encouraged me. I heard that you said in the end that you were going to make a video about how you annotate (like your technic) and I couldn't find it? Did you make it? I would find that really interesting I especially wonder if you have any colour cods. Great video!
I am so happy to hear that you're going to try out annotating with sticky notes. I hope you'll like it. :) And unfortunately, I never got around to filming the follow-up video. Since so many people are interested in it though, it's still high on my list of videos to film. :)
I know it's been a (loooong!) while but I finally got around to uploading that video on how I annotate. You can watch it here if you want: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SBJ7N2e9_p8.html :)
Hey there! I just discovered your channel and I love it! I had two simple questions for you: 1. How many languages do you speak 2. How fast do you read. I’m sorry if you’ve answered these boring questions before... Ciao
books by leynes I read about 115-130 a year...but I just started logging them on Goodreads. I can’t bring myself to log all the hundreds I’ve read- I think I got to 170 or so and quite- I didn’t even log all the 130 books I read last year. I only logged 36- lol but I’m getting better. I logged the 9 books I read last week. Anyway, how long did it take you to learn the languages and what course or method did you use?
I always manage to annotate. I do a fair share of my reading on the underground and I've mastered the art of highlighting things without making a mess. ;)
I bought Great Expectations at Half Price Books and I should have looked through it before purchasing. Someone had written and annotated over almost all the pages. It was so frustrating for me. I guess I'm in the keep the book pristine group. Unless you are going to keep the book forever. Just my opinion.
First of all, I think this was the first video I watched of you, and you re-watching it I had to comment on what a great one it is. I do highlight and use sticky notes to mark the pages I liked, however, I rarely write on books directly and that because of such a silly reason which is that my future self would cringe and or disagree with what my current self is thinking/feeling xD I don't imagine as a proof of how much I've grown or change e.g: future Salam flips on a page of a book and be like "aww.. look how naive I was" or "Damn I've really changed over the years" in opposed to: "OMG I RUINED THAT BOOK WHY DID I WRITE THAT THERE??! *cringes in frustration* Frankly Because that how I react to the diary of the 12 year old me ^^"
Ahh this makes me really happy that you took the time to comment here. :) It's really cool that you use highlighters and sticky notes, but I hope that in the future you'll be able to realize that all of your thoughts are valid and not cringe-worthy. Personally, I love having accounts of my former-self, I think it's very interesting to see how my opinion changes over time. Additionally, it really helps with remembering what the book was about in the first place... My memory sucks! :D
I had a mini heart attack when I seen the Delirium series in the background because a lot of people I know don't like it and I absolutely love those books
I am one of those book people who prefers a pristine copy of a book. However, that is not to say that I do not want to annotate my books, I fear that if I annotate my books then when I reread the book I will be far too distracted by the annotations and miss the story. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Personally, I don't mind reread annotated copies that much because I think it's very interesting to see what I found "annotating-worthy" back in the day and actually enjoy reading my old thoughts. It adds a lot to my rereading experience, but I could see that it might wouldn't work for other readers. I'd recommend just trying it out once and seeing how you do with it. :)
Can i annotate for no reason i wanted to get a coppy of lotr and hilight all the things said by cutain ppl in the book but i dont want to ruin lotr books i love them all neat to much lol
I can't get myself to annotate my books because I absolutely hate my handwriting and also I feel like my annotations will be super useless and I'll never care about them, and sometimes I get super into the book so I don't want to keep stopping to annotate. But i'm starting to want to annotate, but MY HANDWRTING IS SO UGLY
I actually wouldn't stress too much about your own handwriting, I mean you can always start off by writing on sticky notes which you'll stick to the page, and once you're more confident and comfortable with the habit you can switch to actually writing in the book... if it's any consolation for you, my handwriting is actually quite neat but when I annotate it gets ugly as fuck, because like you said, I don't wanna hinder my reading flow and I scribble things down super fast... I found it actually funny to re-read some of my annotations, especially with books I didn't like :D:D
How did you get through harry potter... was it that enjoyable? I mean the film was alrite too. I did annate one book and i wrote inside it, to which words i didnt mean or even say etc. Reading just opens your mind and opens your imagination. 😀 I see that you have high lighted your books too. Your not so affraid to do annate your books anymore. Also when i start a book, i write down the date i start it and my age, and when i finish it i also write down the date i finish it. 😀 I know this is long but... have you red weathering Heights? What about jane ayre?
Hey, I really enjoy Harry Potter, it's my favorite book series from my childhood and so I love rereading it (which I do almost annually). Annotating is such a great tool to engage more with literature, I literally couldn't imagine reading without annotating nowadays. Funnily enough, I have read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. The former is one of my favorite books, the latter one of my most despised. :D
@@booksbyleynes I think ive red weathering heights twice, i really like the story and ive seen the black and white version of the film which i found was really good. :) But i hadent red Jane Eyre... i know its a love story. But thats all i know of it. Lol I suppose annoting your books is good fun and you can go over what you have written or highlighted etc. :)
How cool, I think I haven't seen an adaption of Wuthering Heights yet ... in regards to Jane Eyre, I thought the novel was overly cheesy and its main protagonist simply annoying.
there were so many allusions to the fact that Jane and Rochester were just "meant to be", that the fates foresaw their bond; there are a lot of plot points in that story that don't make any sense at all and are just convenient so that the plot would become more dramatic and tense. For example, (mini spoiler!) at one point Rochester turns blind in a fire, and then when he reunites with Jane he regains his eye sight, which makes no sense at all, lol. :D
books by leynes something told me to do that lol. Jedi Mind Tricks "Heavenly Divine", "Trinity" or just the whole album 'Violence Begets Violence' Aesop Rock "Basic Cable", "Battery", "Bent Life" (w/ C-Rayz Walz) Cannibal Ox "Iron Galaxy" "Raspberry Fields", "The Power Cosmiq", "Battle For Asgard" Atmosphere "God's Bathroom Floor", "Scapegoat", "Sound is Vibration" Eyedea (&Abilities) "Even Shadows have Shadows"
Okay jetzt hab ich einfach nur Lust auch in alle meine Bücher zu schreiben :D Ich markiere manchmal und ich bin in einer Travelling Book Gruppe auf Goodreads wo man Bücher mit vielen Leuten zusammen liest, jeder sie kommentiert und dann weiter schickt und es macht so viel Spaß! Aber normalerweise schreibe ich nicht in meine Bücher 🤔 Vielleicht mach ich bald auch mal so ein ähnliches Video :)
Uhhh... diese Bücherreise-Projekte kenne ich. Richtig coool! :D Und jaaaa, komm auf die dunkle Seite und fang an in all deine Bücher zu schreiben. MUAHAHA! ;) Nein, aber im Ernst, für mich ist es einfach so eine Bereicherung!
creepy creatures reviews Eines Tages wird das Bücherregal über meinem Bett zusammenbrechen und mich erschlagen. Die Bücher haben endlich gesiegt. Sie haben Rache an ihrer Unterdrückerin genommen. ;-)
I absolutely love this. I've been in the "keep them pristine" camp, but lately I've been feeling frustrated by how badly I want to write my thoughts and analyze writing styles. And that's just silly because why not annotate them, since they're MY books and the covers will still look pretty on my bookshelf anyway?? Thanks for this video, it's incredibly encouraging.
I'm so glad to hear that! :) Once your initial inhibitions are overcome, nobody will stop you! Annotating is so much fun and helps a lot with digesting what you read! :)
TerrigenCrystal I totally understand your hesitation. I started by keeping a notebook while reading anything. I would write my thoughts in the notebook because I was terrified of ‘destroying’ my perfect book.
Loved your annotations. It does enrich and enhance your experience. Reading is not just a luxury, it is an experience in itself. Your annotations feel like you are engaged in a dialogue with the writer and the narratology in a physical form. Impressive. Enlightening.
This was so good! I am a late reader, (52) but have built a beautiful library of Goodwill, lawn sale, and second hand books from local book stores. I love my books. I too love the way the look on my shelves but after watching your video, I can totally see how I would enjoy, remember, and be able to share the why of my love for a particular book, after reading it and it is resting on my self. I had started to put the page number of my favorite line of a book, in the back with the date and the sentence underlined, for quite some time. Like if it made me gasp, laugh out loud, or whatever while reading it... I always wanted to grab a pen to make sure I didn't forget where it was because I knew at some point in the future, I'd want to go back and enjoy it. So, I guess I've always had an annotate mindset. As a mother of grown kids, I often think that it would be a wonderful thing to leave behind for my kids and grandkids to see what I've enjoyed and how it made me feel and changed my thinking. Thank you Sweetie for this video. You've helped me to realize that I too need too annotate my books if I so choose, to completely enjoy them. Looking forward to watching all of your videos. Hugs from Maine.
This comment made me so happy! :) It's so lovely that you took inspiration from this video and realized that you were the annotating-type all along! Have fun and enjoy the journey! :)
I annotate my books because it makes you feel like it's a dialogue with the author. However, the BIGGEST reason is that when I lend my books to friends, I have them write their thoughts, and we can have conversations in the margins about specific details. It's amazing to look back on your favorite books, or even more so books you hated, and see all caps frustration or gushy hearts. You see your emotions on the page. My opinions visually evolve.
100% AGREE! I always felt so weird about the whole "conversations with an author"-thing because I genuinely feel so connected to the authors whose books I am reading and I thought I was the only one... but it's so cool that you're feeling the same way! Sadly, my friends irl don't read (the same books as I do) but I am always so excited when I find a used copy that has already been annotated.
Haha so bin ich auch erst drauf gekommen weil ich "Der Erdbeerpflücker" und "Die Auswahl" im Regal erkannt hab :) Aber ansonsten wäre es mir garnicht aufgefallen!
This is my second time watching this video because I want to share it with my students. How do I follow you on goodreads? I would love to read some great book reviews because I'm so horrible at it. Thanks again and please do a video on your favorite reads so far.
Oh wow, I feel really honored. This is my Goodreads profile: www.goodreads.com/user/show/45198798-leynes :) And I will definitely consider making a "favorite books" video, however I always have a hard time picking and selecting my favorites, so that might take some time. :D
I used to annotate a lot, and I used to love it, but after I started collecting some copies of my favorite books I stopped adding notes. What I use nowadays is sticky notes and I always use goodreads updates to keep track of my thoughts. I totally agree that the most important think about a book is the content, but I'm a sucker for beautiful gorgeous editions 🤗 and I just can't write on them or even use highlights... I know I'm crazy. To me perfect the book is an awesome content plus the best object possible (durable and beautiful). But I think that annotating is a great experience. And I freely annotate my text books, for example. Regarding fiction books, I miss this habit, but I just can't lol. I'm still working on a solution though 😂
BookCravings I totally feel ya... If I would own 100$-books or very rare editions I probably wouldn't write in them either ;) I hope working with sticky notes satisfies you enough! :)
Mary Tortello don't worry, it'll come... I don't have a tripod so I just have to figure out how to film my book from the bird's eye view... It's a little tricky but I'm working on it. :)
I know it's been a (loooong!) while but I finally got around to uploading that video on how I annotate. You can watch it here if you want: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SBJ7N2e9_p8.html :)
I feel every single word you say. I have been so so scared of marking my books and want to retain them as new for posterity! I have been reading since I was so young and I do feel the pain of not being able to ‘articulate’ my true feelings for some incredible books I read years ago. It’s agonising and so I have been considering starting annotations now, at the risk of ‘ruining’ a perfectly pristine copy. But I also completely agree with you that the content of a book is more important than the packaging. So here I go.... I am going to start today 😊 thanks to your honest and frank video. I will be able to absorb literature and give it its due credit for real, appreciating the ideas and concepts from the author. I am also going to connect with you on Goodreads to check out your detailed reviews. Thank you for your thoughts!
Yay! I'm so excited for you! :) I love to see people go on their journey with annotating books. It's so much fun and so useful. I hope you are able to take your time and figure out a system that works best for you. Just don't give up.
Sehr interessantes Video, auch weil es komplett von meinen Lesegewohnheiten abweicht und ich das immer spannend finde :) Ich könnte meine Bücher nie auf permanente Weise voll schreiben, da ich einiges wieder verkaufen möchte oder es mich stören würde, wenn ich das Buch nochmal lesen möchte :D Wenn mir dann nach vielen Jahren ganz andere Gedanken zu einer Passage kommen, wird es mit dem Platz und der Übersicht im Buch schwierig. Während ich lese mache ich mir abnehmbare Haftnotizen an wichtige Passagen und interessante Zitate, die ich schnell wiederfinden möchte. Ich habe außerdem immer ein Notizbuch neben mir liegen und während ich lese schreibe ich dort jeden Gedanken nieder der mir kommt. Ganz ungeordnet. Nachdem ich das Buch beendet und mir abschließende Gedanken dazu gemacht habe, gehe ich diese Notizen durch und formuliere meine Meinung und Gedanken in präziserer Form und schreibe das sauber in mein Bookjournal, in dem jedes gelesene Buch seinen Platz bekommt. Und auch beeindruckende Zitate oder Passagen schreibe ich mir ab. So habe ich einen zentralen Ort an dem ich meine Meinung und Gedanken zu gelesenen Büchern aufbewahre, selbst wenn ich das eigentliche Buch gar nicht mehr besitze und kann jederzeit nachschauen, was mich bewegt hat. Wenn ich ein Buch erneut lese, gibt es einen neuen Eintrag und ich kann beide vergleichen, ohne dass mir die alte Meinung zu präsent ist und mich beeinflusst. Manchmal ist man da erstaunt :) Obwohl ich meine Bücher wie rohe Eier behandle (und das ist wirklich ziemlich albern), finde ich deine markierten und angereicherten Bücher total schön, weil man eben sieht wie du mit ihnen gearbeitet hast. Sie gehören dadurch ganz eindeutig dir, tragen deine Gedanken und sind damit für andere unbrauchbar. Das finde ich sehr charmant. Wall of text xD Sorry :D
Ich finde es auch immer wieder schön zu sehen, wie unterschiedlich das Leseverhalten ist, nicht nur bezogen auf die Art der Geschichten, die wir konsumieren, sondern auch wie wir diese konsumieren. Ich könnte zum Beispiel niemals ein Hörbuch konsumieren, da ich auditiv einfach nichts behalten kann... Ich hab von deinen zahlreichen Statistik-Videos (oder auch dem Wunschlisten-TAG) ja schon mitbekommen, dass du ein sehr sortierter Mensch bist, was ich wirklich klasse finde. Mich persönlich stören die Annotationen beim nochmaligen Lesen nicht, und wenn ich neue Gedanken habe, werden die zur Not auch zwischen die Zeilen geschrieben oder auf eine Haftnotiz, die dann über die vorherige Haftnotiz geklebt wird... Ich kann aber sehr gut nachvollziehen, dass das für einen übersichtsliebenden Menschen einfach überhaupt nicht der richtige Weg ist. :D Ich denke, du hast für dich die beste und sinnvollste Methode gefunden. Ich finde die Idee deines Bookjournals wunderbar, vorallem weil ich weiß, wie viel Mühe du dir bei der Aufmachung gibst! Ich finde es einfach schön zu sehen, wenn anderen Menschen das Lesen genauso wichtig ist wie mir, und das wir einfach unterschiedliche Wege finden um das Gleiche zu erreichen - möglichst viel Zeit und Liebe in die gelesenen Geschichten zu stecken. Hachja, da geht auch mir das Herz auf! Und je länger der Kommentar, desto besser. Der Austausch mit anderen Bücherfreunden ist immer willkommen. :D
I usually stay away from annotating because I feel like I can’t ever fully immerse myself into a book if I keep stopping to write (+ what would I even write??), but this video changed my mind a bit and I think I’ll start. I’m reading Malcolm X’s autobiography and I think I could definitely get more out of it, as you said, if I wrote down some notes & highlighted passages that stuck out to me. Thank you for this! I also just want to say I found your channel last week and have been obsessed 😂🙌🏾
This comment made me so happy, not only are you considering annotating now (like YAAAAS), you are always reading Malcolm's autobiography, I read it in January and absolutely loved it. I totally agree that annotating it helped me understand the timeline, his motifs and anything else that was going on a lot better. I hope it'll work out for you. :)
So true that the annotations don't just remind you of what the books was about but who you were when you were reading it. Writing on sticky notes is a good way to keep track of your notes without being tied to those opinions. You can always change them as you reread and interact with the text on another level.
Yes, I totally agree! :) Sticky notes are great as well, but I just loooove to write in my books because it's much quicker and more intuitive (at least for me). :)
@ Runwright Reads Just a few days ago I bought some larger, lined (!) sticky notes and I can't wait to use them for this purpose. For the life of me, I can't imagine why this never really occurred to me before! Once in a great while I'd write something on a sticky note, but not in any regular, purposeful way. For me personally, it will take the pressure off to have to do it perfectly. (I can't write straight on unlined paper to save my life, I hate to see mistakes crossed out, etc.) If I mess up, I'll just change it! There is barely a day that goes by when I am not happy and thankful that I found Book Tube. I cannot tell you what a relief it's been to be among others - of all ages, life stages/situations, backgrounds, locations, etc. - who feel excited about reading/writing, note taking and thinking deeply about what we read.
Bookish Realm thanks girl 😚 yeah, some people on booktube and irl are quite closed-minded smh how dare we get the most out of our reading experience, right? ;))
I am definitely a little late to this video, but I just recently started writing in my books (I just used tabs and sticky notes before), and so have been watching loads of annotating videos to see how other people do it. Can I just say this one has to be one of my favourites out of all the ones I have watched for the past few weeks? 💖 The only thing that's still making me hesitate to annotate all of my books is what if I don't like it and want to unhaul it? Then it will have my personal thoughts on it that I might not want to share, but at the same time I wanna interact with the text since they are my books. So, it's a huge dilemma for me to decide when I wanna annotate. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you so much! I am so happy to hear that you started your annotating journey. I think it depends on how much you unhaul, if you unhaul 50% of the books you read, then I would suggest using sticky tabs and sticky notes on which you can write your thoughts instead of the actual paper of the book, but if you tend to keep most of the books you read, I would suggest giving yourself ±50 pages before deciding if you like the book enough to anntate it.
First :) A really cool video. Makes me want to grab that pen and start going for it. But I think I'm not ready for it yet. I mean I've started annotating (* husthust * Hanya Yanagihara * husthust *) but I'm not nearly there where you are. I only put sticky notes in and that's it. Depending on the situation I try to use different colours for different emotions but that didn't work out last time because I was running out of it when I was reading the people in the Trees. But so far it works out great because I mark the quote with a sticky note page marker thingy. And I really do get your point. It really makes the book so much more your own. I did mark a few passages in two other books but you can't really compare that^^ But my problem still is that I tend to get rid of a lot of books and it's just the case that you don't get those books sold that easily anymore when you have written in them. And so far I don't want to own books that somebody has written in either. I annotated for school but I'm not really fond of that so I think it maybe never will happen that I annotate like you. I think I will start underlining but in books that I already read and know that I loved like e.g. "A Little Life" that started this whole madness.
Look At My Books Is there a reason why we're communicating in English right now? :D I totally get your point that it's harder to re-sell books that have writing in them. I personally keep all my read books because 1) I have the space and 2) they function as a sort of diary for me, and I love being surrounded by my reading history. Maybe your books will become more precious to you if you write in them? 🤔😉 So that you'll want to keep the books for your funny or furious thoughts, even though if you hated the story? Personally, I feel completely different about reading books that were annotated by somebody else. I love that, especially if I know the person, because it feels like getting to know them better! :) Have fun with annotating "A Little Life", I'm looking forward to do the same! xxx
books by leynes Just because :D Hmmm maybe I'll get there one day... I do have space but not that much, that I can keep buying like I do and keeping everything. Then the space will be full in no time xD I believe you will. It's really quote worthy xD
Great video! Seeing your edition of Hamilton makes me warm and happy inside. I use stickynotes, make dogears, underline, take notes in the margines and use highlighters. I think I started with the underlining, dogears and notes first, and are now in the process of trying to use multiple highlighters. 😊
Silje Yaay, I love to hear that other people are annotating their books as well. I think it's such a wonderful thing and makes the book as an object much more personal. :)
I'm now watching you young lady and just hoping my 9 years old daughter would be a good reader like you in the future. I love to take notes on books and make them mine. Actually, I mostly take those notes for my little girl, hoping, maybe one day she'd read those books and find my lines and learn what my opinnion was on those pages. I also like to read some famous marginalias of Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Charles Darwin and many others. It's like an old art. My wife hates it. And I hate that she hate it. She sais 'do whatever you want to your books not to mine'. A little secret; I made the half of hers mine already. She doesn't know. Thanks for sharing your lovely and valuable toughts.
I want to reread my favourite books and capture all the important, enlightening parts of the text for me. At the moment, with complete absence of bookmarks I can never just flip to a line I loved...
yeah that's such a good point ... especially for my favorite books, I love the fact that they are annotated ... for the past two years I've been rereading my favourite book series from my teenage years just to annotate them and it was such a treat (...even though I ended up not loving some as much as I used to). ;)
@@booksbyleynes Mmm yes, I think something to indeed keep in mind is to, despite the displayed annotations, welcome your current thoughts and feelings about the book when re-visiting it the next round. Also I would just like to say that I discovered your videos for the first time today and instantly subscribed to you. I appreciate that your reviews are filled with such intellectual, independent honesty.
Yeah, funnily enough my annotations don't bother me when I'm rereading a book. I really enjoy adding new ones though. ;) And thank you so much. I'm happy to hear you enjoy my content!
Thanks you for this video, it was really well made and interesting. I never really thought about annotating my books (except that I put some little sticky bookmarks on quotes I like) but I may begin to do it because of your video and the way you explained your reasons ! So thanks 😉 Kisses from France ❤
I recently started annotating for fun and have been watching all of the annotating videos on RU-vid and your video is my favorite. What stood out to me is that you also annotate in nice copies of books instead of cheap, ugly copies, like your beautiful penguin deluxe of Moby Dick. I just finished reading and annotating The Haunting Of Hill House in the penguin deluxe edition and was all like "what did I just do?!?" Your video reminds me that it's all chill... it's just a book, it's just paper, it's just an object. What we get out of books is what matters. I would love to see more close-ups of your annotating. You inspire me.
This comment makes me so happy. It's so nice to hear that annotating is working out for you as well. I totally understand that initially it can seem daunting to write in a pretty/expensive copy but like you realised yourself, at the end of the day, it's just a piece of paper. Annotations make the books so special and personal, I wouldn't wanna miss out of the experience, regardless of the book I'm reading. :)
I am starting to annotate when I read but sometimes I think that I highlight way to much and I don’t really know if it should be annotated if it’s important for analysis.
I honestly wouldn't over-think it. I tend to highlight "too much" as well but at the end of the day, there's nothing wrong with that. It's still a great starting point for another round of selection when it comes to writing my book analysis and reviews. :)
Love this! This is the type of annotating I'd like to do eventually. I'm not there yet. I usually stop doing any notes halfway through the book. Thanks for the video! Best one I've seen on annotation.
You speak so highly of the Name of the Wind until I'm going to pick it up next. I use to annotate books by writing my thoughts in the margins. I want to start doing that again probably using the sticky note method. Are you a fast reader?
Walkinthe Woods I can't wait to hear what you think! :) I'm not the fastest reader, when I'm good I manage 60 pages per hour, but usually more like 30-40. :) Since I started annotating and reading more challenging literature, I like to take my time. In my teens I could binge-read 100 pages per hour, but that doesn't do it for me anymore! ;)
Ich, als ich das Titelbild gesehn hab: 😰 Nur einmal in meinem Leben hab ich sowas gemacht und zwar bei meinen alten HP Büchern, weil ich auch neue hab. Und nicht mal da war es so krass 😅 Bei Büchern die ich nur einmal habe, würde ich sowas nie machen, weil es mich beim Rereaden total aus der Story holt. Außerdem könnte ich die nie wieder verkaufen. Das einzige was ich vorhab ist mit dünnen Post Its zu markieren wenn etwas wichtig ist für mich aber das ist schon das höchste der Gefühle 😙 Es ist auch echt interessant wie unterschiedlich Leute lesen. Mir ist es zB völlig wurscht was der Autor vorhatte oder zu welcher Zeit es geschrieben wurde etc, hab sowas auch immer gehasst in der Schule. Ich interpretier mir da gern selbst was rein. Aber es ist wundervoll dass ich dich für sowas hab und mir deine mega detaillierten Reviews gönnen kann 😘👏🏻💯 Wiedermal tolles Video, boo!💜
hopevanille hehe ich dachte mir schon, dass du dich am Thumbnail erfreuen wirst 😂😂 Und ja, da stimme ich dir sowas von zu. Vor allem durch BookTube lernt man so viele Arten von LeserInnen kennen, und es ist einfach faszinierend zu sehen, wie unterschiedlich die eigenen Gründe und Gewohnheiten sind, und dass uns trotzdem alle die Liebe zu Büchern verbindet. Okay, dit war jetzt mega cheesy, ich geh mal schwarze Sachen anziehen und leg ein bisschen Metal auf 😂😂 😚😚😚
I don't really get that. I mean, a new book is around 10-20€, even if you don't write in them, you will never be able to resell them for the same price. Used books usually sell for 1-5€. Personally, I like not to only invest my money into my library but also my time and effort, which is why I want to engage with the books that I read on the deepest level which - to me - has to include annotating them and doing as much research as I can for my reviews etc. But I totally get that people differ in these matters!
Lol, das war das erste Video welches ich jemals von dir gesehen habe und RU-vid schlägt es mir wieder vor. Finde ich vom Timing her ganz lustig :D Ich versteh die ganze Hysterie bei den Eselsohren auch nicht. Meine Bücher sind zwar auch mein Heiligtum, aber des Inhalts wegen und nicht wegen dem Objekt per sé. Habe in meinen Lieblingsbücher auch meine Lieblingsstellen mit einem Buntstift markiert (mir sehen die Marker einfach zu grell aus, vielleicht hole ich mir extra welche in Pastellfarben für meine Bücher, haha!), aber mit einem Kulli reinzuschreiben... ne, hätte ich zu viel Schiss vor :D Nicht, weil ich das Buch "zerstöre", sondern dass ich beim nächsten Mal Durchlesen eher mit Kopfschütteln über meine Notizen beschäftigt sein werde, als mit dem Lesen
Pastellfarbene Marker sind soooo schön! Eine Anschaffung lohnt sich auf jeden Fall. :D Mich stören meine eigenen Notizen eigentlich gar nicht so sehr beim Rereading. Ich achte darauf, immer an den Rand zu schreiben, sodass ich den Text an sich problemlos nochmals lesen kann... Kulli ist halt einfach entspannter als Highlighter (imo). :D
I actually feel guilty to annotate on books, but honestly when there is something so good on the book, I want to write on it 😭😭 I don't want to feel guilty so I am watching this
Annotating my books would be super useful. My only "problem" is that I tend to donate my books after I'm done with them if I'm not that fussed about the book (I can never know until after I'm done with a book whether I'll want to keep it or not) and it feels like a jerk move to annotate books that I essentially feel like I'm "borrowing" or know there's a high probability that I'm going to give away. But I do want the benefit of detailing my thoughts even more at all stages of the book. And I totally agree that making notes as you go makes a huge difference the the process of analysing - it has done for me whenever I have done it in the past. Maybe keeping a book journal to write in alongside reading would be good... I don't know. That's probably why I feel much "freer" when reading ebooks at times because I can make notes electronically, without feeling any qualms about it, search/skip easily to sections and so on.
Yes, a reading journal would be a good option or maybe larger sticky notes where you can write down bullet points as well. :) I hope you'll find a system where you can try annotating your way without writing directly into the book. I find annotating so useful. :)
I love it so much! Whenever I get a used books that is already annotated, I feel so happy, because it feels like I'm reading alongside another person. I find it super fascinating to see how other people viewed the book I am reading!
I’m reading a non fiction book and I was debating if I should highlight it. I really wanted to but for some reason I needed this video to give myself permission to do that, so THANK YOU
Hey! It's the Swiss girl :D I thought I would comment on this video first, because it makes my heart jump off joy. I wish my annotations would look so awesome like yours do! I'm a bit of a messy annotator I guess 😄 So, hey, new subscriber here 😄🙋🏻
BetweenLinesAndLife Hey girl, I'm glad you found your way to my channel 😊 My annotations can get quite messy as well, which I think is quite charming 😁
Hello! Thanks for the video Sorry, you may have answered this, but how do you go between reading and annotating? e.g. Do you go back and highlight at the end of each paragraph? page? Or do you do it as soon as you've read something
I usually do it as soon as I read something. I know that this might not work for everyone because with this method one tends to annotate a lot more than might be really necessary. However, nowadays I also use sticky notes, so among all the highlighted passages, I only tab the ones that seem most important to me, so that when I go back to write my review or analyse something I can jump immediately to the significant passages, if I don't feel like going through the entire book again. :)
I haven't done much annotating. But I would absolutely be willing to copy annotations from an old book to a new one! (I figured I was the only person would "waste" time that way!)
Well, that's what true booklovers do. And I have done that a couple of times now and never did I feel like my time was wasted. I rediscovered so many hidden gems and hidden passages that way. It's amazing. SO GO FOR IT. :)
I usually write in books for school, but I still feel super iffy about writing in my books I read for fun. Mainly because I look back at the notes I made for the school books and they're so cringey lol. I usually will highlight quotes I like in ebooks though, but something about putting it on a page permanently makes me wary haha.
I think a lot of people feel this way, and if highlighting on your e-reader works for you, then that's great as well. Personally, I especially enjoy the cringy notes from the past because they show me how much I have grown and the kind of thought patterns I used to have back in the day.
I love this video so much. Thank you for showing your growth of annotating. I love looking through used books to see if it was annotated. Seeing what they thought/loved and hated about the book. I just annotated my first book and it was nerve wracking but I WANT to do it. All I did was underline my favorite sentences but it’s a start. I want to start reviewing books on my channel and I thought annotating books would make it so much easier. Thank you for making this video!!
YES YES YES! I am so happy that you started your journey of annotating. You'll never go back! :D And yes, annotating is definitely a process, so take your time and figure out what works best for you! :)
This was so helpful! Only now I'm starting to annotate in my books and I still have to figure out how exactly I wanna go about it, so thank you for sharing your experience! I agree, remembering a reading experience and what were your thoughts while reading a certain books are so much more important than the book itself (as a physical object) and I regret not having any signs of that on the previous books I've read and loved.
I'm glad you enjoyed this video. I'm super excited for you to start annotating your books, yay! I hope you have the best of time doing it. It's such a great feeling to browse through old reads and remember all the good/fun/infuriating times you had had with it. :D
