I had been a reader for as long as I can remember. However, never I felt the need to take notes. Taking note is a new habit I picked up just at the beginning of last year, and I think I would rather not reading without note taking now.
Why is it important for me?
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always read for leisure. That, I think, will never change. What changed now is what is there after I finished my reading and how I read it.
As books kept filling my shelf and I was pondering on how my hobby will be benefiting for me and others, I started to reactivate my blog to write reviews on book I had finished. The goal are simple. This is the way I appreciate my own effort of finishing a book. You know, when you read for pleasure, the story will just evaporate off your mind. “Writing them will make them more important.” That’s what Amy March said, and I can’t agree less. Another goal is I wish by looking at how passionate I am with the books I read and how I reflects on it, people–friends, acquaintances–who read my reviews will pick either the book I read or any books at all and start reading. It will be great if they take my entries as inspiration for them to read.
With that goal in mind, of course I want to keep track on what I read. Forgetful as I am, I need to take note on important points from the books or things that interest me. Yep, I need to collect information to be able to write a review. I had incorporated the habit to my reading activity now, that I would find it strange to not carry my reading journal and stationary in my bag along with the book I read at that time.
what my reading journal looks like
First of all, I have this Reading Journals. It’s just a random notebook one could buy anywhere. I cover it with brown paper to hide the randomness of its original cover (as random as popular anime I don’t know of anymore) to make it uniform since I know I will continue making series of them. FYI, I’m now on my fifth notebook.
On the first page of each journal, I write an index listing down the book I read, along with the number pages. Therefore, I could easily find the note I took if I need to look at it another time. The second page is filled with a list of book I wish to purchase, and I tick it off when I finally had them. The next pages are for the real thing when I dive into reading and taking note when it’s needed.
the art of note taking
“The messier the better”
I enjoy everything that needs a hands-on, hand-writing is one of those. I was even thinking to write this very journal entry by hand first, but I find it rather inefficient to write it twice when the entry is this long. Lol. But that is why I make a conventional reading journal, not a digital one.
As I am not a tidy person, I enjoy scribbling on my reading journal. I don’t care if it looks messy or dirty. You might see crossed out words given that I didn’t bring my correction pen at that time, or tables and diagram to help me understand a concept better. This is found mostly when I read non-fiction books.
“Post-it I need you”
Sometimes, taking a break on the page I currently read will break the train of thoughts that comes with my understanding of a chapter. That’s when post-it comes to the rescue. I write down my reflection on an important point from the page, and later I’ll collect the post-its and stick them on my reading journal in sequence.
“Things I jot down”
Also, when I write down quotes or important points from the book, I write down the number page from the book. It will help someday when I want to see the context from where the quotes or points are taken.
Taking notes on fiction is easier. I usually just jot down quotations that I find interesting, or write my reflection on something that the author pointed out. Again, as I use my note-taking as a preparation for writing a book review, I also note the delivery of the author, what I like or not like about the story, the characterization, etc. You know, the standard points people look for when writing a book review.
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Are you a note taker too? How do you take notes? Do you have another habit while reading? Kindly share it in comment section below.
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Dream Beads 