Taking Notes

I thought I might as well document one of my little "life hacks".

1. When I start a new book I stick a few post-its on the first page inside the cover. That way there's always some paper around to write notes on.

2. When I fill up a post-it I move it, either to the inside back cover or the inside front cover.

3. The added benefit of using post-its is that when I come to type up the notes (so I never lose them and can search them), the post-its stick handily to the side of the monitor.

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Comments

Richard Carter says:

And you write in red ink because...?
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

Louise Oldfield says:

You make notes of each book you read? Or you use the new book as a place to store notes you make in general?
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

groc says:

haven't you got the teeeeny tiniest handwriting?
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

nhighberg says:

My handwriting is way too big for that, but it's a great idea.
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

shutterbug70 says:

ok. cool idea.
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

Phil Gyford says:

I wrote in red ink then because I was staying in a caravan while reading that book and a red biro happened to be the only pen to hand.

I usually make notes of most non-fiction books I read, otherwise I don't remember any of it. At least this way some of it sticks.

I have teeny tiny handwriting in this case because it's the only way to get a useful amount of text onto a postit!
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

caterina says:

This is a great thing. I will try to post an image of my favorite section of Ulysses, and the marginalia and post-it notes therein.
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

blndcat says:

For non-fiction books I just write notes directly on the pages themselves.

Usually there is no need to make long notes. A few words or a question in the margins jogs my memory or helps me think critically about the paragraph or point it is next to.

My tip is to carry and use a multi -coloured ball point (the unfashionable 3in1 or 4in1 type)
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

Phil Gyford says:

I'm far too precious about such things - I can't bear to write notes on the pages, underline things, or even turn down corners.
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

asoudack says:

Your discipline is admirable. And I'm with you on not dog-earing books and so on.

Question about the last step in the process: how do you keep your notes organised once typed?

I'm struggling with issues of "personal content management". Any suggestions?
thanks!
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

mills70 says:

I tried to write comments once, and I did it in such a light pencil, it was altogether pointless.

I did some of what Phil did once in my copy of Travels in Hyperreality. These days, I just blog my reading as a memory aid.
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

Phil Gyford says:

Avishai - When I've typed my notes up I post them on my site: www.gyford.com/phil/notes/

Occasionally they're useful to other people, and having them online means they're slightly easier for me to refer to than if they were elsewhere.
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

SendakSeuss says:

Lovely thing about the web is that someone can come along and see something like this 9 months after it was posted.
I think that I will give this trick a try. My wife (and her mother) refuse to dog ear a book, but will write in margins and in between lines, underline, color code, etc.
I try to read a book before the wife gets her hands on it when I can, but have to admit that it's interesting sometimes to see what a previous reader's thoughts on a particular passage were.
I love finding hand-written notes in my father's old books and my grandparents' books as well.
So, I suppose I could write notes and then return them to the book similar to my mother-in-law who keeps all sorts of relevant news articles on a book in the back of the book.
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

creativesista21 says:

Love this idea! Will use it in the future!
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

malfunctioningloser [deleted] says:

When I had to write an essay for my AP English class I just used a plain pencil to write where I needed and underlined. It was mostly underlining and then if I found a section I thought I could use for the essay I would underline it differently or use some smaller post-its to mark the page and write a short idea of the post-it. Does that make sense? I like that idea too, for in general stuff. But if I needed something specific I would put it on a smaller note next to that paragraph.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taking Notes

Comments

Richard Carter says:

Louise Oldfield says:

groc says:

nhighberg says:

shutterbug70 says:

Phil Gyford says:

caterina says:

blndcat says:

Phil Gyford says:

asoudack says:

mills70 says:

Phil Gyford says:

SendakSeuss says:

creativesista21 says:

malfunctioningloser [deleted] says:

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