Annotating your favorite quotes

Annotating a book is when you write, tab, and jot down your thoughts about a book. Yes, you do write in the book, but for the right reasons. Most use annotating when you study a textbook, they would write directly into the book, and tap all the important information that they need to know. That might be familiar, but you can also do that with a book you read for pleasure. Most people freak out when I tell them I write in my books because they don't see the advantages that come with it.

There are many advantages to annotating your books. they really help with getting to know the book versus just reading it. I always feel more connected with the book when I annotate, its also very use full if you want to review the book. When I review a book I always annotate it because I can write down my thoughts and tab the pages I want to write about, having text evidence is always really use full when writing a book review. Annotating also helps you not just look at the text, it helps you take in the information because of your comment and write your thoughts into the book.

There are many different methods when it comes to annotating your books. If you're annotating your books for class some teachers have there owned specific ways that they teach you to annotate, so today I am going to show you a few different ways you can annotate. I want you to remember that annotating is a personal thing and that can be changed for anyone's preference.

1. sticky notes and tabs

When I say tabs I mean clear and colored tabs (here is a link above to the ones I personally use). I use these to mark pages or thinks inside the text. you can also use a regular sticky note. I like the clear ones because you can still read the text when you go to tab your page. Using bigger sticky notes give you the opportunity to write on them if you want, they also let you cover a bigger area.

Something that a lot of people like to do with sticky notes is color code. Color coding lets you look at the tab on the side of the book and lets you know why you tab that spot. For example, I might put a pink tab on a page if I love something that happened on that page, or I might put a blue sticky note if something sad happened on that page. Others like to just put random colors of sticky notes.

the color code I use is:

Pink- if I loved something, like a quote, or a scene. it could also be a character relationship that I really love.

Orange- I use this for anything funny if a character did something that made me laugh, or a situation and happens in the book that is really funny.

Yellow- This is what I use for an important point that I feel like affect the story. like really distanced things that happen in the book.

Green- I use green for anything that has to do with characters. Like if a new character introduced, or they have a change in the heart like a character arc.

Blue- like I mentioned above I use this color for anything sad. when some part makes me cry or I feel bad for them I tab blue.

Indigo- I use this for any part in the book that makes me mad. It could be at a character or an event that happened.

Violet- I use this if I don't like something in the book. when I say this I mean if I am reviewing a book and there is something negative in terms of writing.

2. Writing and highlighting

If there is one thing I think you should do when annotating is writing. Writing in your books are a key part of annotating, meaning that you should write down any thought that you have on the book when reading. This can range from what you think will happen next to whether you like what's happening. Many people use many different tools when writing in there books, I personally just use a regular ballpoint pen, I find that these don't bleed through the paper as much as other pens but I have seen others use --------------- and ------------------. When I annotate for school I would always use a pencil so I could erase it, but again it is all about preference.

Highlighting I don't think is as needed but when highlighting you want to keep in mind what type of highlighters you are using, I recommend gel highlighters. These are crayons like highlighters that don't bleed or smear. When I use highlighters I fallow the same color code I use for sticky notes but instead of marking the whole page I would mark the line or paragraph for that color. Some people use different colored pencils and just underline or color the text and I think that fine. I say use what you have, personally, I like to use highlighters but it is up to you.

3. Just other tips and tricks

When I started I would always start with the books that I have already read and know to reread. When starting out it's really nice to do that because you already know the story so its easier to jot down your thoughts. Some don't like annotating because they think it takes too long to read the book, but I think its better if you read a book and know all of the stories and really dive into it it's better then just reading the book as fast as you can.

Overall I really hope this helped you start annotating and getting you started on your amazing reading journey. After your done with the book I think you will feel a different sort of attachments to it that you haven't felt before. Whenever I ask my friend why they liked a certain book they always answer "because it was good" they never really give me a reason why, and I use to do that all the time... until I started annotating. Annotating really lets you better understand what about the book you love or you hate, so when you participate in book clubs, book talks, or even reviewing the book you will know exactly why you like, or dislike it. If none of this has convinced you to give annotating a try I don't know what will but I hope you enjoyed.

#quotes #annotations