I know why people do this, but personally I do not. I am not a reader of fiction novels at all. I read then go back when I am able to. Reading fiction novels is a MASSIVE challenge even on a good-ish day. When I do read fiction, I don’t want to annotate as I read or even afterwards let alone journal my reading experience. I just read the book, then go back to it when I get the chance. Do I get anything out of what I read? No, absolutely not. My brain does not work that way where I can. Yet I am able to retain some things, depending on what is going on within the chapter. It is NOT a constant thing, I cannot explain why that is other than my brain is VERY different from most people.
Yet I love watching people’s YouTube channels where they are journaling and annotating the books that they’re reading. I love that! It’s like studying only for the books you actually want to read. I love it more when an author does this too! They are studying, learning, and growing as an author which is wonderful in it’s own right.
Unfortunately, I can’t do this! This is just not my thing!
What about you guys? Is annotating and journaling for reading your thing? Are you like me who doesn’t do it?
If I own a book, I’ll annotate frequently, especially on books I really like. It’s really funny for me to re-read a book and see my old notes lol.
For example when I was in high school, I wanted to do a research project on my favorite YA urban-fantasy book at the time, so I re-read it and added to my notes. My notes made me laugh and reflect on my predictions (some were right, some were wrong, some were VERY wrong lol.)
Definitely not implying it’s bad to annotate/journal or not. It’s a pretty neutral act. It just improved my experience in reading is all.
In all seriousness, I haven’t read very much recently, but prepare for the level of annoying I’ll be in about a month when the next installment of my favorite book series (the Legendborn Cycle) drops.
Yes and no. I never annotate or highlight passages, but I do make screenshots of anything in a book that I want to remember. It’s pretty useful! (*＾-‘) 乃
I read all my books on a kindle, and it lets you make screenshots of whatever you see on the screen. You can also highlight passages and export them to your computer, but that’s more of a hassle to me. There’s also a newer kindle that lets you write directly on the screen with a stylus, but mine doesn’t have that capability.
I think I know what you mean–it’s hard to read someone else’s book when you’d rather be working on your own. Usually the only time I have for reading, though, is right before bed, so I’m not working on my own book at that time anyhow. Reading definitely helps me to sleep, as long as it’s not a horror novel. (੭ˊᵕˋ)੭‧˚₊･*̥✧
Like most things, it probably depends on the writer. Personally, I annotate as a general rule of thumb, but the style of annotation depends on what I’m reading-i.e. textbook vs. research article vs. novel, etc…
It also probably depends on how I’m reading it, right? Like, if I’m reading a work to enjoy it, my annotations will be anywhere from plain-old reactions to nonexistent. But if I’m reading for criticism those annotations might be more focused and pointed, and definitely more.
I hope this helps lol a little bit yappy but I hope it’s clear enough.
