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How to Annotate Books When You're Reading For Fun

I absolutely love to annotate books.

The habit started with highlighting and taking notes in e-books. I was not ready to actually write in physical books. But after a while, I simply could not hold myself back. I HAD to highlight and comment on things, so I picked up a pencil and began annotating Children of Blood and Bone .

That was like breaking a dam. Since then, my annotation methods have evolved but my love for annotation has only grown.

I really want to encourage more people to pick up the habit of annotation even when you are reading for fun.

If you want to know how to start annotating books, this is the only guide you need. And no one may have asked me how I annotate my books, but I will share that anyway further below in this post. Let's go!

why should you annotate books?

Tools for annotating books, before you begin annotating, how to annotate books, 2. circle/bracket, how to annotate a book without writing in it, what to annotate in a book, best books to annotate, how i annotate books, annotation inspiration, love my content.

There are several benefits to annotating. But to name a few major ones..

• It helps you read actively. Active reading is when you are engaging with the text rather than just passively reading the story. It also reduces skim-reading, if you have that habit.
• You will remember more. This is a by-product of active reading. You remember more details of the book and also your reactions to it.
• You will understand the book better. Annotating especially helps with books that deal with heavy or complicated topics. Or just books that you can learn from. Annotating helps you truly absorb the book and understand the characters, underlying layers, etc.
• In case you ever want to check something or reread a favourite part, annotations are great for future references . They also come in handy if you are a bookish content creator online.

A ton of people relate annotating to studying and hence don't want to do it when reading for fun. I personally did not always annotate for studying because it wasn't encouraged in my academics ( we didn't even have required reading , sadly) but I understand the sentiment.

You have to separate the act of annotation from studying. The benefits of it are why it is encouraged in academics. But annotating can be fun too!

Writing comments, including drawings or illustrations, and conversing with the text makes the experience of reading much more fun. Annotating is not just for critical thinking, quotes or discussions. It can also be a commentary on funny dialogues, shocking turns, or rants on annoying characters.

Authors spend years working on their books. Take a few extra minutes to annotate and fully experience the books. It will help you to enjoy your books more and hence will help you create a reading habit too.

If you still need convincing, read the essay How to Mark a Book by Mortimer J. Adler . I came across this essay through Naya and absolutely loved it. It reinforced my love for annotating and reassured me that, despite tons of people in the book community saying "it's a sin", it is actually a good habit. I've also taken a print of the essay like Naya because it is that good.

There are several ways to annotate. I will list and suggest different methods later in this post. But there are some basic tools that you need to get started.

Depending on the annotation method you choose, you can use one or more of these tools.

1. sticky tabs/notes

Sticky tabs are small tabs that are used to point to a specific line on the page. There are various types available such as arrow tabs, rectangular tabs, and different coloured tabs.

Sticky notes can be used when you want to write a lot of content or when you want to talk about something tangential to the topic on the page.

2. highlighters

There are different types of highlighters that you can use. Regular highlighters work just fine but if you don't like the neon colours, you can use mildliners. Highlighting using brush pens is also really nice.

I prefer Tombow brush pens because they provide more control when highlighting due to the thickness of the brush tips.

3. pen/pencil

These are classic tools used for annotating. If you want to get started with underlining and writing in the margins, but don't want to commit to permanent annotation, you can use pencils. Blunt pencils work best to erase later on.

If you're using pens, you can use different colours of pens for different types of annotations too.

4. notebook/phone/another device

You may not want to mark the books themselves for whatever reason. At those times, you can keep a notebook with you to write in. If you have an iPad with a really nice note-taking app, that helps too. I personally like making notes in GoodNotes.

Note-taking on your phone also works but generally, phones tend to pull our attention away from whatever we're doing, so I don't suggest this unless there's no other way. If you do use your phone, keep it on "do not disturb" mode so that you can read without distractions.

I highly suggest using a note-taking app that supports multimedia to take notes on your phone. I use Apple Notes so that I can write notes and add pictures if I don't want to type paragraphs.

Don't assume that you will annotate the book. Go in without that idea. Otherwise, you will spend time looking for lines to underline or thinking about what to comment on for each paragraph.

To keep it genuine, annotate only when you really feel like it. You're reading for fun! Don't make annotating a chore. Let it come naturally.

Mark sentences by underlining only if they call out to you, or they feel important to the story. Write comments if you have something to say or if the passage made you feel something.

If you're holding a pen or pencil in your hand, ready to mark anything of consequence, it will distance you from the story. Don't look for reasons to use your tools. Let them be a little away. Pick them up when you have a reaction to something in the book.

Annotating will feel weird in the beginning but the habit will grow over time. Don't expect yourself to go all-in the first time you start.

There are multiple ways to annotate books. You can either pick one beforehand or decide later based on what you want to mark in the book.

Don't stick to a system immediately. Try out different methods. Be open to exploring and changing. Annotation is supposed to improve your reading experience, not to put your thoughts in a box.

1. underline/highlight

These are two of the most basic ways to annotate.

When you read a line that is powerful or lyrical, mark it. If a dialogue made you laugh, mark it. If you want to highlight multiple lines or entire paragraphs, do it!

You can use different colours to underline and highlight. The colours can signify different meanings like yellow for important facts and green for good writing. Different colours can also mean different readings. For The Poppy War , I used one colour for highlighting during my first read and another colour during my second read.

Depending on how "important" the annotation is, I use a different tool. I use pens and highlighters for ones that I want to stand out, pencils for random lines that resonate but don't mean much without the context. You can try underlining with lines and waves to differentiate.

For singular words or short phrases, circling them with a pen highlights it well. Whenever I come across a word or a sentence that is important to the topic or means a lot, I circle it. I also circle words that I've come across for the first time and write their meanings nearby.

For paragraphs or multiple lines that mean a lot, I use brackets either at the beginning and end of those lines or on the side, bracketing the entire paragraph.

3. write your thoughts

Another classic annotation method. This is a little more in-depth because it involves you writing your opinions and conversing with the text.

Annotating with writing doesn't mean you have to write a lot . Comments can be short forms or small sentences too. You can fit smaller comments right after the end of paragraphs or in the margins. It can also be emojis, "LOL", or other slangs. The point is to note your thoughts and/or emotions.

Longer comments do take up more space. When I was reading The Burning God , I took up almost half the page's empty space once because I had so much to say about a certain theme.

Writing comments can change based on genres and themes. For example, I barely write in romance books . The extent of my annotations are generally "this is so cute!" and "OMG" unless I'm ranting about something.

But when I was reading The Right Swipe , I added longer comments to highlight how CTE was spoken about, note my thoughts on the dating industry, etc.

Tip: if you are prone to rephrasing a lot or are not good at space planning (like me), try writing with a pencil instead of a pen. That way you can erase and write again if needed. The downside is that pencil marks can fade over time.

Annotating with writing is really fun because you're almost conversing with the book . It's also fun because you can see your old notes during rereads and have conversations with your older self through new annotations.

4. dog-ear pages

Dog-earing, or folding corners of pages, is helpful because you can easily find your favourite parts of the book later. Or you can refer to important parts that you've marked.

This is probably the most argued-about method of marking a book in the book community. But it is very easy to do and requires no extra tools.

You can mark your favourite scenes, important parts, or pages that have a lot of annotations by dog-earing those sections. I would especially recommend this method for the last reason. If you've annotated a lot by writing or highlighting on one page, you might want to refer back to it later, so dog-ear it.

5. draw/doodle

This is not a method that I personally use a lot but I have seen other people use it.

One way is to doodle small symbols to signify specific themes and maintain a key for these themes at the beginning/end of the book. You can also simply draw hearts or stars to mark parts you like.

If you're reading non-fiction books that explain topics, you can draw mini mind-maps to remember things better (I did this for The Power of Habit ).

If you found this post helpful, do consider buying me a coffee in appreciation! ☕️

If you want to start annotating and are not comfortable with marking the book yet, this is for you. There are ways to annotate without writing in the book. You can use these methods to get into the habit of annotating, and you will probably work up to writing in the books later on.

These methods are also useful if you don't own the book you're reading or you are planning to sell it later on.

1. use sticky tabs

Whoever invented sticky tabs are a GENIUS because they are so useful.

There are so many ways to annotate using sticky tabs. Since they are available in different colours, you can assign themes to colours and add a key at the beginning like Myonna . Some readers use the same key throughout their books and others switch whenever.

You can also use tabs to mark quotes, favourite lines and passages, or parts of the book that made you feel something.

Or you can simply use the page tabs wherever without caring about the colour. Since I don't assign colours to themes and usually just use one colour per book, I choose a colour that matches the book cover.

2. use sticky notes

Annotating with sticky notes is helpful when you have a lot to say about something as they provide more space. You can use sticky notes instead of writing in the margins.

Some readers stick the notes in the middle of the page, others stick them near the part that they're commenting on. You can also stick the notes sideways so that a little bit of the paper peeks out of the notebook similar to page tabs, making it easier for you to find later on.

The one drawback to this is that it covers up a part of the page . Hence, you have to write and stick after you're done reading. And when you're referring later, you can't read the page that you wrote about without removing the sticky note.

There is one way to make sure that they don't cover up the page. Stick the notes at the bottom of the page, so that the sticky parts are on the empty space, and fold them into the book . This way you can flip them open to read your notes and they don't cover up the page as well.

3. use a reading journal/make notes

If you want to annotate but don't want to do anything to the book , you can maintain a notebook as a reading journal to write your thoughts in. This also works for audiobooks as bookmarking in the audiobooks itself can be messy.

For non-fiction books that give a lot of information or books that you're learning a lot from, making proper notes works well. Reading the content properly such that you can write the most important points by memory vastly increases comprehension.

You can also make notes on an app on your phone since you will have your phone with you most of the time. This can result in distraction as you can fall into the phone's black hole through notifications and messages.

Both of these methods can be tedious compared to other methods of annotation because they remove your attention from the book. If you can manage to just write the notes and not fall into social media, these are great.

Leonie uses these methods of annotation so you can check out her video to know more on how to use them.

If you are new to annotating and don't know what to annotate, I've got you covered.

These are some ideas that you can try out but know that annotations are very personal and what works for others may not work for you. Different people annotate different things. Try a few of these and your specific annotation method will develop once you get the hang of it.

• Quotes. Any lines that are written really well or that strike a chord in you. If you're a reviewer, these can be mentioned in your book reviews.
• Write your thoughts in the margins or on sticky notes if something shocking, exciting, annoying or sad occurs. Or if you simply have something to say in relation to whatever is going on.
• Doodle emojis to signify how you're feeling during a scene.
• Summarize your thoughts at the end of every chapter. This is a good way to see how much you've retained about the chapter and to also write down any opinions or criticisms. The ends of chapters are good since there will most likely be more space to write and you will have more to say.
• Mark text that relates to the main plot . This will be good with books that have a ton of plot (like fantasy, mystery) or ones that discuss topics in-depth.
• Note new words that you come across along with meaning. You can do this on the page or at the end of the book on an empty page.
• Question actions of characters or themes portrayed . If there is a representation of a marginalized group that you are a part of, you can note your thoughts on it.
• Theorize where the plot is going in the margins by noting foreshadowing* in the book.
• Mark references to look up later . I do this with books that involve history or mythologies that I'm not familiar with.

This is not an exhaustive list. I'll probably come back and update whenever I think of something else. But this should be enough to get you started!

*Foreshadowing is basically hints dropped by the author which subtly leads up to the future plot.

Technically, any book can be annotated. You have the build the habit of annotating your thoughts using whichever method instead of keeping your opinions in your mind while reading.

But there are books that will make it easier for you to start annotating.

• Annotate your favourite books. As you love them, you will have a lot of opinions on those books. Reread them and annotate! Mark your favourite passages and the things that you love about the book. Underline lines that made an impact on you. Doodle/write your emotions in the margins.
• Annotate books that you're disliking. If you're reading a book that you're not enjoying, annotate why you're not enjoying it. Is it the characters or the plot? Do you not like the writing? Did you find plot holes? Make yourself expand on your opinions during annotation.
• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb.
• Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Edoo-Lodge.
• Atomic Habits by James Clear.
• Seeing Like a Feminist by Nivedita Menon.
• How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur.
• Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko.
• An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.
• The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang.
• The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty.

No one has asked me how I annotate but I am jealous of the creators who get asked to share their systems, so I'm sharing mine anyway.

While my annotating habit started with e-books, I annotate more when I read paperbacks. There's just something about holding the book and using a pen or a brush pen that makes it more engaging.

I don't annotate all the paperbacks that I read but I usually can't hold back if I have comments. My habit has fully developed so I get a pen in the middle of a chapter if I don't have one because I NEED to annotate.

My system used to be mostly sticky tabs and a few sticky notes. But now use sticky notes only if I want to write a lot and usually directly annotate on the page .

As you can see below, I used 6 different annotation methods in The Art of Creative Thinking —highlights, underlines, circles, sticky notes, tabs, and writing directly on the page.

I love writing comments and my reactions on the margins more than highlighting. My comments range from intellectual opinions to "OMG" and "are you serious?????" depending on my mood.

It's fun to read my past annotations and see how I notice different things as I've grown as a person. I especially noticed the difference during my reread of The Poppy War . I picked out different themes as "main" in my two reads and it is interesting to see the difference because it was partly influenced by my life events.

After annotating the first two books of the series, I went to TOWN with The Burning God . I completely marked the book and made it my own. It was so fun and I truly feel like I gave the book the attention it deserves.

Another book that I annotated was Fahrenheit 451 . While I did annotate my reactions, I commented a lot about the themes portrayed and the writing style. My review came out really well because of my annotations and I even shared a lot of them in my review post.

Annotating non-fiction books is a completely different type of joy. When I read Maybe You Should Talk to Someone recently, I used THREE forms of annotation. I highlighted lines that resonated with me, tabbed the highlighted lines which I wanted to come back to, and wrote chapter summaries at the end of each chapter with sticky notes.

Another non-fiction book that pushed my annotation limits was Atomic Habits . While I highlighted lines on the book with two colours, I also made notes on my iPad using GoodNotes. This was the first time I made proper notes and it was great.

Because I annotated while reading the above two books, my reading comprehension and memory retention improved. I remember a lot from them even though my memory is generally not great.

Annotating books for fun has taken off recently. Several readers who previously considered it a sin love annotating and sharing their annotations. While social media isn't always great for readers , it is great for inspiration.

Here are some bookish accounts that share aesthetic annotations and will definitely inspire you to mark your books (yes, I'm plugging myself too):

View this post on Instagram A post shared by sumedha (@thewordyhabitat)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ☆𝓨𝓪𝓼𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓮 ☆ (@emubreathesinpages)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by 𝐀𝐥𝐢 ♥ (@krazyboox)

You can also follow hashtags on Instagram to find more accounts! Here are the ones that I follow - #annotatingbooks #annotatedbooks

There is no right way of annotating. And there is no best way of annotating. This is a deeply personal habit that is different for every single person.

When we read a book without annotating or noting anything, we are mostly simply absorbing what the authors put in front of us. Marking a book when reading is a way of making it your own. You take the story and put your spin on it through your opinions and the parts that you pick out as "main."

I believe that the best way to know if someone has loved a book is to see its condition. Keeping it neatly on a shelf without even breaking the spine is a form of love, yes. But the people I relate to are the ones who have worn down copies of their books with annotations, showing how much they've read and loved them.

If you're into in-depth discussions about content creation, books, and lifestyle, The Wordy Habitat newsletter is definitely something you'd love. By subscribing, you also get access to the exclusive Resource Library with several helpful freebies. Sign up below!

let's chat!

Do you annotate your books? What are your favourite methods of annotation?

If not, are you here to start annotating? Did you find this post helpful? If you have any more questions, feel free to drop them in the comments, DM me on Twitter or Instagram , or email me!

If you found this post helpful, consider buying me a coffee in appreciation! ☕️

Sumedha spends her days reading books, bingeing Kdramas, drawing illustrations, and blogging while listening to Lo-Fi music. Read more ➔

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• My Best Books of 2023
• The Art of Creative Thinking by Rod Judkins || Book Review & Annotations
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110 comments

This is a fantastic article! Just curious... how many times do you read a book you are going to review? Do you read it once first for enjoyment and then make annotations or do you have a different method?

i’m glad you liked it! i hardly ever read to review a book nowadays, it’s been years since i read a book with the intention of reviewing it afterwards. nowadays, i usually review a book only if i have a lot to say about it.

my annotations completely depend on whether i want to keep the book forever and whether i have enough to annotate about. i mostly annotate from my first read itself but often, i read books as ebook and then buy the physical copies so my annotations are much more since i’m rereading a loved book.

this what so helpful i love how you explain it.

glad to help!

This was very helpful……I have been wondering what all this annotating business is about! Is there a right or wrong way to do it….No and I love that!! After this I am excited to give it a whirl…..I. see where it can be beneficial. Your break down is extremely helpful. I’m excited to see where this takes me and my reading experience.

I'm so glad to help! Definitely spend time trying different styles and figuring out what you like. I'm sure you'll love annotating!

Love the post. I love annotating books! It's like having a personal conversation with the author. It adds depth to the reading experience and helps me engage more with the material.

Agreed! Glad you liked the post 🙂

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Why & How To Annotate A Book

Last Updated on August 18, 2023 by Louisa

I remember getting scolded in school for writing in my books, but I’ve since learned that it’s actually good practice.

Of course, you need to know how to annotate a book the right way, you can’t just doodle in the margins (which admittedly, is what I did).

As a teacher, I always encourage my students to write notes in the margins or to highlight texts in their books. The reason for this is that it helps to build a connection to the book, increases understanding, and also helps students remember what they have read.

But it’s not just students who should annotate their books. It’s good practice for any reader to annotate their books for fun to personalize their reading experience.

But if you don’t know why you should start annotating your books or how to do it, here are some tips on how to do it effectively…

Why Annotate Your Books?

Before I tell you my top tips for how to annotate your books for fun, let’s quickly think about why you should annotate your books.

This may be my teacher’s brain talking, but I feel this practice can be applied to any reader, no matter your age or reason for reading.

1. It enhances your comprehension

The main reason why you would annotate a book is to gain a better understanding of the story.

By adding your thoughts and insights to the margin of the text, you’re engaging with the material on a deeper level.

You’ll be able to make connections, identify themes, and understand complex ideas better. You can also write down questions that arise, which may be answered later on.

2. It personalizes your reading experience

Annotating your books is like having a conversation with the author. You’re sharing your reactions, asking questions, and offering feedback on the material.

It personalizes the reading experience and makes it more meaningful.

3. It helps you to retain more information

Annotating your books can help you retain information better. When you write down key points, ideas, and themes, it reinforces the information in your brain, making it easier to recall later.

Tips for Effective Book Annotation

Now you know why you should annotate your books, here are my tips for how to annotate your books for fun.

1. Use a pencil

Now I really do sound like a teacher talking!

It’s always a good idea to use a pencil instead of a pen so that you can erase your annotations later or adjust them while you’re reading.

As I mentioned earlier, you can write down questions that come up when you’re reading, and then they might be answered later. You can go back and erase the questions once they have been answered, or write “answer on page 10” for example.

2. Understand when to start annotating

The first thing to remember when annotating your book is that you should not be scribbling all over the page and you should only annotate when you need to.

One of the purposes of annotating is to help build memory and to help with study.

If you need to refer back to anything in your book and you’ve written a little poem around the answer, well you’re going to find it hard to make sense of your annotations.

You should only write when you feel it’s absolutely necessary. I always think when I’m annotating a book, to only write something that will be useful to you later on.

3. Highlight or underline what’s important

Sometimes you don’t need to write sentences or paragraphs in the margin, you can simply underline key quotes or messages that you think are important.

You might want to annotate next to what you have underlined to explain why you have highlighted it.

4. Know what to write about

In your annotations, you should write about key themes, and ideas, and underline quotes that you find interesting or essential to the material.

You should write your reflections on the text, what you think it means and what you think is being said between the lines.

5. Use symbols and abbreviations

Develop a set of symbols and abbreviations to help you mark the text quickly and easily.

For example, you could use an asterisk (*) to indicate where a paragraph corresponds to a section you have underlined.

You could also draw a star symbol next to significant points or underline phrases that resonate with you.

6. Keep it organized

Use different colored highlighters, sticky notes, or tabs to organize your annotations.

For example, you could use pink highlights for quotes, yellow for important themes, blue for questions, and green for your personal reactions.

You can also dog-ear pages (folding the corner) where you think there is something important. I personally don’t like doing this as I like to keep my books tidy , but you can use bookmarks or sticky tabs instead.

If you don’t want to write directly on the page, you can also use a post-it note.

Examples of Annotations

If you’re ready to start annotating but not sure where to start, here are some really cool examples of people who have annotated their books in different ways.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ✧ lisa ✧ | bookstagram (@buryme.withmybooks)

This person has used different colored sticky tabs to identify different themes in the book. This is a nice way to get a visual of the main themes in a book, especially if you need to do a book review or write a book report.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by lili | bookstagram (@lilisread)

This person has highlighted a quote they love and drawn hearts around it to signal that they like this quote. The use of doodling helps to add color to the book and make it pleasing to look at, but I personally think it needs to be done sparingly as it can be distracting from the text, which is not the goal.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by bella ♡ (@belladaneer)

This person has written their thoughts after highlighting a sentence that resonates with them. They also have a system of when to highlight something and when to underline it. It appears they have highlighted dialogue and underlined important quotes that resonate with them.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by @hopescure

This is a classic example of how to annotate a book for study. The reader has circled emotive words and underlined quotes that resonate with them. This is a good way to understand the emotion of the characters.

FAQs About How To Annotate Books

Can you annotate on kindle.

The Kindle Scribe feature, which is only on models after 2022, allows readers to annotate books. The Kindle Scribe also comes with a special digital pen in which you can do this. Other models allow you to highlight texts but not add your own annotations.

Can you annotate on Apple Books?

Yes, you can highlight and add notes on books using Apple Books.

Annotating your books is an engaging and effective way to enhance your reading experience.

By adding your thoughts to the margin of the text, you’ll develop a more profound and meaningful understanding of the material.

So, grab a pencil and start annotating.

About Louisa Smith

Editor/Founder - Epic Book Society

Louisa is the Founder, Editor, and Head Honcho of Epic Book Society. She was born and raised in the United Kingdom and graduated from the University for the Creative Arts with a degree in Journalism. Louisa began her writing career at the age of 7 when her poetry was published in an anthology of poems to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. Upon graduating university, she spent several years working as a journalist writing about books before transitioning to become a Primary School Teacher. Louisa loves all genres of books, but her favorites are Sci-Fi, Romance, Fantasy, and Young Adult Fiction. Read more Louisa's story here .

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How to Annotate a Book

Last Updated: February 2, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA . Stephanie Wong Ken is a writer based in Canada. Stephanie's writing has appeared in Joyland, Catapult, Pithead Chapel, Cosmonaut's Avenue, and other publications. She holds an MFA in Fiction and Creative Writing from Portland State University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 848,569 times.

Annotating a book is a great way to make notes on the text. It also allows you to do a deep read of the book, where you jot down your thoughts or impressions of the text. You may need to annotate a book for a class or decide to try it to deepen your reading experience. Start by selecting your annotation tool. Then, annotate the book by focusing on keywords, phrases, ideas, and questions so your notes are clear and easy to review later.

Selecting Your Annotation Tool

• Try to stick to one highlighter color for the annotation so you do not end up with highlighted pages that are hard to re read.
• Choose the highlighter and pen or pencil option if it's okay for you to mark up the text.

• Look for sticky notes and tabs in different colors. You can then use the different colored notes or tabs to annotate the book.

• You can download electronic annotation programs in the Apps store on your eReader.

Annotating Keywords, Phrases, and Sections

• Try to only underline phrases that seem very important in the text. You do not want to end up with pages of underlined phrases, as it will be difficult for you to determine which ones are actually important.
• You can also underline phrases you like or find interesting. If a sentence strikes you or stands out to you, underline it so you can return to it later.

• For example, if you notice the word “power” appears several times in the text, circle or box it as an annotation.
• The author may tell you to keep certain words in mind as you read the text. Make sure you circle or box these words as part of your annotations.

• For example, if there is a section that focuses on a particular case study in the text you find interesting or important, use a bracket in the margins to annotate it.

• Keep a dictionary handy so you can look up terms you do not recognize quickly and easily.

Making Note of Key Ideas and Questions

• As you read, ask yourself questions like, "What is the author trying to tell me as the reader?" " Why is this passage in the text? " "How do I respond emotionally to the text?"

• For example, you may ask questions like, "Why did the author include this example in the book?" "What is the goal of the author in this passage?" "What is the author trying to say here?"
• To make the questions short so they can fit into the margins, you may simply put a question mark next to passages you do not understand. Or you may write the questions like, "Goal of the author?" "What is being said?" to keep them short.
• You can also keep the questions in a separate notebook or piece of paper so you do not clutter up the margins of the book.

• Linking ideas together will help you think critically about the text. It will also deepen your annotations and notes on the text.

• For example, you may summarize a passage in the book with key words like “power,” “female sexuality,” and “Freud case study.”
• You can keep your summaries in a separate notebook or piece of paper so the margins do not become cluttered with your notes.

Community Q&A

• There's no "right" or "wrong" way to annotate books. Keeping things tidy and following a system may help you stay organized, but in the end, as long as you're annotating your books in a way that makes sense to you, it doesn't really matter how you do it! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• If you can, try to have fun with your annotations! Diving in and analyzing a text to death can actually be really enjoyable, if you're reading a book you like. (This might not always be the case for things you're forced to read for school!)
• If you have time, quickly skim through the book again after you finish reading it and make additional notes. Knowing you'll be reviewing the book after you finish it may help you stress less over what to take notes on the first time through.
• Unless you have to annotate the book for school, only make annotations if you actually want to. If it stresses you out or interrupts the reading flow, just read the book straight and enjoy the ride!
• Don't overthink your annotations. If you overthink what to make notes about, you'll end up making notes about every little thing, making your annotations kind of pointless!

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://research.ewu.edu/writers_c_read_study_strategies
• ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/annotating-texts/
• ↑ http://mas.dadeschools.net/pdf/Annotating%20a%20Text.pdf
• ↑ https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-process-1/invention/Annotating-a-Text/

About This Article

To annotate a book, grab a highlighter or pencil if you can mark the book, or a pad of sticky notes if you can't. Read the book slowly and carefully, underlining, highlighting, or noting interesting parts as you encounter them. Draw circles around key words and phrases, and include reflections, comments, and questions in the margins. If you're annotating a longer book, write short summaries on sticky notes at the end of each section to jog your memory. For tips on choosing what to mark and note, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How To Annotate A Book (Like A Pro)

Spread the Love!

There are many different ways to annotate a book. Some people prefer to write in the margins, while others use sticky notes or highlighters. In this blog post, I’m going to be giving you tips on everything related to annotating a book from ways to write a good annotation to ways you can annotate a book without even writing in it.

*This blog post contains affiliate links, this does not affect your purchase in anyway – it helps me make money on this small bookish blog*

Why You Should Be Annotating Books

How to annotate a book, what does it mean to annotate a book, tools you need to annotate a book, annotating books without writing in it, best books to annotate, how do you write a good annotation, how to annotate a book effectively, how do you annotate a digital book, can you annotate a pdf, check out more from the novel thief.

• Annotating books helps you remember things later on, especially if you’re as forgetful as me!
• It’s a great tool for later prequels or sequels of your favorite books
• Annotating books can be a helpful tool for when you want to discuss it later with friends or perhaps your book club
• As a blogger, I love annotating books so I can write more detailed reviews and posts
• You’ll notice the little details in your favorite books even more
• Most importantly, you’ll grow as a writer!
• Annotate by underlining, highlighting, or circling important passages
• Write down your thoughts and reactions in the margins
• Use symbols, arrows or short phrases to help you remember key points
• Create diagrams or charts to track ideas

Annotating a book means adding notes and comments to it. This can be done in a variety of ways, but the goal is always the same: to help you better understand and remember the text. When you annotate a book, you are making it your own. You are marking up the text to show where you had trouble understanding a passage, or where you found a section particularly interesting. You might also highlight important passages or make notes in the margins.

Annotation tools allow you to do all of this and more.

You won’t need to shell out everything to annotate your books, unless you’re like me and love that aesthetic look. But, here are some helpful tools to keep by your side that you probably can grab at your local dollar store.

• Your book of choice (obviously)
• A notebook or sheet of paper
• Highlighters

Let’s jump (write) in on how you can annotate a book. Did you catch my little joke?

1. The Highlight Of My Life

Grab those pretty highlighters or colorful pens and start highlighting/underlining some of your favorite quotes or passages. Anything that you feel you want to remember or make note of for later.

Who doesn’t love some pastel highlighters

Perhaps you prefer the normal highlighter colors instead

These are my favorite pens for journaling or annotating, they might just be my prized possession.

2. Add Notes To Margins

If you’re not one to really highlight or underline when annotating a book, you always have the option to add notes to the. margins. One of my favorite ways to do this is to add an arrow and color code my margin notes.

My Annotation Color Key:

• Red = love or friendship, anything that makes me swoon
• Blue = sad moments like a characters death etc
• Green = world building/location/settings
• Purple = key pieces of information I might need later (like a codeword)
• Orange = things that angered me or characters I find suspicious (especially when reading mystery novels)
• Black = general notes

3. Doodle Your Heart Away

Sometimes the best types of annotating is really just doodling what a scene makes you feel. I do this ALL the time. You can choose to doodle in the margins of your books or making a journal entry for the book you’re reading and doodle there.

There are a number of ways to annotate a book without writing in it. Don’t worry, if you’re like me – I also get nit picky about changing my mind on certain annotates later on.

1. Use Post It’s

This is the tried and true way if you’re wondering how to annotate a novel without writing in it. You can use ANY post-its you want. May I interest you in some of these adorable post-its from Amazon?

• If you love bright colors
• If you’re a fan of plain colors
• If you’re a fan of dark post-its

Post-its are super easy to stick and throw out if you want to restart.

2. Use Transparent Sheets

Hear me out, this new style of annotating books is exploding on social media. It’s all over bookstagram and booktok for a good read – so if you’re wondering methods to annotate novel, this is a must try.

These transparent papers on Amazon are a great purchase.

The way you use them is simple – all you have to do is cut it and put it on the page you’re reading and annotate as you normally would. You can use colorful pens, markers, highlighters etc. And then remove the transparent paper whenever you finish and are ready to move on to the next page.

*Tip – Add the book title and page number to the transparent sheet top left corner, so you remember where it’s from*

3. Use A Notebook

A notebook is a great way to annotate in a book if you’re not a fan of writing directly in it. Similar to the transparent paper method, I’d recommend writing the book title and page number on the top – and then just annotate and take notes as you normally would!

4. Use Your IPad Or Laptop

This method is the exact way as using a notebook – the only difference is that you can save your notes into one folder with the book title.

I’d recommend Goodnotes as a great note taking app which leads me to my final point.

5. Use A Note-Taking App

You can use apps like Goodnotes, Evernote or the simple Notes app that comes with most phones. This is a fool-proof way to annotate without writing in your actual book.

6. Use Flashcards/Notecards

Flashcards or notecards are a great way to annotate books. You can annotate based on chapters or pages or even characters.

All you have to do is in the large portion of the notecard (the top) indicate what this specific card will include. Will it be tracking the relationship of your MC or your favorite quotes? You decide! Then stick the flashcards in the book and you’re good to go.

7. Find The Digital Version Of The Text

This way can get complicated, but if you have the time and really like the appearance of an annotated novel – without …actually writing in it, you should get the digital version of the book!

You can download a lot of ebooks for free from local libraries or Overdrive. A not so free option is to buy the kindle version.

There are some books that are better for annotating than others. Some genres that annotating can be especially useful are:

• Mysteries or Thrillers
• Science Fiction
• Non-Fiction

When I annotate books, I like to note certain parts of the book I enjoy the most or dislike – so I can choose books in the future that match up with my taste. Here are somethings to consider if you’re curious what to annotate in a novel

• Annotate characters you like or don’t like
• Annotate relationship growth (friendship to romance, strangers to friends, parental etc)
• Annotate parts that get you in the feels (yes, those gooey feelings)
• Annotate characters or the part of the book you want throw across the bed (those villains and horrible decisions the MC makes)
• Annotate important aspects you may need to remember for the next book in the series
• Annotate quotes that stand out to you

The main goal of annotation is to highlight the most important information from a passage and make notes on it so that you can later recall what was said with ease. We have all been there before: reading through an entire chapter only to find out at the end that we have no recollection of what actually happened. This is where annotation comes in: it can help you to better process and remember information from a text.

When annotating, there are four things that you want to keep in mind:

• What was the main point of this passage?
• What questions does this passage raise for me?
• What did I like or not like about this passage?
• What stood out to me?

Annotating a text is not meant to be a comprehensive summary of everything that is said. Rather, it should focus on the most important points and raise questions for you so that you can investigate them further.

Should I Take Notes While Reading A Book?

Yes! This will help you remember things you know you’ll forget later on.

Do You Have To Annotate Every Page Of A Book?

Nope! Only annotate what you want and when. If that means every page – sure, but I would proceed with caution as it can get overwhelming as heck

Should You Write In Your Books?

Only if you want to!

If you want to know how do you annotate a digital book? It is important that you make sure the tool offers support for your e-reader. Many sites and apps offer support for Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iPad or iPhone devices – so even if you don’t own one of those devices yourself it might be worth looking into their services just in case!

Some tools are better than others at providing these options though so make sure the site has what works best before making any decisions about which annotation app/site would work well with your device type (and keep an eye out whether they have anything new coming up too).

One of my favorite features on some websites is being able to highlight text on a web page and then have the annotation tool automatically create a note with that highlighted passage included.

I enjoy annotating on my kindle because it’s so simple! All I have to do is press on the text and then you’re highlighting.

…And then somehow you get highlight-crazy and begin highlighting everything. It’s a concern, but let’s not talk about that.

Yes, you can annotate a PDF. In fact, there are many ways to annotate a PDF. You can write on the document with a pen or pencil, use highlighters and underline text, or add comments and notes.

If you’re a book lover, the prospect of annotating your favorite novel with notes and thoughts can be daunting. Which is why this blog post will come in handy if you’re every interested in annotating without messing up those beautiful book pages.

Which annotating method will you be using next time?

Did you like this blog post? I hope you did! If this is your first time reading a post of mine I’d like to introduce myself –

Hello! My name is Ash, I run the book blog The Novel Thief and all it’s social counterparts.

In addition to amazing advice like this post, I also have a section called The Bookish Bar where I create drinks inspired by books I love and a recommendation corner where I recommend you books based on popular ones people love.

Have you considered starting a virtual book club, but have no idea how, where or when to start? Well – I have you covered in this ultimate guide to starting your very own virtual book club !

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How To Annotate A Book In 9 Key Steps

To annotate any text is to make it your own . With annotating, you engage with the writing and its author . You turn it into a conversation. 

You’re not just reading the words any more; you’re interacting with them, all the better to understand and to benefit from what you learn. 

To help you in this, we created this brief but powerful guide on how to annotate a book. As you learn, feel free to apply your new skills to this post. 

What Does It Mean to Annotate a Book? 

What is the best way to annotate a book , 1. remove distractions. , 2. gather your tools, 3. create your own key with symbols., 4. read the book carefully. , 5. mark up the text. , 6. write notes in the margins., 7. use sticky notes or tabs., 8. use the “notes” feature on your e-reader/reading app., 9. create a companion annotation notebook. , ready to start annotating a book.

Annotating a book means adding notes of your own — wherever they’ll fit on the page or in a separate notebook — to connect your own thoughts to what you’re reading or clarify something in the text. 

Why would you annotate a book, though? 

• To highlight (and find meaning for) unfamiliar words and expressions
• To argue with a point the author is making
• To force yourself to back up your argument (opinions only get you so far)
• To understand the material well enough to take a test on it
• To find and highlight hidden gems for your own research

Whatever your reasons for annotating a book, you probably reach for the same tools (highlighter, favorite pen, sticky tabs, etc.) before you dive in. So, how will you make the best use of them?

Briefly put, the best way to annotate a book is the way that works best for you. You’re the one having a conversation with the text, and you’re the one who’ll be using your annotated copy as a reference. 

To get the most benefit, though, it helps to know what to look for when annotating a book:

• Questions you have — and the answers you find
• Unfamiliar words or turns of phrase
• Meaningful quotes or passages
• Connections to other works (text to text)
• Real-world connections (text to world)
• Connections with your own knowledge and experience (text to self)
• Familiar or recurring themes/symbolism

When you’re looking for things to annotate in a book , keep your own goals in mind. What do you most want to gain from reading this? What are you hoping to learn? 

Aside from your questions, get clear on your end goal, whether that’s passing a test, understanding something better, or being able to talk knowledgeably about the main idea . 

You can annotate anything that stands out for you, whether you find it meaningful, entertaining, or difficult to understand. Add your own commentary to record thoughts you’ll want to remember. 

When you’re finished, the book should bear evidence of an active and thoughtful conversation between you and the words within. And the next time you look through the book, echoes of that conversation will come back to you. 

How to Annotate a Book: The 9 Key Steps 

The following nine steps to annotating a book are as simple and straightforward as they are adaptable to your unique situation. Your ideal active reading space (and time) will likely differ from someone else’s, just as your conversation with a book will be different. 

What you bring to each book is uniquely yours. Make it a conversation worth having. 

Work in a place where no one and nothing will sabotage your concentration. For the next chunk of time, you are indisposed and unavailable. Silence your phone, lock your door, or do what you need to do (within reason) to ensure privacy and peace. 

Think of it as setting aside time and space for a meaningful conversation. 

Round up your highlighter pen or pens (in multiple colors), your favorite pen or pencil, some sticky notes or sticky tabs, a stack of notecards, and even a separate notebook or notepad. The more prepared you are to interact with the text, the more fun this will be. 

Gathering your tools of engagement is one way to remind yourself you’re taking this seriously (but also looking forward to it). 

One symbol can carry several lines’ worth of notes. Using symbols from your own key makes it easy to add quick but meaningful annotations. 

Consider the following book annotation examples using familiar symbols: 

• ? — “This needs clarification” or “I don’t know what this word means.” 
• ! — “This!” or “I agree with this sentence 100%!”
• * — (Inserted after a word or phrase) “See note in margin / below”
• &? — “And then what?” or “This feels incomplete.” 
• @ — “Don’t get me started (or do, at your own risk).”

As you work through a text, you’ll probably think of other symbols to add. 

Don’t rush through it. You’re on a hunt for meaning; this isn’t a race. Active reading is slow enough to get everything you need from the text. 

When you read more quickly than you can process the information, you’re more likely to use your highlighter indiscriminately, making it more difficult to find key phrases when you look through the text afterward. 

Slower, more mindful reading allows you to annotate more effectively. 

More Related Articles:

37 Words of Diction To Use In Your Writing

15 Common Grammar Mistakes That Kill Your Writing Credibility

First Line Generator: 101 Sentences To Get You Started Writing

If this is your copy of the book, and nothing’s stopping you from marking up the pages, the following are great ways to do it: 

• Underline or highlight key passages or phrases. You’ll do this mainly with short passages — not those that take a third or more of the page. 
• Use brackets to set apart larger passages (one third to more of the page)
• Circle or box key words or unfamiliar words. Maybe use a specific ink color. 
• Use arrows to link together ideas or keywords on the page. 

Jot down reflective questions or comments right alongside highlighted text in the outside margin . This is where you’re engaging with specific parts of the page. 

You can use the top margin for this, too. Or save it for brief notes or keywords to speed up your search for the right page when you’re looking for specific content.

Use the bottom margin to summarize the whole page with key points or questions or helpful notes. You can also list related texts or ideas to look up. 

Make these more valuable by adding keywords to make your notes easier to find. Sticky notes provide more room for brief notes of your own, including cross-references and keywords. 

With sticky tabs, you’re limited to single words or references to page or chapter numbers. 

The point of these is to create a system of tab dividers or reference tabs to make it easier to find information on specific topics or keywords. 

This applies if you’re reading this book on an e-reader or eBook app. Unless your device and reading app allow you to add handwritten notes using a stylus pen, you’ll click where you want the note, select the note feature, and type in the note you want to leave. 

Ereaders and eBook apps also come with a highlighting feature — often with different colors — and a bookmarking feature to make accessing the most important pages quicker and easier. 

If you’re allowed to mark up your printed copy, this isn’t strictly required, but it gives you a separate record of important passages or quotes, along with your own responses to each. 

If you’re working with a borrowed text, this will be your personal record of everything you’ve learned from the book. 

You can then highlight your written notes and add sticky tabs with keywords or chapter numbers to create a valuable reference book and study guide. 

How to Annotate a Novel 

Annotating a novel looks a lot like annotating a nonfiction book . The differences will depend on why you’re reading the novel. 

If you’re reading for your enjoyment , you may not annotate much. But once you’ve built the habit of active reading, you’ll probably want to keep your tools handy just in case. 

If you’re reading for a class or for a book club , the stakes are higher. You want to know the novel well enough to write or talk about it. 

So, you’ll want to have a closer relationship with the story, its characters, and its world. 

That reason alone is a strong recommendation for book clubs. You’ll read with more attention because you know it’ll make those book club meetings more enjoyable. Plus, you’ll remember the story better than if you hadn’t bothered engaging with it. 

Annotating a novel can include all the steps listed for a nonfiction book , though you may not create a companion notebook (but it couldn’t hurt). Just remember the following: 

• This isn’t a test. It’s a way for you to get the most out of what you’re reading. 
• You still get to enjoy the story. In fact, you’ll probably enjoy it even more. 
• When you write something down, your brain makes more connections . 

Now that you know how to annotate a book, what titles come to mind? Which annotating techniques have you used so far? 

And what did you learn from this post that you’ll apply this week? 

Don’t be disappointed if you find your conversation with a particular book wasn’t as satisfying or illuminating as you’d hoped. If you pick it up again at a different time, the results may be different. 

Because you will be. 

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How to Annotate a Book

Note: This post may contain affiliate links.

Annotating books is something I’ve always wanted to do, but I have commitment issues, so I am also going to show you how to annotate books without actually writing in them and damaging them!

I think that when it comes to book annotation, a lot of us think that it’s only for serious studying of the book. But, you can do this in the books for fun! There’s nothing better than opening up your favorite book and seeing your reactions of when you read through it for the very first time.

What Does Annotating Books Mean?

Annotating books is all about adding your own little thought and notes to a book to elevate your reading experience and boost your reading comprehension. Sometimes, you even start highlighting things you think may be foreshadowing or also some of your favorite quotes that you think are memorable.

Do You Need a Physical Book to Annotate?

Short answer, no! A lot of e-readers such as kindles allow for highlighting and note-taking now!

Book Annotation Supplies for Actively Writing in Your Book

Let’s market it up! This is the classic annotation method for anyone who doesn’t mind writing directly into their book.

Pen or Pencils

I usually lean towards a nice black pen or a pencil. But, I’ve got some options that I think will suit everyone nicely.

• Pilot G2 Pen in Black
• Colorful Pilot G2 Pens
• Zebra Black Ballpoint Pen
• Refillable Pencils

Highlighters

While there are a lot of different types of highlighters, these Stabilo Boss Highlighters are my absolute favorite. I find that the highlight colors are incredibly important because if they’re too dark it becomes super difficult to see the words.

If you want your lines to be perfectly straight, you’re going to need a good ruler .

Book Annotation Supplies for Not Writing in Your Book

Let’s build a book annotation kit together, shall we? I think the thing I like best about this is that it feels like a little craft project.

Transparent Sticky Notes

The best part of transparent sticky notes is that they feel almost seamless and you can read all the text around them without ruining your beautiful book.

Colorful See-Through Sticky Notes

If you’re following a color key, these colorful see-through sticky notes are going to be perfect. When you are doing this type of book annotation, it can be helpful to store a book annotation key either in the book itself or have it on your phone while you are getting used to your annotations.

Highlighter Strips

I love the idea of these super cute highlighter strips ! The best part to me is that they aren’t going to smear or bleed through and of course that I can always take them out when I need to.

Whether you decided to write in your book or use more of a sticky note method, you’re going to need a pouch to store everything. These are a few from my store.

Book Annotation Color Key

While you can really go off of whatever you like best or whatever works for you, here are a few ideas for color codes to get you started.

• Pink –  Romantic or spicy moments
• Red –  Moments that make you angry
• Blue –  Important world building
• Green –  Characters (character development, character introductions, and formulating on character motives)
• Blue – Sad moments
• Yellow –  Favorite quotes or meaningful quotes

Annotating color keys also look super different depending on the genre of book you’re reading, so if you’re reading a fantasy book, you may want to include world-building, whereas if you’re annotating non-fiction books, you may want to change that color to something else.

Reading Journals

If you want to work your way up to writing in your actual books, book journals are also a great resource!

There are some great options for reading journals, such as this hardcover one by Kunitsa Co . which includes a variety of different pages and worksheets to go through.

If you’re more of a spiral-bound person, this is also a great option for book lovers!

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How to Annotate Books for Fun – Plus my Favorite Book Annotation Supplies

When I used to think of annotating, my head would immediately turn to school. Being forced to highlight and write notes about a piece of text is a classic school assignment. But as I have grown older (ew) and moved away from my years in school, I have grown to love the act of annotating my books. If you are interested in learning how to annotate books for fun, stick around, I am writing an entire post about it!

The first thing that drew me into annotating books was the aesthetic of it. I would scroll through my feed on bookstagram and would constantly see these beautiful images of annotated books using 10 different colors and 100 different sticky notes. I was mesmerized by the process and outcome.

This led me to look more into the subject where I found Youtube videos of people teaching others how they annotate their books. I found so many wonderful creators giving readers a peek into how they mark up their books.

A few of my favorite annotating videos are linked below:

I also love reading other bloggers’ takes on annotating! Here is a fantastic post from The Wordy Habitat all about annotating. They go into so much detail, please go check out their post! I also love this post from Mollie Reads ! They give so many examples of how to annotate books for fun!

After all my research, and once I got the hang of it through photos and videos, I decided to try it for myself. The first book I decided to annotate was about one year ago, and it was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I started with my favorite book that I have read multiple times already so I could really focus on analyzing the text I was reading. If you are trying to figure out what the first book you annotate will be, I recommend choosing something you’ve read before, or a book in your favorite genre.

Rereading my favorite book and adding my thoughts and emotions throughout was such a special experience. I was immediately addicted to annotating books for fun. It has become such a relaxing and creative pastime. In this post, I am going to talk about the art and joy of annotating books in detail, along with all the supplies I keep in my annotation kit.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I make a commission through these links with no impact on your purchase. Thank you. For more information, click here !

What Does it Mean to Annotate Books?

The definition of annotating a book is reading and analyzing a piece of text, and then adding the thoughts, feelings, and ideas that pop into your head directly into the text.

You can probably remember being given paragraphs or pieces of text and being forced to annotate them in middle school and high school. At least I remember that vividly. I always hated it. I would highlight random sentences and rephrase things without actually taking any of the information in. But looking back, it was a good skill they were trying to teach. I was just lazy and didn’t like doing things that felt unnecessary.

But like I said, the further away from school, the more I have started to fall in love with the art of annotation, especially for the books I read for fun.

Why Should You Annotate Books?

There is no right or wrong reason for annotating books for fun. You can choose to annotate every book you read or you can choose to never touch a sticky note and highlighter in your life. One option is not better than the other.

BUT, if you are looking for some reasons why you should, here are a few benefits of annotating books:

• Actually Remembering the Plot of the Book : Am I the only one who reads a book and then completely forgets the entire plot and cast of characters as soon as I close the last page? Because I don’t remember nearly as much as I should. However, when I annotate books for fun, I tend to remember a lot more about them because I am being more analytical with them.
• Becoming a Better Writer : If you didn’t know, one of my goals is to become a published author. So, one of the steps toward that goal is taking a deeper look at the books I am reading. I am going that through annotation. I look at what I liked and what I didn’t like in a book and try to figure out what the author did to achieve it.
• It’s Fun and Creative : The first thing that attracted me to annotating books was the creative/aesthetic aspect of it. The end result is just so pretty, you know what I mean? So obviously I love having fun with it when I am highliting lines and adding my thoughts to the margins of my favorite chapters. For example, one of my favorite methods of annotation is adding doodles and images to a block of text.
• Makes You More Observent : When you are annotating books for fun, you have to pay more attention to the words you are reading. That’s why you remember the plot and characters better. But it also makes you more observent in your every day life as well. Annotating books has opened my eyes and made me see things in my daily life I normally would have brushed past.

What Supplies do you Need to Annotate a Book?

All you need to annotate are two things:

• A writing utensil (pen, pencil, crayon, whatever you want)

The basics of annotation can be done with literally any writing instrument in any color you can get your hands on. Although, I wouldn’t really recommend a crayon…

But if you are looking at being extra like I am, and you want the aesthetic, here are some book annotation supplies in my collection that I love and use regularly:

• Sticky Notes (Click here to see my favorite)
• Book Annotation Tabs (Click here to see my favorite)
• Colorful pens (Click here to see my favorite)
• Ruler for underlining (Click here to see my favorite)
• Notebook (Click here to see my favorite)
• Notecarfs (Click here to see my favoirte)
• Colorful highlighters (Click here to see my favorite)

How do you Annotate a Book Without Ruining it?

The first time I annotated a book, I had to go out and find an extra, used copy so if I messed up I still had my original… I was terrified.

So, if you are like me, and you are terrified of writing in your books out of fear of ruining them, or messing up don’t worry! You can still annotate your books without ruining them with sticky notes, reading journals, and more.

1. Sticky Notes

I mentioned these earlier, but these are great for annotating without writing in the book. You can purchase stick notes in a ton of different sizes and shapes to fit the thoughts you are having about a book.

Getting a sticky note set like this one from Amazon, which you can find here , is perfect for annotating. It gives you options for sizing and shape to perfectly fit the annotation you are making. You can also get packs like this in other colors from Amazon if this doesn’t match your aesthetic.

2. Clear Sticky Notes

One of my absolute favorite ways to annotate books without actually writing in them is clear sticky notes. These went viral on Twitter a couple of years ago because someone posted about them and the bookish Twitter community went crazy. (I can’t find the original post but credit to them for this idea lol)

Anyway, they are absolutely ingenious, especially if you want to underline specific lines in the book without putting ink to paper.

This pack from Amazon, which you can find here , is a great value and you get clear sticky notes in a bunch of different sizes. Just make sure to use ballpoint pens, not gel, and allow the ink to dry before you close the book or turn the page!

Note: These are made of plastic, so they aren’t the best for the environment. But in the grand scheme of things, you using a couple plastic sticky notes isn’t going to end the world, creating legislation that checks large corporations is going to make the biggest difference.

3. Note Cards

Another one of my favorite ways to annotate without writing in the book is using notecards. When I was annotating The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, I kept a pack of notecards beside me and I would summarize each chapter after reading it. I would then slip that notecard into the pages of the book.

I personally like using colorful notecards, like these from Amazon, but they also sell them in white and neon colors. When I use notecards to annotate, I select the color I write notes on based on my feelings about the chapter (I will go into more detail on my annotation color key later in the post). Then I can go back and easily find which chapters made me feel which emotions.

4. Reading Journal

Finally, a great way to make notes while reading is simply by using a notebook. You can note the chapter or page number you are referring to and write down any and all thoughts you have while consuming the story.

You can get a fancy reading journal specifically created to take notes about the books you read, like this one from Amazon! Or any old notebook will do. You can even fold some pieces of paper, staple them, and make your own notebook!

A note on this topic, books are just objects, so if you want to write directly in the book but are too afraid to ruin it, don’t be! What is the worst that can happen? That you have a scribble in the book? Gives it more character in my opinion! I have always wanted to pick a used book up from a thrift store and see someone’s annotations in it. That would be such a fun reading experience.

Writing in books doesn’t ruin them!

Anyway, here is an example of book annotation without actually writing in the book:

What is a Book Annotation Kit and How Do you Make One?

Once I started really getting into annotating my books for fun, I realized I needed a little kit to bring with me whenever I was reading a book. This is especially true if you like to take your books to a coffee shop and pretend you are the main character of a movie, reading, annotating, and sipping a latté.

Many people use different things when creating their kits, and you can even buy premade ones on Etsy. But for me, I made my own annotation kit, which consisted of a zipper pouch full of the pens, highlighters, tabs, and sticky notes I am currently using.

I use this “BOOKS!” pouch from my Redbubble shop. Just so everyone knows exactly what my priorities are when they see my book annotation kit. Here is a picture of it without any actual annotation supplies in it lol…

What’s included in a book annotation kit?

• Multiple colors of pens or pencils
• Highlighters
• Sticky Notes
• Annotation color key (more on that later)
• Book annotation tabs

What Books Should You Annotate?

When looking at what books you should annotate, anything and everything you want is perfect! Literally, anything with words in it can be annotated. But if this is the first time you are entering the world of annotating books for fun, here are some of the best places to start:

• Your favorite book
• A piece of non-fiction (to get in the annotating mood, it is easier to annotate non-fiction, and most people have done this before)
• A book you really hated (It is so fun writing why you hate a book, maybe I’m just a hater)

What is the Difference Between Annotating Books for Fun and for Learning?

For some, the transition between annotating for school and annotating for fun is a difficult one. You can look at a piece of fiction and have no idea what you should be highlighting except maybe some metaphors because that is what we have learned in all our years of school.

However, with annotating for fun, there are completely different things to focus on. Think about why you read for fun. There are one million different reasons, but a few include escapism, feeling something, and simply for fun. So when you are annotating these books, you want to focus on those aspects. What made you smile, what made you angry. Emotion plays a larger role in annotating for fun rather than for learning.

How to Annotate Books for Fun

Alright, we have talked about all the supplies you will need along with different methods and purposes of annotating. But what should you actually annotate while reading a book for fun? It isn’t exactly like school, where you are just trying to find the most important pieces of information. It is certainly different.

Deciding what to annotate in books you are reading for fun is completely personal but here are some ideas to get you started:

• Highlight some favorite quotes
• Note characterization you found successful or unsuccesful
• Highlight aspects of the book that made you feel something
• If you didn’t like something, write why
• Sensory details that caught your attention
• Doodle something inspired by the book on one of the pages
• Did the story give you an idea? Write it directly into the pages
• Record random thoughts that pop into your head while reading
• Note the motifs so you can look back at them later
• Is the author using a trope you love/hate? Note that!

As you can see, these ideas for annotation are a lot different from academic annotation. There is a lot less pressure, so have fun with it, and mark up your book as much or as little as you want. You aren’t being graded on this!

Here is a book annotation example from my copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins:

I make note of descriptions that I love and sensory details that Collins includes in the writing. Usually, I annotate anything that sparked my interest while reading the pages. I am not too detailed in my annotation because I let salient details come out of the page rather than searching them out.

Book Annotation Color Key

With all the different highlighter and pen colors I have in my book annotation kit, I always create a color code for my book annotations. It makes it easier to identify my notes, and it looks pretty. Below is an example of the color key I use when annotating books for fun. Don’t mind my messy handwriting…

I will use these colors to both highlight and write notes, so when I look back at my annotated book I know exactly what I was thinking before I even read the note. It creates a wonderful rainbow of thoughts and ideas in my book.

Annotating books for fun is one of my absolute favorite activities, so this post was a lot of fun to write. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to do this. You don’t have to do it at all if you don’t want to. That is the beauty of hobbies, they are completely at will!

What is your favorite way to annotate books? Let me know in the comments below, I am always looking for more ideas!

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17 thoughts on “How to Annotate Books for Fun – Plus my Favorite Book Annotation Supplies”

Enjoyed this!! Thankyou!

I’m so glad you did! Thanks for reading 💕

My style is Downtown Girl, and annotating books are what I should do to become more like my style ! This is rlly helpful, tysm .

I am supposed to annotate a book and had no idea what I should write. Thanks so much for the guidance. I feel better knowing anything goes!!

Yay! I’m so glad you found some guidance in this, annotating is super fun once you get past the “what am I supposed to write” part of it lol 😆

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I just loved the aesthetic of it and want to get into reading more! I am so glad I found this.

Agreed! There is nothing like an annotated book, the aesthetic is top notch! I hope you found some helpful hints!

I learned a lot from this post. I was so reluctant to make any notes in my books because I had some fixation about keeping them pristine, but now I think I have missed out on so many advantages. Thank you.

Great article, I love your tips, I didn´t know what kind of things to annotate in the books and this was helpful and gave me some great ideas. Thanks 🙂

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You shared so many great resources in this post. Thanks so much for sharing how you annotate and what you use.

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Loved loved loved this !!! Annotating books is a different type of intimacy 😀

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thanks for this! i love it sm <3

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How to Annotate Texts

Use the links below to jump directly to any section of this guide:

Annotation Fundamentals

How to start annotating , how to annotate digital texts, how to annotate a textbook, how to annotate a scholarly article or book, how to annotate literature, how to annotate images, videos, and performances, additional resources for teachers.

Writing in your books can make you smarter. Or, at least (according to education experts), annotation–an umbrella term for underlining, highlighting, circling, and, most importantly, leaving comments in the margins–helps students to remember and comprehend what they read. Annotation is like a conversation between reader and text. Proper annotation allows students to record their own opinions and reactions, which can serve as the inspiration for research questions and theses. So, whether you're reading a novel, poem, news article, or science textbook, taking notes along the way can give you an advantage in preparing for tests or writing essays. This guide contains resources that explain the benefits of annotating texts, provide annotation tools, and suggest approaches for diverse kinds of texts; the last section includes lesson plans and exercises for teachers.

Why annotate? As the resources below explain, annotation allows students to emphasize connections to material covered elsewhere in the text (or in other texts), material covered previously in the course, or material covered in lectures and discussion. In other words, proper annotation is an organizing tool and a time saver. The links in this section will introduce you to the theory, practice, and purpose of annotation. 

How to Mark a Book, by Mortimer Adler

This famous, charming essay lays out the case for marking up books, and provides practical suggestions at the end including underlining, highlighting, circling key words, using vertical lines to mark shifts in tone/subject, numbering points in an argument, and keeping track of questions that occur to you as you read. 

How Annotation Reshapes Student Thinking (TeacherHUB)

In this article, a high school teacher discusses the importance of annotation and how annotation encourages more effective critical thinking.

The Future of Annotation (Journal of Business and Technical Communication)

This scholarly article summarizes research on the benefits of annotation in the classroom and in business. It also discusses how technology and digital texts might affect the future of annotation. 

Annotating to Deepen Understanding (Texas Education Agency)

This website provides another introduction to annotation (designed for 11th graders). It includes a helpful section that teaches students how to annotate reading comprehension passages on tests.

Once you understand what annotation is, you're ready to begin. But what tools do you need? How do you prepare? The resources linked in this section list strategies and techniques you can use to start annotating. 

What is Annotating? (Charleston County School District)

This resource gives an overview of annotation styles, including useful shorthands and symbols. This is a good place for a student who has never annotated before to begin.

How to Annotate Text While Reading (YouTube)

This video tutorial (appropriate for grades 6–10) explains the basic ins and outs of annotation and gives examples of the type of information students should be looking for.

Annotation Practices: Reading a Play-text vs. Watching Film (U Calgary)

This blog post, written by a student, talks about how the goals and approaches of annotation might change depending on the type of text or performance being observed. 

Annotating Texts with Sticky Notes (Lyndhurst Schools)

Sometimes students are asked to annotate books they don't own or can't write in for other reasons. This resource provides some strategies for using sticky notes instead.

Teaching Students to Close Read...When You Can't Mark the Text (Performing in Education)

Here, a sixth grade teacher demonstrates the strategies she uses for getting her students to annotate with sticky notes. This resource includes a link to the teacher's free Annotation Bookmark (via Teachers Pay Teachers).

Digital texts can present a special challenge when it comes to annotation; emerging research suggests that many students struggle to critically read and retain information from digital texts. However, proper annotation can solve the problem. This section contains links to the most highly-utilized platforms for electronic annotation.

Evernote is one of the two big players in the "digital annotation apps" game. In addition to allowing users to annotate digital documents, the service (for a fee) allows users to group multiple formats (PDF, webpages, scanned hand-written notes) into separate notebooks, create voice recordings, and sync across all sorts of devices. 

OneNote is Evernote's main competitor. Reviews suggest that OneNote allows for more freedom for digital note-taking than Evernote, but that it is slightly more awkward to import and annotate a PDF, especially on certain platforms. However, OneNote's free version is slightly more feature-filled, and OneNote allows you to link your notes to time stamps on an audio recording.

Diigo is a basic browser extension that allows a user to annotate webpages. Diigo also offers a Screenshot app that allows for direct saving to Google Drive.

While the creators of Hypothesis like to focus on their app's social dimension, students are more likely to be interested in the private highlighting and annotating functions of this program.

Foxit PDF Reader

Foxit is one of the leading PDF readers. Though the full suite must be purchased, Foxit offers a number of annotation and highlighting tools for free.

Nitro PDF Reader

This is another well-reviewed, free PDF reader that includes annotation and highlighting. Annotation, text editing, and other tools are included in the free version.

Goodreader is a very popular Mac-only app that includes annotation and editing tools for PDFs, Word documents, Powerpoint, and other formats.

Although textbooks have vocabulary lists, summaries, and other features to emphasize important material, annotation can allow students to process information and discover their own connections. This section links to guides and video tutorials that introduce you to textbook annotation. 

Annotating Textbooks (Niagara University)

This PDF provides a basic introduction as well as strategies including focusing on main ideas, working by section or chapter, annotating in your own words, and turning section headings into questions.

A Simple Guide to Text Annotation (Catawba College)

The simple, practical strategies laid out in this step-by-step guide will help students learn how to break down chapters in their textbooks using main ideas, definitions, lists, summaries, and potential test questions.

Annotating (Mercer Community College)

This packet, an excerpt from a literature textbook, provides a short exercise and some examples of how to do textbook annotation, including using shorthand and symbols.

Reading Your Healthcare Textbook: Annotation (Saddleback College)

This powerpoint contains a number of helpful suggestions, especially for students who are new to annotation. It emphasizes limited highlighting, lots of student writing, and using key words to find the most important information in a textbook. Despite the title, it is useful to a student in any discipline.

Annotating a Textbook (Excelsior College OWL)

This video (with included transcript) discusses how to use textbook features like boxes and sidebars to help guide annotation. It's an extremely helpful, detailed discussion of how textbooks are organized.

Because scholarly articles and books have complex arguments and often depend on technical vocabulary, they present particular challenges for an annotating student. The resources in this section help students get to the heart of scholarly texts in order to annotate and, by extension, understand the reading.

Annotating a Text (Hunter College)

This resource is designed for college students and shows how to annotate a scholarly article using highlighting, paraphrase, a descriptive outline, and a two-margin approach. It ends with a sample passage marked up using the strategies provided. 

Guide to Annotating the Scholarly Article (ReadWriteThink.org)

This is an effective introduction to annotating scholarly articles across all disciplines. This resource encourages students to break down how the article uses primary and secondary sources and to annotate the types of arguments and persuasive strategies (synthesis, analysis, compare/contrast).

How to Highlight and Annotate Your Research Articles (CHHS Media Center)

This video, developed by a high school media specialist, provides an effective beginner-level introduction to annotating research articles. 

How to Read a Scholarly Book (AndrewJacobs.org)

In this essay, a college professor lets readers in on the secrets of scholarly monographs. Though he does not discuss annotation, he explains how to find a scholarly book's thesis, methodology, and often even a brief literature review in the introduction. This is a key place for students to focus when creating annotations. 

A 5-step Approach to Reading Scholarly Literature and Taking Notes (Heather Young Leslie)

This resource, written by a professor of anthropology, is an even more comprehensive and detailed guide to reading scholarly literature. Combining the annotation techniques above with the reading strategy here allows students to process scholarly book efficiently. 

Annotation is also an important part of close reading works of literature. Annotating helps students recognize symbolism, double meanings, and other literary devices. These resources provide additional guidelines on annotating literature.

AP English Language Annotation Guide (YouTube)

In this ~10 minute video, an AP Language teacher provides tips and suggestions for using annotations to point out rhetorical strategies and other important information.

Annotating Text Lesson (YouTube)

In this video tutorial, an English teacher shows how she uses the white board to guide students through annotation and close reading. This resource uses an in-depth example to model annotation step-by-step.

Close Reading a Text and Avoiding Pitfalls (Purdue OWL)

This resources demonstrates how annotation is a central part of a solid close reading strategy; it also lists common mistakes to avoid in the annotation process.

AP Literature Assignment: Annotating Literature (Mount Notre Dame H.S.)

This brief assignment sheet contains suggestions for what to annotate in a novel, including building connections between parts of the book, among multiple books you are reading/have read, and between the book and your own experience. It also includes samples of quality annotations.

AP Handout: Annotation Guide (Covington Catholic H.S.)

This annotation guide shows how to keep track of symbolism, figurative language, and other devices in a novel using a highlighter, a pencil, and every part of a book (including the front and back covers).

In addition to written resources, it's possible to annotate visual "texts" like theatrical performances, movies, sculptures, and paintings. Taking notes on visual texts allows students to recall details after viewing a resource which, unlike a book, can't be re-read or re-visited ( for example, a play that has finished its run, or an art exhibition that is far away). These resources draw attention to the special questions and techniques that students should use when dealing with visual texts.

How to Take Notes on Videos (U of Southern California)

This resource is a good place to start for a student who has never had to take notes on film before. It briefly outlines three general approaches to note-taking on a film. 

How to Analyze a Movie, Step-by-Step (San Diego Film Festival)

This detailed guide provides lots of tips for film criticism and analysis. It contains a list of specific questions to ask with respect to plot, character development, direction, musical score, cinematography, special effects, and more. 

How to "Read" a Film (UPenn)

This resource provides an academic perspective on the art of annotating and analyzing a film. Like other resources, it provides students a checklist of things to watch out for as they watch the film.

Art Annotation Guide (Gosford Hill School)

This resource focuses on how to annotate a piece of art with respect to its formal elements like line, tone, mood, and composition. It contains a number of helpful questions and relevant examples. 

Photography Annotation (Arts at Trinity)

This resource is designed specifically for photography students. Like some of the other resources on this list, it primarily focuses on formal elements, but also shows students how to integrate the specific technical vocabulary of modern photography. This resource also contains a number of helpful sample annotations.

How to Review a Play (U of Wisconsin)

This resource from the University of Wisconsin Writing Center is designed to help students write a review of a play. It contains suggested questions for students to keep in mind as they watch a given production. This resource helps students think about staging, props, script alterations, and many other key elements of a performance.

This section contains links to lessons plans and exercises suitable for high school and college instructors.

Beyond the Yellow Highlighter: Teaching Annotation Skills to Improve Reading Comprehension (English Journal)

In this journal article, a high school teacher talks about her approach to teaching annotation. This article makes a clear distinction between annotation and mere highlighting.

Lesson Plan for Teaching Annotation, Grades 9–12 (readwritethink.org)

This lesson plan, published by the National Council of Teachers of English, contains four complete lessons that help introduce high school students to annotation.

Teaching Theme Using Close Reading (Performing in Education)

This lesson plan was developed by a middle school teacher, and is aligned to Common Core. The teacher presents her strategies and resources in comprehensive fashion.

Analyzing a Speech Using Annotation (UNC-TV/PBS Learning Media)

This complete lesson plan, which includes a guide for the teacher and relevant handouts for students, will prepare students to analyze both the written and presentation components of a speech. This lesson plan is best for students in 6th–10th grade.

Writing to Learn History: Annotation and Mini-Writes (teachinghistory.org)

This teaching guide, developed for high school History classes, provides handouts and suggested exercises that can help students become more comfortable with annotating historical sources.

Writing About Art (The College Board)

This Prezi presentation is useful to any teacher introducing students to the basics of annotating art. The presentation covers annotating for both formal elements and historical/cultural significance.

Film Study Worksheets (TeachWithMovies.org)

This resource contains links to a general film study worksheet, as well as specific worksheets for novel adaptations, historical films, documentaries, and more. These resources are appropriate for advanced middle school students and some high school students. 

Annotation Practice Worksheet (La Guardia Community College)

This worksheet has a sample text and instructions for students to annotate it. It is a useful resource for teachers who want to give their students a chance to practice, but don't have the time to select an appropriate piece of text. 

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How To Annotate Books? Best Full Guide [2022]

It is a great way to keep track and organize the thoughts that you have read in the books that you own. You can refer back to your notes later. It is also a good way to practice critical and analytical thinking. How do you annotate books? Penn Book will show you how to annotate books in detail. Let’s get started.

What Does it Mean to Annotate Books?

Annotation has traditionally been defined as “the critical or explanatory notes added to a text.” More recently, however, the definition of annotation has been expanded to include “any explanatory notes added to a text,” whether they are critical, explanatory, or simply descriptive.

This expanded definition reflects the growing recognition that annotation can be a valuable tool for all readers, not just scholars and students.

Annotations can take many different forms, but all annotations share one common goal: to help readers engage with a text in a deeper and more thoughtful way.

Annotations can provide information about the author, the historical context in which the text was written, the structure of the argument, or key themes and symbols. Annotations can also offer personal reflections on the text, or simply point out interesting passages.

Whatever form they take, annotations should always be readable and understandable. When done well, annotation can turn a dry and difficult text into an engaging and thought-provoking experience.

Why Should You Annotate Books?

There are many reasons you should annotate books. One reason is that it can help you better understand what you are reading. If you encounter an unfamiliar word or phrase, you can search for its meaning and jot down the definition in the margins. This practice can aid in retaining the word’s definition and comprehending the context in which it was utilized.

Another reason to annotate books is that it can help you remember key points and ideas. If you highlight or underline important passages and then write a brief summary of why it was important in the margins, you will be able to quickly review the most important concepts before exams or papers. Organizing your reflections and annotations while reading is an additional advantage of this method.

Finally, annotation can simply make reading more enjoyable. By jotting down notes in the margins, you are prone to be more attentive and engage in critical thinking concerning the content you are reading. This can lead to deeper insights and a greater appreciation for the literature.

What Supplies Do You Need to Annotate a Book?

In order to annotate a book, you will need a few supplies. You will require a pen or a pencil to annotate in the margins of the book.

Highlighters can also be helpful in order to draw attention to important passages. Post-it notes can be used to flag pages or sections that you want to come back to.

Ultimately, a notepad or a sheet of paper can be utilized to note down any reflections or queries that arise during your reading.

How do you Annotate a Book Without Ruining it?

Pencils or colored pens.

Avoid using a regular pen or highlighter, as these can bleed through the pages and make it difficult to read the text. Instead, use a pencil or colored pens to underline or highlight important sections.

Sticky Notes

In case you prefer not to write directly in the book, you can utilize sticky notes to indicate essential sections or record your reflections.

Use different colors: Use different colored sticky notes to mark different types of annotations, such as blue for important concepts, yellow for questions, and pink for examples.

Write short notes: Keep your notes brief and to the point, using shorthand or abbreviations where possible. This will allow you to fit more annotations on each sticky note and make them easier to read.

Use tabs and flags: Use sticky tabs and flags to mark specific pages or sections that are particularly important. This will help you quickly find and reference important information later on.

Organize your notes: Use a system of organization that makes sense to you, such as grouping notes by topic or organizing them in chronological order. This will make it easier to review and synthesize your annotations when you need to.

Avoid overusing sticky notes: While sticky notes can be a great tool for annotation, it’s important to avoid overusing them. Stick to marking the most important parts of the text and avoid cluttering the book with too many notes.

Use Symbols and Abbreviations

Develop a system of symbols and abbreviations to make your annotations more concise and efficient. For example, use a star to indicate an important point or an exclamation mark to indicate surprise.

What is a Book Annotation Kit and How Do you Make One?

A book annotation kit is a tool that allows you to create annotations for a book. It typically includes a software program and a set of instructions.

Annotation requires selecting a text. Subsequently, you may opt to emphasize the text, underline it, or attach a remark. After producing your annotation, you can preserve it and distribute it with others.

Book annotation kits can be used for a variety of purposes, such as reading comprehension, research, and writing. They can also be used to create collaborative notes between students and teachers.

What Books Should You Annotate?

A book annotation kit is a great way to keep track of your reading. It enables you to document your contemplations and perceptions about a book as you read it, and then revisit them later. You can use a kit to make an annotated bibliography for a research paper, or simply to keep track of your own reading.

To make a book annotation kit, you will need:

• A notebook or journal
• A pen or pencil
• Highlighters or post-it notes (optional)

Begin by reading a book. While reading, pay attention to anything that catches your attention as intriguing, significant, or thought-provoking. These might include excerpts, personas, concepts, or anything else that stands out to you.

Next, open your notebook or journal and find a blank page. On this page, document the book’s title, author, and page number where you encountered the excerpt, persona, or concept that you wish to recollect. Then, write a short annotation about why this element was important to you.

Jot down the title of the book, the author, and the page number where you discovered the excerpt, persona, or concept that you wish to recall on this page.

If you want to, you can highlight the passages, characters, or themes that you annotate in your book. This will help you to find them again easily. You can also use post-it notes to mark these elements.

After completing the book and producing your annotations, you will possess a valuable resource to revisit whenever necessary. Whenever you want to remember something from a book, you can simply consult your book annotation kit.

What is the Difference Between Annotating Books for Fun and for Learning?

When done for fun, annotations can help readers engage with a text on a deeper level, making the reading experience more enjoyable. When done for learning, annotations can help readers better understand and remember the information in a text.

There are a few key differences between annotating books for fun and for learning. First, when annotating for fun, readers can choose to focus on any aspect of the text that interests them. They may want to add their own thoughts and interpretations, or make connections to other things they’ve read.

In contrast, when annotating for learning, readers will want to focus on the most important information in the text. This may include identifying key concepts, main ideas, and supporting details.

Another difference is that annotations for fun can be less formal than those for learning. Readers can use whatever style or format they prefer, and there are no set rules to follow.

When annotating for learning, however, it’s important to use a consistent format and include all the relevant information. This will make it easier to review the annotations later on.

Overall, annotations can be a great way to enhance any reading experience. By taking the time to add notes, comments, and thoughts, readers can get more out of a text, whether they’re reading for fun or for learning.

What Do You Annotate In Fiction Books?

When you’re reading a fiction book, there are a lot of different things you can annotate. For example, you might want to highlight important plot points, or make notes about the characters’ development. It could be beneficial to record your personal opinions and perceptions about the book as you progress through it.

The crucial aspect is that you are interacting with the text in a manner that holds significance to you, regardless of what you opt to annotate. Annotation can help you keep track of your thoughts, notice patterns, and make connections that you might not have otherwise. Engaging in this practice is an exceptional approach to enrich your comprehension of a book and can even augment the pleasure of re-reading it.

Here are some specific things you might annotate in a fiction book:

• The author’s use of figurative language
• The development of the plot
• The relationships between the characters
• The changes in the characters’ personalities
• The setting of the story
• The theme of the book

How to Annotate a Book For a Friend?

Assuming you would like tips on how to annotate a book for a friend:

Giving a buddy a book can make it hard to decide what to write in it. It’s important to ensure that the annotations you pen down are individualized and hold significance for your friend. However, it’s equally crucial not to divulge too much about the plot or ruin the book for them. Here are some tips on how to annotate a book for a friend:

• Write a personal note on the inside cover. This is a great place to write a quote that your friend loves, or to simply say why you are giving them this book.
• If there is a specific scene or character that you know your friend will love, highlight it and leave a note next to it.
• If there are any themes in the book that you believe will resonate with your friend, make a record of them. For instance, if the book revolves around grief, and you are aware that your friend is undergoing a difficult phase, inscribe a note about how you wish the book could aid them.

Annotating a book for a friend is an excellent approach to personalize the gift and reassure them that you are thinking of them. With these recommendations, you can pen down annotations that hold significance and will enhance their experience of the book.

How to Annotate Books for Fun?

Annotations are a great way to add depth and understanding to your reading. They can also be a fun way to interact with the text on a personal level. Here are some tips on how to annotation books for fun:

• Highlight some favorite quotes
• Take note of which characterizations you found successful or unsuccessful.
• Highlight parts of the book that made you feel something.
• If you didn’t like something, explain why.
• Sensory details that drew your attention
• Draw something inspired by the book on one of the pages.
• Did the story inspire you in any way? Write it directly on the pages.
• Note any motifs that come to mind while reading.
• Is the author employing a trope that you like or dislike? Take note of this!

Book Annotation Color Key

The Book Annotation Color Key is a great way to keep track of your annotations while reading. This key will help you to quickly and easily identify which annotations are which. Here is a quick guide to the colors and their meanings:

• Blue – Important Points
• Red – Questions
• Green – Comments
• Yellow – Highlights

By utilizing this method, you can effortlessly revisit the most significant portions of the book that you wish to retain in your memory. This tool is highly beneficial for students, teachers, and individuals who wish to monitor their contemplations while reading.

Is it bad to annotate books?

It is a great way to keep track of and organize the thoughts that you have read in the books you own. You will have something to refer back to later. It can also be a good way to practice your analytical and critical thinking skills by making notes.

How do you annotate reading?

Identify the main thesis. In the margin, underline the main thesis (or the main argument or viewpoint), and then write it in your own words. Continue to read the first or second sentence of each body paragraph. Highlight the main point of each paragraph, and then summarize it in the margin using your own words.

What are the 3 types of annotations?

There are three types of annotation: summary, evaluation, and descriptive.

See more:  https://www.bibliography.com/examples/annotated-bibliography-writing-guide-with-examples

What is an example of annotation?

Frequency: An annotation is an additional note that explains a topic in a text. An example of an annotation is the definition of an archaic term found in the Bible. It can be found at the bottom of this page. An explanation or critical note.

If you’re looking for a way to improve your reading comprehension and understanding of what you’re reading, try annotating your books. This simple technique can make a big difference in how much you get out of your reading.

Plus, it’s a great way to keep track of your thoughts and ideas as you read. So give it a try next time you crack open a book!

Read more: Best Books On How To Win The Lottery [2022]

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Book Lists, Book Reviews, and Editing Tips

October 4, 2021

Annotating My Books: Why and How I Take Notes While Reading

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links—at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

** ATTN: Some of the pictures I included could contain pages with spoilers. If you want to read my annotations, I highly suggest just reading my notes and not the actual pages of the book! Proceed with caution, readers!**

I am finally sharing why and how I annotate my books and you guys, it has enriched my reading so much. I’ve been full-on annotating books for about two or three months now, and I can’t imagine doing it any other way. I’ll admit, I used to be one of those people who would practically hyperventilate when even thinking about writing in books, but that “stage” of my reading life only lasted about two years.

Why I Annotate

As a child, teenager, and young adult, my reading life has largely consisted of writing in my books, taking notes, dog-earing pages, et cetera. When I started buying more new releases (largely thanks to the BookTube community), the books were so pretty that I felt badly about “harming” them in their pristine condition.

But I just couldn’t shake the desire to write in books. Any time I stumble upon a used book with notes in it or a letter in the opening pages, I feel as though I’ve tapped into someone’s intimate thoughts or secret letters . . . .

It’s such a wonderful gift to be able to read a book that’s been annotated by someone else; it’s one of the reason’s why I’m such a fan of how Quarterly used to do their literary subscription boxes.

The author would curate the box and include a variety of sticky notes with his or her thoughts inserted: what the author was doing while writing that scene, what inspired that scene, what seemingly random memory helped create the character on the page.

But annotating books isn’t just about leaving a legacy of your reading experience on the page for other readers; it’s about preserving that feeling you had for yourself when you finally read that crazy plot twist, or remembering which parts of the story stuck out to you and why .

When you’re reading 4+ books a month, it’s easy to forget why you loved the books you loved. Taking notes in my books helps me organize my thoughts for book clubs or podcast author interviews . It helps me convey just how important a book was to me at a particular time in my life. It’s like a little time capsule of who I am as a reader.

How I Annotate Digitally

While I love writing in physical books, I do have some digital note-taking tips and favorite apps. So don’t forget to check out part two of my book annotating system!

I’m a huge audiobook listener , and I also like to read on my Kindle , phone, and iPad quite a bit. I definitely have my way of doing things, and I adore my digital reading journal. So make sure to check out that post if you’re an audio or e-reader lover, too.

RELATED: 18 Best Audiobooks of All Time to Pick Up Next

How I Annotate

I keep it simple. Sometimes I highlight for different reasons (pink for funny quotes, blue for character development, orange for plot, etc.). But most of the time, I just use a pen and a highlighter, especially if I’m in a busy season of life . If I have sticky notes on hand and I have a lot to say and not a lot of space to write it, I will write it on a sticky note. Sometimes I’ll write the topic at hand on a sticky note as a page marker, so I can easily return to it.

I love to record favorite book quotes in a reading journal notebook , but if I don’t have that on hand, I take a picture of the page and save it in a book quote photo album on my phone to sort through later.

RELATED: 8 Tips on How to Read More as a Mom

If I don’t have pens, I’ll dog-ear pages. I dog-ear the bottom of the page for quotes I loved, and I’ll dog-ear the top as a bookmark (though I do tend to have bookmarks on hand).

It’s really quite. simple, but I’ve found what works for me, and I love it.

My Favorite Supplies for Annotating Books

If you’re wondering how to annotate books, all you need is a pen or pencil (crayon, marker, whatever!). But if you’d like to take your annotating up a notch, here are some of my favorite annotating tools to have on hand:

• Beautiful sticky notes
• Sticky tabs for annotating
• Pens to color code annotations
• Thin black pens
• My favorite highlighters
• My favorite notebook for writing book quotes
• Highlighter tape
• Pencil case to keep everything together and organized

Writing Your Heart

Scribbling notes in a book is like keeping a journal, writing my heart on the page. Instead of consuming the words and starting another book, I’m responding to what’s in front of me. It feels more active. I’ve also found it helps me stay up late if I’m trying to read at night (which, many of you know, is hard to do for this grandma).

I can return to favorite quotes. I can have conversations with the characters. It’s not like my notes are full of profound insight; sometimes it’s five exclamation marks because the girl you didn’t think was going to be the killer was the killer, and wtf?!

Sometimes I edit my books. Sometimes I type my characters on the Enneagram (I’m not kidding). Sometimes I scribble out my words. Being less delicate with my books has made me a more invested reader. I care more. I’m more immersed in the world building.

And you know what? Dog-earing pages or highlighting or writing words in the margins—those changes don’t ruin a beautiful piece of art. They make a beautiful piece of art more beautiful. I get to leave my mark, even though my handwriting is chicken scratch. Even though pages sometimes get torn.

This post was all about annotating books for fun and what it means to annotate books and enrich your reading! How do you annotate your books? Do you think it’s bad to annotate books, or do you enjoy it?

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The Simple Guide to Annotations: How to Annotate PDFs, Ebooks, Images, and Websites

What exactly is annotation all about? And how should you annotate what you read? Here are the best tools for common document types.

Annotating a physical book---marking important passages, highlighting special words, writing notes in the margins---is a good way to tarnish it forever. Fortunately, annotations aren't so destructive when reading digitally or on the web.

The right kinds of annotations in the right place can help you remember more and be more productive. On the web, annotations are also valuable when you're collaborating on documents with a team.

But how do annotations help you? And how can you start annotating what you read in a way that isn't difficult or inconvenient? Here's everything you need to know about annotations in the digital age.

What Is an Annotation?

Annotation is a fancy word for "marking a sentence, paragraph, page or anything else." There are various markup tools you can use to annotate what you are reading: underline a sentence, use a highlighter, add a comment with an arrow, flag with a symbol, draw a shape around it, tag a Post-It note on it, etc.

The concept of annotation stays the same regardless of which medium you're using, but the tools available to make those annotations may differ. More on that later in this article.

How Are Annotations Useful?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zJksh9KGiI

When you mark up text, you are in fact having a conversation with what you are reading. So, an annotation is important for five main reasons:

• It improves your reading comprehension.
• It helps you jot down a reaction and connect ideas.
• It enables you to filter the important details for research and recall.
• It can help you better visualize the information.
• It enhances collaboration.

Think of it this way: Reading is a passive activity. To understand and remember information , you have to keep track of what you are reading and connect it with the knowledge you already have. You also have to mark the parts which you don't understand so that you can come back to them later. In short: you have to become an active reader.

Your brain has to process information. The act of annotation is one of the most important but rudimentary skills that can help anyone, all the way from kindergarten to a PhD.

But remember one caveat: Annotations are most effective when done sparingly and with purpose. Don't underline or highlight too much.

How to Annotate an Ebook

Annotating an ebook is easy. All e-readers have built-in annotation tools. They are also supported by other note-taking features. Let's see how the process works in three popular ereaders:

Annotations in Mobile Kindle Apps

We have already shown you how to set up and use the Kindle Paperwhite . Annotating a block of text is a simple matter of dragging your finger across the text to highlight it. The Kindle apps on Android and iOS also follow the same method.

• Open the Kindle app and then tap on a book to open it (screenshot is from iOS).
• Highlight the word, sentence, or paragraph by dragging your fingers across to select it.
• Unlike the Kindle Paperwhite, you can choose a color for the highlight. You can also click the Copy icon or tap on the Notes icon to add your own thoughts to the annotated text. Remember to tap the Save button after entering your note.

All notes and highlights can be viewed on the app and also on your Amazon Kindle account page .

Annotations in iBooks

Apple's default ebook reader gives you one of the cleanest reading experiences on its devices. The method to annotate text is similar to the Kindle apps with one minor difference. You can choose a different color for the highlights and add notes. But it also allows you to underline text .

• Open a book with the iBooks app on Mac, iPhone, or iPad.
• Review all notes and highlights on an iOS device by tapping on the menu icon (three horizontal bars on the top left) and then to the Notes tab. The macOS iBooks app has a dedicated Notes button.

Tip: Use the different colors to color code your annotations. For example, a pink highlight can be used to show a doubt or a query, whereas a green highlight can be for an idea you connect to.

Google Play Books

You can highlight and add notes to a book using your computer or the Play Books Google Play Books app. The method, again, is similar to the iBooks app.

How to Annotate a PDF Document

The good news is that most of the focus is on annotating PDF documents because it is the most shared format. Annotation is also a default feature set of common tools found on both Windows and macOS. Let's look at what's built in.

Annotate a PDF on Windows 10

Microsoft Edge became the first browser to allow PDF annotations natively. The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update brought in PDF annotation and with highlights and notes. The Inking feature also another key tool that allows you to annotate PDFs, websites, and even EPUBs. Though, inking works better on touch screens.

• Right-click a PDF document and select Open with > Microsoft Edge .
• To use the Inking options click the Add Notes button on the menu (to the left of the Share button). Select the Ballpoint Pen, Text Highlighter, Eraser, or the Touch Writing tool to mark up the PDF. Choose the color from the palette available under the Ballpoint pen icon.

The annotation capability is just another reason to use the Edge browser as a secondary browser on your machine.

Annotate a PDF on Mac

The Preview app on your macOS is one of the underrated tools. The markup menu in Preview is one of its more useful features. You can use it to leave information for yourself or suggest changes to a PDF document while collaborating.

• Use the selection and the markup tools annotate the PDF. You can use type, sketch, draw, use shapes, add notes, sign, and change the format for all.
• Click Done after you finish marking up the PDF.

The Preview app has all the bells and whistles. You can even create, merge, and split PDF documents with it.

How to Annotate an Image

Image annotation tools are dime a dozen on the web. So, we won't cover them in great detail here. Any good screenshot tool would allow you to annotate the image. You can go back to Apple Preview on macOS and Paint on Windows .

Here are a few other worthies you can check out:

• Canva (Web)
• IrfanView (Windows)
• Droplr (Mac)
• Screen Master (Android)
• Annotable (iOS)

And let's not forget two of the best all-in-one free tools that allow us to annotate images and documents with ease: Google Drive and Evernote .

How to Annotate a Website

Most of our reading is on the web. An annotation tool helps you add context to what you are reading. Again, Microsoft Edge and its markup toolkit enable you to write notes, doodle, and highlight on webpages too. But there's a good chance that you do most of your browsing on Google Chrome. The browser lacks native annotation abilities, but there are enough extensions to fill the gap.

Here are some of the best extensions to annotate websites.

• Diigo Web Collector
• Awesome Screenshot
• Nimbus Capture

Tip: If you are on Firefox, then take a look at Firefox Screenshots from Mozilla that has basic built-in annotation with its screen captures.

Annotations in a Nutshell: Mark Up, Retain, and Recall

It's not enough just to start annotating everything---you have to do it in the right way for best results.

Science strongly recommends that you avoid taking notes on the computer. Use longhand instead. Even then, annotation can do the initial spadework for you as you gather the information. Then hand them over to your own processing and analytical brain cells.

For instance, I use annotation tools to slow the speed of my own forgetfulness . The web may deluge us with information, but it also gives us the tools to manage it smartly.

How To Annotate Books For Fun – Simple & Aesthetic

Do you love reading books and want to make them more personal and memorable? Do you want to learn how to annotate books for fun and create beautiful and meaningful notes on the pages? If yes, then this is what you might be looking for!

Personally, I love annotating my books. Giving them a unique and colorful look just gives me an amazing out-of-the-world feeling that you can’t feel unless you do it yourself. 

Table of Contents

What Does It Mean To Annotate A Book?

To annotate a book means to add notes or personal comments in your books. This can be for academic purposes, like studying literary devices, or just for fun! You can annotate books to express your thoughts and interpretations, to highlight unfamiliar words and expressions, to make connections to other things you’ve read, or to deepen your understanding of the text. You can write your notes on the book pages, on sticky notes, on a separate notebook, or on a digital device.

Annotating a book can enrich your reading experience and help you remember and appreciate the book better.

Why Should You Annotate Your Books?

Annotating books is a great way to interact with the text, express your thoughts and feelings, and enhance your comprehension and retention. It can also make your reading experience more enjoyable and satisfying, as you can see your own reflections and insights on the book. Annotating books can also help you develop your own style and aesthetic, as you can use different colors, symbols, stickers, and other tools to make your notes stand out.

In simple words, you should annotate your books because it can help you read actively, remember more, understand better, express yourself, and prepare for discussions.

What Tools Do You Need For Annotating Your Books?

Some of the tools you need for annotating your books are:

• Multicolor Pens: To use different colors for different purposes, such as marking themes, characters, or questions.
• Highlighters: To highlight important passages and make notes in the margins.
• Sticky Notes: To mark specific passages, make notes, or draw diagrams without writing on the book.
• Sticky Tabs: To label the pages with keywords or categories for easy reference.
• Pencils: To erase or modify your annotations if needed.
• A Notebook: To write down your thoughts, summaries, or questions about the book.

Tips For Annotating Books For Fun

Tip 1: choose a book that you love or want to learn from.

The first step to annotating books for fun is to choose a book that you love or want to learn from. This will make your annotation process more enjoyable and meaningful, as you will be more engaged and motivated to read and write on the book. You can choose any genre or topic that interests you, whether it is fiction or non-fiction, romance or thriller, history or science. The important thing is that you have a genuine curiosity and passion for the book.

Tip 2: Decide on your purpose and goal for annotating

The next step is to decide on your purpose and goal for annotating the book. This will help you focus your attention and guide your annotation strategy. For example, you may want to annotate the book for fun, to improve your understanding of the text, to prepare for a class or a discussion, to remember important details or quotes, or to express your opinions or emotions. Depending on your purpose and goal, you may want to annotate more or less or use different methods or techniques.

Tip 3: Use a variety of annotation tools

One of the best ways to make your annotations simple and aesthetic is to use a variety of annotation tools. This will allow you to create different effects and styles, and make your notes more colorful and attractive. Some of the annotation tools that you can use are:

Pens or pencils: You can use pens or pencils of different colors, sizes, and types (such as ballpoint, gel, or fountain) to write on the book. You can also use highlighters or markers to emphasize certain words or phrases.

Sticky notes: You can use sticky notes of different shapes, sizes, and colors to write additional comments or questions on the book. You can also use them to mark important pages or sections that you want to revisit later.

Stickers: You can use stickers of different themes, designs, and characters to decorate your book and add some personality and flair. You can also use them to express your emotions or reactions to the text.

Washi tape: You can use washi tape of different patterns, textures, and widths to create borders, frames, or dividers on the book. You can also use them to cover up mistakes or unwanted marks on the book.

Other tools: You can also use other tools such as stamps, paper clips, bookmarks, ribbons, or charms to embellish your book and make it more unique and special.

Tip 4: Develop a consistent annotation system

Another way to make your annotations simple and aesthetic is to develop a consistent annotation system. This means that you use the same symbols, abbreviations, codes, or colors for the same purposes throughout the book. 

For example, you may use a star symbol (*) to mark your favorite passages, a question mark (?) to indicate confusion or curiosity, a plus sign (+) to show agreement or appreciation, or a red color to highlight important facts or concepts. Developing a consistent annotation system will help you organize your thoughts and make your notes easier to understand and review.

Tip 5: Be selective and concise

When annotating books for fun, it is tempting to write everything that comes to your mind on the book. However, this may result in cluttered and messy annotations that are hard to read and follow. Therefore, it is advisable to be selective and concise when annotating books. 

This means that you only write what is relevant, significant, or interesting to you and that you use short sentences, phrases, or words to express your ideas. Being selective and concise will help you save space and time, and make your annotations more clear and effective.

Tip 6: Be creative and personal

One of the most fun aspects of annotating books is that you can be creative and personal with your notes. This means that you can use your own voice, style, and perspective to write on the book and that you can experiment with different formats, layouts, and techniques to make your annotations more appealing and original. For example, you can use:

Drawings or doodles: You can use drawings or doodles to illustrate your thoughts or feelings, or to add some humor or charm to your notes. You can draw anything that relates to the text, such as characters, scenes, objects, symbols, or diagrams.

Quotes or references: You can use quotes or references from other sources, such as books, movies, songs, or people, to support or contrast your opinions or interpretations, or to show your connections or inspirations. You can also use quotes or references from the same book to highlight themes or motifs or to show foreshadowing or irony.

Questions or challenges: You can use questions or challenges to stimulate your thinking or curiosity, or to invite further discussion or exploration. You can ask questions or challenges to yourself, to the author, to the characters, or to the readers.

Emojis or emoticons: You can use emojis or emoticons to convey your emotions or reactions to the text, or to add some fun and flair to your notes. You can use emojis or emoticons that are commonly used in texting or social media, such as 😊, 😂, 😍, 😱, 😡, etc.

Tip 7: Be respectful and mindful

While annotating books for fun is a personal and creative activity, it is also important to be respectful and mindful of the book and its author. This means that you should not write anything that is rude, offensive, or inappropriate on the book, and that you should not damage or destroy the book in any way. 

You should also be mindful of the purpose and audience of the book, and try to understand and appreciate its message and value. Being respectful and mindful will help you enjoy the book more and learn from it better.

Tip 8: Review and revise your annotations

After you finish annotating a book for fun, it is a good idea to review and revise your annotations. This will help you consolidate your learning and memory, and improve your annotation skills. To review and revise your annotations, you can:

• Reread your annotations and summarize the main points or takeaways from the book.
• Compare your annotations with others who have read the same book, such as friends, classmates, teachers, reviewers, etc., and see if you agree or disagree with them.
• Check for any errors or inconsistencies in your annotations, such as spelling mistakes, grammar errors, unclear symbols, missing information, etc., and correct them.
• Add any new information or insights that you have gained from reading the book or from other sources, such as facts, opinions, questions, etc.
• Remove any unnecessary or irrelevant information or marks that you have made on the book, such as repetitions, distractions, clutter, etc.

Tip 9: Share and celebrate your annotations

One of the best ways to enjoy annotating books for fun is to share and celebrate your annotations with others. This will allow you to express yourself and your love for reading, and to connect and interact with other readers who share your interests. To share and celebrate your annotations, you can:

• Take photos of your annotated books and post them on social media platforms, such as Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc., and use hashtags or tags to reach more people.
• Join online or offline book clubs or communities where you can discuss your annotated books with other members, and exchange feedback, recommendations, or tips.
• Create a blog or a website where you can showcase your annotated books and write reviews, analyses, or reflections on them.
• Make a scrapbook or a journal where you can collect your annotated books and add other elements, such as photos, stickers, tickets, etc., to make it more personal and memorable.

Tip 10: Have fun and enjoy the process

The most important tip for annotating books for fun is to have fun and enjoy the process. Annotating books is not a chore or a duty, but a hobby and a pleasure. You should not feel pressured or stressed by annotating books, but rather feel relaxed and happy. 

You should not follow any strict rules or guidelines for annotating books but rather follow your own preferences and instincts. You should not judge or compare your annotations with others, but rather appreciate and celebrate your own annotations. Annotating books is a way to express yourself and your love for reading and to make your reading experience more fun and rewarding.

Here are some frequently asked questions about annotating books for fun:

Is it okay to write on books?

It depends on your personal opinion and the type of book. Some people think that writing on books is disrespectful or sacrilegious, while others think that writing on books is respectful or creative. Some types of books are more suitable for writing on than others, such as textbooks, workbooks, or journals, while others are less suitable, such as rare books, library books, or borrowed books. 

Ultimately, it is up to you to decide whether you want to write on books or not, and to respect the opinions and preferences of others.

How can I annotate books without writing on them?

If you prefer not to write on books, or if the books are not yours to write on, you can still annotate them without writing on them. Some of the ways that you can annotate books without writing on them are:

• Use sticky notes or index cards to write your notes and stick them on the book pages.
• Use bookmarks or paper clips to mark important pages or sections that you want to remember or revisit.
• Use a separate notebook or a digital device to write your notes and refer to the book pages.
• Use an e-reader or an app that allows you to highlight, comment, or bookmark on the book electronically.

How can I annotate books for school or work?

If you need to annotate books for school or work purposes, such as for studying, writing, or presenting, you may need to follow a different approach than annotating books for fun. Click here to read more about that.

Annotating books for fun is a wonderful hobby that can enrich your reading experience and your life. By following the tips in this article, you can learn how to annotate books for fun in a simple and aesthetic way. You can also discover your own style and preferences for annotating books, and develop your own annotation system and techniques. Annotating books for fun can help you improve your reading skills, express your personality, connect with other readers, and have fun along the way. 

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Take Your Reading Habit To The Next Level & Start Annotating Your Books

For a minute there, it looked like books — and especially physical copies — might be going the way of the dinosaurs. But reading has taken on a whole new glamor thanks to the wild popularity of online communities like #booktok  and #bookstagram . With so much inspiring book content now making the rounds, many people are flocking back to reading or looking for tricks to engage with this hobby in whole new ways.

Enter book annotation, the perfect activity to take your reading habit to the next level. Annotation is all about analyzing and responding to the books you consume, turning your passive reading experience into a truly interactive hobby.

Maybe you're already a regular bookworm who wants to get even more out of your reading time and bring your own insight and creativity to the table. Annotation provides the outlet you're looking for. Or perhaps you're an aspiring reader looking for habits that will help you read more . After all, many of us struggle to just relax and enjoy a book. Even if we do have the time, a tendency toward toxic productivity may mean that our attention span keeps wandering back to our to-do list and other responsibilities.

Wherever you are in your current reading journey, annotation can help you feel a sense of progress and focus when you pick up a book. This, in turn, can encourage you to dedicate more time to your reading hobby. Sound too good to be true? Try it for yourself! Here's everything you need to know about annotating books, and how to get started.

What is book annotation, exactly?

Book annotation is a way of recording your own thoughts and reactions to the text you're reading, whether you're marking ideas to return to later or simply emphasizing a turn of phrase you particularly loved. Often, these notes are written directly into the book itself or added with bookmarks and sticky notes.

Annotation is a helpful tool for close reading and analysis, as it turns reading into an active experience. Instead of just riding the wave of the narrative, your brain starts looking for opportunities to make observations, keeping your attention more focused. This can help improve your memory and comprehension of the text. But while annotation has traditionally been a learning technique used for studying and academia, it can also be used to connect more fully with a book you're reading for entertainment.

You can use various techniques to mark up your text, depending on your style and goals. Some common approaches include highlighting or underlining significant passages, writing brief notes in the margins, and bookmarking pages to revisit. But these are just the tip of the iceberg. Many book enthusiasts prefer finding their own ways to annotate, such as adding doodles, iconography, or even full summaries at the end of a chapter. The world — or in this case, the book — is your oyster.

Reasons to annotate your books

Wondering whether annotation is really worth your time? Let's put it this way: Annotation is a fantastic method to get more out of any book. For instance, say you're trying to learn something. You can annotate books you're reading for school, work, or your own self-improvement to better remember and internalize information. Whether it's a volume on American history or discussing reliable ways to build new habits , annotation enables you to highlight the information that seems most important and lock it into your memory banks.

Book annotation also helps you interact with your just-for-fun reads on a deeper level. Have you ever read a sentence that made your heart and mind scream internally? Grab a highlighter and preserve that moment for posterity. This kind of reading is like the literary equivalent of mindful eating, letting you savor the book from beginning to end. Plus, next time you read this copy of the book, your notes will make it feel like you're re-experiencing the whole journey hand-in-hand with your past self.

Annotation can even help you become a more analytical reader to improve your own writing. Annotate books you love to identify what makes them work, from character development and plot progression to the beauty of descriptive language. Picking apart the mechanics hidden in your favorite books will make you a more thoughtful writer and suggest new elements to examine in your own work.

Annotation is perfect for any type of text

If you're only accustomed to taking notes on books you read for school, annotation may not seem quite natural at first. But this technique can be adapted to almost any kind of book. For instance, annotating a nonfiction book like a memoir or how-to guide is only a short jump from studying your textbooks of yore.

Annotation is also a great way to enhance your connection with fiction, encouraging you to look deeper into the story and characters. This can enrich your experience with any novel. You can even annotate texts like stage plays or books of poetry. Use close reading to really delve into the themes and language, annotating the phrases or imagery that resonate with you the most.

You don't even have to like a book to enjoy annotating it. Just as you might enjoy mocking a bad movie with friends, use annotation to roast a truly awful read. It can be cathartic and satisfying to scrawl your critiques into the margins, whether you're frustrated with unlikable characters or problems in the writing itself.

On the flip side, it can be a lot of fun annotating a book you love and want to share with a friend. Leaving behind notes, exclamations, and highlighted passages will create instant points of conversation as the book's next reader follows in your footsteps. This is especially entertaining if you have a regular reading buddy, as you can both annotate and swap books back and forth almost like trading notes in class.

Can you annotate books without writing in them?

If you're the type of reader who won't even fold down page corners, then the idea of writing in a book may give you the heebie-jeebies. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to annotate and personalize your copy of a favorite text without doing any permanent damage. One of the easiest and most popular ways to annotate a book without writing in it is the liberal use of sticky notes and tabs. Just scribble down your notes or questions and stick them to the page like an annotation bookmark.

If you have a lot to say, you can also pick up a separate notebook or bullet journal to serve as a one-stop shop for all your annotations. Record your thoughts, copy entire quotations, and take notes on informative content. For an even quicker, more helpful reference, jot down the page or chapter numbers you're referring to. Just keep in mind that page numbering may vary between editions of a particular text. Keeping a separate annotation notebook is especially handy if you prefer to read a lot of library books rather than purchasing your own copies. You may have to return a library book, but you can keep your annotation notebook in perpetuity. 

But what if you're an aficionado of e-books? Good news, tech-savvy reader: You can also annotate digital copies of all your favorite tomes. Whether you're a fan of Amazon's Kindle, the Barnes & Noble Nook, or a third-party e-reader, chances are good that your app has annotation capabilities. These may include adding notes, bookmarks, and even highlighting passages. While annotating an e-book may not be as intimate and visceral as decorating a physical text, it still provides you with an outlet to track your thoughts and reactions.

How to start annotating books

Once you decide to start experimenting with book annotation, a lot of it will be intuitive and specific to you. But before you get started, it can help to set yourself a few goals and ground rules to guide the arc of your annotation strategy. First, determine what kind of notes you want to make. Are you annotating purely for the joy of it? Then maybe your scribbled marginalia will be full of exclamations like "I love this!" and excited circles around your favorite phrases or moments.

If you're trying to emulate a book in your own writing, pick out a few specific facets you want to analyze and mark them as you go — whether you're more interested in big ideas like theme and structure or small flourishes like imagery and word choice. And if you're studying an educational book, you may want to start your annotation with an eye for unfamiliar terminology, key concepts, or useful explanations.

It can also help to create your own annotation color key before you begin, especially if you'll be making several different types of notes or remarks. For instance, use your favorite colored pen or highlighter to illuminate a phrase you loved, an aggressively neon color for things you want to remember, or a color you dislike for mistakes you'd want to avoid in your own writing.

You can also use colors to differentiate notes by purpose, such as using one hue to denote new vocabulary and another to highlight moments where the author cleverly derailed your expectations. Get creative and build this color code around your own annotation goals to make it work for you!

Book annotation supplies for beginners

How you choose to annotate your book collection will obviously depend on your goals and style. But certain tools and supplies may be useful to keep on hand. After all, you don't want to miss a flash of inspiration just because you can't find a pen. And the more eye-catching you make your annotations, the more memorable and inspiring they'll become. To that end, your book annotation kit should probably include most or all of the following supplies.

First and foremost, treat yourself to some nice pens in various colors. Make sure they're pleasant to write with, but won't bleed through the page. Felt-tipped pens may be too heavy, so consider colorful ballpoints or classic gel pens. A ruler is also handy to help keep any arrows and underlining neat. A 12-inch ruler can be a bit unwieldy, though, so keep an eye out for shorter options, like a miniature six-inch ruler. You may also want to grab a pack of assorted highlighters, which are great for easily color-coding noteworthy phrases or paragraphs.

To take your book annotations further, consider including sticky notes, note cards, and annotation tabs among your supplies. These are all useful tools for including longer thoughts without cramming a page or making annotations without physically marking up the text. Plus, book annotation tabs make it fast and convenient to find sections where you left a lot of notes. Or, if you're trying to keep your notes entirely separate, don't forget a notebook for all your observations.

Annotating informative texts

When you're reading any kind of educational or informative book, annotation helps engage your brain by making studying more interactive. Plus, leaving yourself notes and bookmarks essentially creates a study guide as you go, so you know which chapters, pages, and passages to revisit when you want to review what you've learned.

To get the most out of an informative text, here are a few key ways to use annotation to your advantage. First, be sure to highlight any must-remember points. You can also mark passages you need clarification on, so you know where to dive deep or ask for outside help. By the same token, consider underlining moments where an explanation clicked for you, so you can cement the whole concept in your brain.

Sometimes, you may run across new ideas that aren't explained in the book itself. Mark any references you want to research more later, like unfamiliar scientific principles, mythological figures, or historical events. You can even broaden your vocabulary this way by tagging new words you didn't know before. In no time at all, your book will become more than the sum of its parts as you turn it into an index for your own education and growth.

Annotating books just for fun

When it comes to annotating a book just for funsies, the options are nearly limitless. Highlight a favorite quote or a sensory detail that made your breath catch. Note down examples of successfully paced dialogue. Point out moments when someone seemed to behave out of character, and why you think so. Underline recurring imagery and motifs, then see if you can identify their significance as you read.

You can also record bigger ideas in your annotations, like plot predictions. Think you know who committed the murder or how the author is going to reveal a big twist? Make a note. Later, you can look back and see if you got it right. Sometimes, a book may even give you an idea for your own project. Go ahead and write it down in your annotations so you can keep reading without losing that spark of inspiration. And if you're the artistic type, there's no rule saying you can't draw in the pages of a book. Turn your favorite tome into a one-of-a-kind illuminated manuscript by doodling in the corners and margins.

In the end, book annotation is what you make of it. There are no hard and fast rules, just the gut feeling that something matters. Anytime a word, phrase, or plot development makes you pause, think about why it caught your attention. It's probably worth annotating!

Recommended

How to Annotate a Book for Fun

As we all know, reading is a great activity. Whether you read for pleasure, to pass the time or in order to learn a new skill or gather information about a historical event, the benefits you get from reading are countless.

If you want to take your experience to the next level and better understand and remember more of what you read, it may be a good idea to look into how to annotate a book.

While annotating books does have several benefits, which we will explore later on, learning how to do it efficiently and without ruining your books takes a bit of practice and experience. But first, let’s see what annotating a book actually means.

What Is Annotating a Book?

Book annotating is defined as the action of highlighting or underlining text in a book or even making notes directly on the pages read, in order to achieve a better understanding of the information or to remember the key elements of the material. 

While the reasoning behind book annotations can differ from one individual to the other, the habit of making notes on books has been around for centuries. Let’s see how annotating a book is justified and what benefits it can bring a reader. 

Why Should You Annotate Books?

Whether you’re a student learning basic skills from school books or simply a casual reader who enjoys spending time leafing through an interesting novel, we are sure that you felt the need to make an annotation in a book or to highlight part of the text, at least once. Well, your instincts were correct, as annotating can help you tremendously while reading. Here’s how:

1. A Better Understanding of the Book

The fact that reading and writing activate different parts of the brain is old news. How that affects our understanding of the texts we consume is a different story. By writing, we activate parts of our brains responsible for analytical thinking (among others). 

This, in turn, means that by writing notes or annotating books while reading makes us understand the text more in-depth since we are more invested in the content and we are actively looking for details or important ideas. 

2. Remembering the Main Ideas From What You Read

In a pretty similar way, writing things down has a huge effect on the amount of information we remember while reading. 

By activating our brains in a more complex manner, we ensure that the reading we do has a more notable impact on our minds, which in turn means that the amount of information we will remember will be considerably bigger.

Whether you simply underline the important parts of the texts or highlight sections you find interesting or even make side notes directly on the book, this process increases your chances of storing the relevant information in your long-term memory instead of simply forgetting it hours after you’ve finished reading.

3. Great Way of Keeping Track of the Main Ideas in Case You Need to Write a Book Summary

While reading a book you know you need to write a summary about , you will surely try to pay more attention to some of the important details, you will follow the action timeline more carefully and you will try to remember the content in a way which will allow you to recreate it in writing later on.

A good way of keeping track of all the details is to simply take notes in one form or another while reading. You can underline or highlight the parts of the text which contain information that is essential for the summary. Alternatively, you can even write short notes of your own thoughts directly in the book, and this whole active reading and annotating process will be of tremendous help when it comes to actually putting pen to paper and writing your summary.

4. It Helps You Read Actively

The process of active reading involves a different level of determination to understand the information you are reading. On top of this, it comes with an additional layer of motivation and a clear intent not only to comprehend the reading material but also to evaluate it and process it internally through our own filters and judgment. 

Annotating books while reading them makes you feel more engaged with the text, keeps you more focused and concentrated for longer periods of time, and adds value to every reading session. Reading actively increases your comprehension and information retention levels, and helps you reach new levels in terms of the reading experience you enjoy.

What Annotation Tools Do You Need?

Sometimes, learning how to properly annotate a book is as easy as figuring out what the right tools are for the job. There is a little more to it than picking the right writing utensils and other materials you may need for proper book annotations, but we all know that even the most skilled artists are just as good as their tools allow them to be. 

Since we are dedicated here at Basmo to making you the ultimate reader and providing you with all the knowledge you need to meet your own personal goals, here is what you truly need if you want to annotate your books like a pro.

1. Pen/Pencil

One of the most common ways to annotate books remains the classic pen-and-paper method, even though we have the right technology to approach this process in completely different manners. That being said, regardless of whether you will actually do the writing directly on the book or on sticky notes, you are going to definitely need a pen or a pencil. You might think that it doesn’t really matter and that you will have the same results with any of them.

You would be partly right. There is a huge difference between the two though. With a pen, your scribbles will remain permanent. So if you are making your annotations directly on the book, you might want to consider the fact that your book will never look the same again. If we were given the opportunity to decide this for you, we would recommend you annotate directly on your books with a pencil instead.

Using a pen is ideal for when you do the annotations on sticky notes or index cards. 

2. Highlighters

If you’re looking to learn how to annotate a book quickly, you might benefit from knowing that one of the best tips for annotating books is to just highlight the important information instead of scribbling on the book. After all, using colors for annotating books is a great way to make the most relevant data stand out.

By highlighting the most relevant information, you get to enjoy benefits that are somewhat similar to those of actually annotating and you can later find the data that matters to you a lot easier. Plus, it’s quite fun. Highlighters come in a great variety of colors, which can make it very facile for you to organize the data. 

3. Sticky Notes

Learning how to annotate a book with sticky notes comes with a huge series of benefits. Sticky notes or sticky tabs can be used to make notes while reading without damaging the book in your hand. Instead of writing your thoughts directly on the book and ruining it forever, use sticky notes or sticky tabs. 

You can write whatever feels important while reading, and you can leave the sticky notes in the book exactly on the page or near the paragraph your note is related to. Annotating books with sticky notes can also work great if you want to color code the information. Sticky notes are cheap and easy to use.

4. Index Cards 

Index cards are another great annotation tool that allows you to keep your books in mint condition while giving you a chance to enjoy all the benefits of annotating while reading.

Index cards are somewhat bigger than sticky notes, which gives you enough room for more complex notes. Even though they have the disadvantage of having no adhesive so they cannot be placed in fixed places in the book, they do present some benefits. 

You can place them in the book on the pages the notes are related to, or you can take them away with you in case you will need to use that information without the need of carrying the entire book.

5. Notebook/Laptop

Going a step forward in terms of the complexity of the process, if you want your book annotations to be done in a more professional way, you are going to need either a notebook or a laptop. 

This will come with certain advantages like having all your notes and annotations in one place, while also preserving the integrity of your books. 

6. Phone/App

As you probably know by now, your phone can do amazing things. One of those things is being a pretty great annotation tool, believe it or not.

Whether you choose to use your phone as a way to simply write some notes as you would on a laptop or notebook or you go for one of the most advanced ways to annotate, using a dedicated app, your phone is going to play a crucial role in the process.

How to Annotate a Book?

Now that you have an idea about why book annotating is a good habit and how it can be beneficial to you, let’s dive into the most common methods of book annotating. If we are strictly looking at the big picture, there are two main ways to annotate, and the great difference between them is the state your books are left after the process is over. 

That being said, let’s explore the annotation methods that involve adding notes physically within the books, and further below we will look into the more book-friendly ways to annotate that will leave your books in mint condition.

1. Highlighting or Underlining Text 

Whether it’s a quote you want to be able to find later, an important part of the text you need to remember, or a new word you want to learn and introduce in your vocabulary, highlighting or underlining them directly in the book is definitely one of your options.

You can use a colorful sharpie to highlight the relevant text, which will make it pop on the page and be more visible for you the next time you go through the book. 

Alternatively, if highlighting doesn’t do it for you for whatever reason, you can use a pen or a pencil for underlining. The effect is quite similar, the main difference being the use of color and the general aspect of the book once you’re done reading it.

2. Writing Directly in the Book, on the Sides of Pages, or at the End of the Chapters

Whenever you encounter an interesting paragraph or you feel the need to make a note of your thoughts while reading, you can simply write them down directly in the book, on the side of the pages they are located on. 

Alternatively, if you’re about to write longer annotations, such as a summary or the main ideas from a chapter, you can do so at the end of the chapter. There is usually plenty of room there for your thoughts.

3. Making Notes on the Bottom of the Pages With Asterisks

Don’t be afraid to use asterisks whenever you are annotating a book. They are a very effective way of making sure you remember what your notes from the bottom of a page are in relation to. 

Simply add an asterisk next to the part of the text you want to write something about and then add the asterisk on the bottom of the page where you will write your own thoughts about that phrase or paragraph. 

How to Annotate a Book Without Writing in It?

For those of us who love books not only for their content but also as objects, the annotating  methods I presented above come with the huge disadvantage of leaving a mark on the books.

While some readers enjoy having the books annotated and showing the signs of the work that has been put into reading, understanding, and remembering them, others prefer to have them immaculate, and in mint condition.

If you’re in the latter category, you may want to have a look at the annotating methods below, which are guaranteed to leave no trace in your beloved books.

1. Stick Post-it Notes in the Book

Yes, it could be that easy. Simply keep a couple of post-it notes handy whenever you are reading a book you plan to annotate. Whenever you encounter an interesting paragraph or you feel the need to make a note, paste a post-it note to the page, next to the part of the text you want to write about and write on it.

Not only will this leave no marks on the book, but it also gives you a lot more space than you would have to write on if you were to do it directly on the pages. You can even use different shapes, sizes, or colors if you want to take the organization of your thoughts to a new level or if you want to be particularly thorough with your notes.

While this is a pretty clever way of keeping your books looking like new, it does have some disadvantages. For starters, every post-it note you add will obstruct the visibility of the text behind it. Also, in time they may become unstuck, potentially leaving you without your precious notes.

2. Use Index Cards

Learning how to annotate books with tabs or sticky notes is great, but there is another technique out there you should definitely know about. Using index cards is a great way to make notes while reading and you can easily use them as an annotation tool as well.

The key to a successful annotation process with index cards is to come up with a solution to keep them within the book. Whether you just place them in the book on the pages they are related to or you use some tape to fix them in place, index cards are a great way to make complex notes without ruining the book.

3. Write the Main Ideas From the Book in a Dedicated Notebook

An alternative to the post-it notes method is to simply have a separate notebook where you can add your thoughts. Obviously, you will have to come up with a system to keep track of your notes and to mark somehow what parts of the text they are in relation to.

This will leave you adding small asterisks or numbers in the book to match the order of your notes, which will mean that your books will not be completely immaculate, or will force you to add a lot of additional information to each note like the page and paragraph the note is referring to, which will end up taking a lot more of your time than it should.

4. Go Digital and Use Your Laptop Instead

If the drawbacks of using the pen-and-paper methods above are too much for you and you feel the process is holding you back, you can use digital alternatives instead.

You can use your laptop or PC to do your annotations as long as you also use some sort of annotation color key or another way to give yourself a way to follow and track the information. Use asterisks on the book or use colored sticky notes to mark the pages you are making the annotations on your laptop for. 

This gives you a lot of freedom in terms of the format of your annotations, the tools you use, how you organize your notes, and what you do with them. You can use a plethora of tools and you can learn to extract a lot of value from your annotations.

5. Use a Reading Tracking App 

Since we’re in the digital era and the technology required to help us in most aspects of our lives exists, it would make perfect sense to find ways to implement it into our reading to a certain extent. 

Reading apps are amazing tools that can become available to you on your smartphone or tablet with just a couple of taps, with a plethora of features that can boost your reading experience.

If we take Basmo as a concrete example, let’s have a look at how it can be the perfect solution for your book annotating needs. 

While a reading session is ongoing, you can write your notes directly on your smartphone or tablet. The app also has an integrated feature that allows you to scan the pages of a book, making it extremely easy for you to jot down your thoughts and keep them relevant to the parts of the book they are connected to.

All you have to do is:

• Open Basmo. 
• Start your reading session. 
• Right at the bottom of your screen, there is a Scan page button. 
• Tap on it and record all the pages you want. 

Needless to say, using a reading app like Basmo to annotate your books will leave them intact, while being as effective, if not even more so, as any other option I presented above. The fact that you would always have access to your notes, even without carrying the book with you is clearly a huge advantage. Plus, your chances of ever losing your notes are practically zero.

What Is the Best Way to Annotate a Book?

Regardless of how you put it, there’s no better option for annotating a book than using a reading tracking app . Here are a couple of reasons why:

• Portability – you will always have access to your notes as long as you have your phone or tablet with you
• Your books will look as good as new
• You can easily write your notes while reading
• You can scan the relevant pages from books and extract the text from the relevant paragraphs and edit it
• You won’t even need a pen – when’s the last time you needed a pen? The last time I needed one, it took me a good 30 minutes to find one at home

If you’re looking for a good reading app that can also help you annotate your books without ruining them, keep in mind that Basmo offers all the advantages above and then some.

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What Is the Difference Between Annotating for Fun and Annotating for Learning?

Learning how to annotate a book for fun can be a great way of improving your reading performance and the overall experience. But annotating can be used for different purposes, and one of them is actually learning. Which raises the question: how to annotate a book for school?

Well, there are many quite important differences between “for fun” annotations and “for school” annotations. The process, while similar in many cases, is also very different depending on the final goal of your reading session. Here are some of the most notable differences between annotating for fun and annotating as a studying strategy.

• Annotating books for fun is a great way to experience reading at a deeper level even when you do it in a leisurely fashion or as a form of entertainment. This gives you the freedom to annotate the book however you see fit and focus on whatever you feel is important. On the other hand, annotating for school has a clearer purpose and should be done with more attention to the actual assignment.
• Annotating a book for school is usually a process that requires more structure and focusing on a specific format. On the other hand, when you annotate a book for your own benefit, you generally have complete freedom in terms of the way you do it, how or if you color code the information, and what you are looking to achieve through the process.
• What you will focus on through the annotation process is also going to be quite different depending on whether you annotate the book for fun or for studying. When studying, the focus is generally going to be put on actual information, concrete data, and relevant details. When annotating books for fun, you are most likely going to focus more on your emotions, things you like or dislike, and the overall experience of reading a particular text.

What to Annotate in a Book?

There’s a huge number of things you want to jot down while reading a book, especially if you’re reading actively, with a clear intention of being able to use one way or another the information you’re getting from it. Here are a couple of the most common things readers like you annotate in books.

1. Main Ideas From the Book

Especially if you’re supposed to also write a book summary or review about the novel you’re reading, the main ideas are an essential thing you’ll be looking to find. Obviously, it’s always a good idea to write those down as you discover them in the text, so you don’t forget them.

You can either highlight relevant paragraphs which reveal them, add notes directly in the book when you identify them or use an app like Basmo to scan the pages that are important and add your notes digitally.

You already know which option we would choose, but the way you decide to do it is obviously up to you.

There aren’t many things that are more satisfying than finding a quote you love in a book you’re reading. Whether it’s a saying that is relevant for you, an idea you relate to, or a couple of words that you think could motivate you in the future, if you love it, you must write it down and use it somehow in the future.

You have the option to underline or highlight the quotes directly in the book, but among the many disadvantages of this method, the most important ones are the fact that you will not have access to your quotes without carrying a bunch of books with you and the fact that those books will clearly not be as new.

A little fun fact about reading apps: some of them, Basmo included, offer you the option to write down your favorite quotes (for example, your favorite quotes about reading books ) and save them for later use.

Basmo, for example, gives you the option to write notes while reading, format them in many different ways to make them as compelling as possible, and also offers you a feature that can convert your favorite quotes to images. All this, while keeping your books intact.

3. Important Information About the Plot

Clearly one of the most important aspects of any novel is the action that is being narrated. Therefore, many of the notes readers have the tendency to make are directly related to the plot.

Especially if you’re supposed to write a summary of the book you’re reading, annotating the essential parts of the action is a must in order to be able to recreate the timeline effectively.

4. Unfamiliar Words

We all know that reading is one of the most effective ways of enriching our vocabulary . Depending on the complexity of the book we’re reading and our experience, we are likely to discover words we never encountered before.

While sometimes we can easily deduct from context what their meaning is, we will sometimes need to look them up online or in a physical dictionary. If you uncover words you’re unfamiliar with, it’s a good idea to simply mark them directly in the book or even to make a note of their meaning next to them. 

Doing this will help us remember them and will make it easier for us to include them in our day-to-day vocabulary.

5. What You Like/Dislike

What you like or dislike is an important part of your reading experience. You should never hesitate to admit (at least to yourself) what your favorite parts and least favorite parts of a book are. 

That way, you acknowledge how you feel and you have your own notes to guide you toward a different book, author, or genre.

You can use annotating as a great tool for improving your reading experience. Not only will the process push you toward active reading, which enhances your comprehension and retention levels, but you will also read more mindfully . 

Mindfulness is a great way to experience reading because it pushes your awareness level and this makes it a lot easier for you to actually realize what your likes and dislikes are while reading. This gives you a chance to adapt your reading habits so you can make reading a more enjoyable activity.

6. Jot Down the Emotions You Feel When Reading Certain Parts of the Text

We all know that reading is an emotional rollercoaster. It is a lot more than just liking or disliking a book. You can use annotations to mark down the exact phrases, paragraphs, or even chapters that have a powerful impact on your emotions.

That way, you are going to get to know yourself better, and you will gain a much deeper understanding of who you are and what your emotional triggers are, which, in turn, is going to give your emotional intelligence a massive boost. 

Does a certain paragraph make you feel particularly sad? Explore those feelings, jot down a couple of words that best describe what you’re feeling, and re-visit that paragraph a while later to see if anything changed. Do some introspection and use your notes to guide you in this process.

7. Your Own Ideas or Predictions

A great way to enhance your reading experience is to try to use your prior knowledge and imagination to predict where the action is going. Try to figure out what will happen in the book you are reading way before you finish reading it.

You can annotate the pages that give you clues about the outcome of the story, try and make your own predictions about the next big thing that is going to happen, and the best part: you get to check back and see if you were right!

Final Thoughts on How to Annotate Books

Now that you have all the relevant information about book annotating, how to do it, why to do it, and what to look for when deciding on the method you want to use, I am sure you can make an informed decision.

While some avoid annotating their books in order to not ruin them, annotations are oftentimes essential, especially if you’re reading actively.

Use Basmo the next time you have to annotate your books and see for yourself how modern technology can finally improve habits we’ve had for hundreds or thousands of years.

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Take Note With These Book Annotation Kits

Kelly Jensen

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen .

View All posts by Kelly Jensen

Book annotation is having a moment, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that because more and more of social media is driven visually — from Instagram to TikTok — we’re seeing more readers show off how much they’re engaging with a text. It is kind of neat to think a very online world of book lovers is fueling a very offline way of connecting with the written word. I’ve always been someone who is unafraid to mark up a book, but for a long time, that was not something people wanted to hear because of the idea books are sacred objects. They…are not. There are valuable books, but chances are the book you’ve picked up at the store is not that. There is joy in writing in your books and connecting with the text in a very physical way.

Because of the burgeoning trend of showcasing book annotation, it should come as little surprise there is also a place for readers to purchase tools to do their own annotation. Sure, you could hit up the local big box store for some sticky notes, pens, and highlighters, but there’s something a little more special grabbing a kit that’s pre-assembled by a fellow word nerd. Not to mention, they’re often a little more aesthetically pleasing if you don’t have access to a specialty stationary store (I know I don’t!).

If book annotation is new to you, never fear. You can learn five ways to effectively annotate your books , how annotation helps your memory (I know this is why I take notes while reading!), ideas for how to annotate your books , and finally, how to enjoy annotating your books .

Let’s take a look at some rad book annotation kits you can snag off Etsy.

First up, choose a favorite color and have an annotation kit which focuses exclusively on it. The above is a nice blue set with highlighter, pen, and sticky tabs galore. $20.

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The aesthetics of this book annotation kit are great. You can choose your pouch to keep all of your goods inside, and you’ll get sticky tabs, highlighters, pens, washi tape, and more. $22.

Keep it simple with an annotation kit that has the essentials — plus a handy key to help you with how to annotate a book. You can choose your highlighter color, too. $8.

This is a super cute kit that comes with highlighters, sticky tabs, a bookmark, and a key to annotation. You can add a fun notepad for a little extra as well. Starts at $22.

Not only do you get everything pictured above (minus the book), but it’ll come in a really cute pouch to keep all of your annotating goods together. $19.

There are several color options in this annotation kit which includes pens (those Staedtlers are some of my favorites), a highlighter, pencil, sticky tabs, and a pouch. Grab yours for $13.

Keep it classic with this annotation kit that comes with a handy pouch. I’m a fan of the annotation of the annotation kit, ngl. $10.

I would be remiss not to mention a couple of other things here. First, if you want to buy a pre-annotated book by a reader, you can. Some of the above-linked shops have ’em. Second, if you’re in the market for just some great book tabs and how to use them , we’ve got you covered on that. It was hard not to link up to a billion cute book tabs here.

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