3 years ago I laughed at a friend for annotating fiction books, now I can't read without a pen in my hand

Last month at our book club debate on The Road, I pulled out my heavily marked up copy with sticky notes and everyone stared at me like I was insane, but my arguments actually held up because I had proof on every page, so has anyone else gone from hating note-taking to becoming that person?

2 comments

2 Comments

rivera.henry26d ago

Ever notice how people who annotate their books are usually the ones who actually finish the whole thing? I used to think it was a weird distraction, but now I realize it forces you to slow down and really get what the author is saying instead of just skimming. Marking pages actually makes you engage with the story instead of just letting the words wash over you, so that book club win makes total sense.

lee.lucas25d ago

Isn't it funny how the same people who said highlighting was ruining books in school end up becoming the most dedicated annotators as adults? I read somewhere that the physical act of writing helps your brain lock in information way better than just reading does, which explains why book clubs full of margin scribblers always have the best discussions. So yeah, maybe the teachers had a point about active reading, even if it meant ruining a few perfectly clean pages.