Mortimer Adler, who wrote How to Read a Book, has penned a short essay on How to Mark a Book. If you read, this essay is worth reading. I don’t agree with everything that he says, but he says much that is valuable, especially for those who are now developing reading habits for a lifetime (esp. college students and recent grads). Two choice quotes:
Confusion about what it means to “own” a book leads people to a false reverence for paper, binding, and type — a respect for the physical thing — the craft of the printer rather than the genius of the author. They forget that it is possible for a man to acquire the idea, to possess the beauty, which a great book contains, without staking his claim by pasting his bookplate inside the cover. Having a fine library doesn’t prove that its owner has a mind enriched by books; it proves nothing more than that he, his father, or his wife, was rich enough to buy them….
Or, you may say that this business of marking books is going to slow up your reading. It probably will. That’s one of the reasons for doing it. Most of us have been taken in by the notion that speed of reading is a measure of our intelligence. There is no such thing as the right speed for intelligent reading. Some things should be read quickly and effortlessly and some should be read slowly and even laboriously. The sign of intelligence in reading is the ability to read different things differently according to their worth. In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through you — how many you can make your own. A few friends are better than a thousand acquaintances.
HT: JT
In response to your title, I do write in books. Quite a lot. I don’t like highlighters, because I feel like it is too invasive. I use a pen, preferablly one of a different color than the text of the book, preferably Green, though I often use Red and Blue. I underline important phrases, circle important words, draw a line in the margin by important sentences, draw an arrow in the margin by crucial setences, box important paragraphs, and write questions in the margin. I feel like it helps me pay attention when reading, and helps me find what I am looking for when I go back to a book. If I really think a book is important I create my own index on the back page as I go, but I don’t do that too often.
Eric Zeller
foolishblog.com
Eric, I totally disagree. The problem is that you don ‘t have the right highlighter (I recommend the Sharpie Accent Liquid Highlighter [where you can actually see the liquid in it]). Underlining with pen or pencil is much too sloppy, unless you are using a ruler.
:-)
Todd ‘s next post: “How NOT to Mark a Library Book”
The point of writing in a book is to emphasize certain things without attracting inordinate attention. Personally, I dislike obtrusive markings that obscure the text. I once received a photocopied excerpt from a professor that was so lined and scribbled, I could barely make out what the original text said, and I had little desire to try. Admittedly, giving up was my fault. But I had to wade through someone else’s exuberant scratches.
I have been known to write in my Bible, too– any opinions on that? Little cross-references jotted down help me out in study. Friends’ names in margins near specific verses remind me to pray. I cherish the “Nov 2005” I wrote (in pen) in the margin near Acts 16-18– noting the date God gave me the opportunity to retrace Paul’s steps on his second missionary journey.
My Bible should reflect my life, perhaps in more than one way. My behavior should increasingly conform to the Son of whom the Word speaks; and my personal interactions with the Word are noted in its pages.
All that said, I’m already wishing I had read “How to Read a Book” before my last semester of college. But as long as I have sight to read, it is not too late…
I am a grad student. I have have on average one book per class per week to read and am expected to come ready to discuss it critically in class. It is almost impossible to do that successfully without writing in the book or taking notes somewhere else. I love clean books, so I resist a lot of markings. I tend to bracket and star key excerpts. I think I dislike making a lot of markings because when I see highlighting and underlining that other people have done in books because I start to read what they consider important and fail to make my own assessment of it and want to leave my books in a condition that makes it readable for others.
(I should actually read my comments before I post them so that the superfluous “because” in the last sentence might be caught in time to avoid making such a mistake for the eyes of the public.)
I NEVER used to write in books because I made the mentioned mistake of hallowing the pages instead of the ideas on the pages. I’m beginning to learn how to write and mark up my books.
I need to apologize for posting a ridiculously long comment! What can I say, but that books are a huge part of my life. :)
I love books, but care not to own them. On our ingnorant quest into blatent materialism we have fooled ourselves into believing that we have the “right” to own a book. Why not…
A) Buy books for other people to shape their thinking.
B) Get a free library card for ourselves.
this of course solves the problem of
1)having to buy a pencil
and…
2)having to buy a book
this allows more money for things such as an overpriced education. =)
Jeremy,
Buy used books online and mark away! If your reading becomes esoteric enough you will find the library doesn’t carry what you’re looking for (eg. history, theology, archaeology, even a recent edition of a classic novel – ever see how yellowed their literary classics are? When you get old eyes you NEED white pages!) Also, if you ever teach, you will be glad to quickly find that quote or passage you’re looking for.
My kids intend to fight over who inherits my books, and their “markings” some day. Some of me will be left behind in them.