Do You Write in Your Books?
Unlocking the mysteries of marginalia. Delve into the fascinating world of writing notes in books, learning tips, tricks, and all the benefits of annotating your reading material.
A magical thing happened this morning.
I woke up, spent an hour writing, took the dog for a pee, cooked some porridge and heated soup for my daughter's lunch. And then there was a sharp bang as a tiny songbird hit the kitchen window.
This happens sometimes. We have large picture windows in our house, which are wonderful for us humans to look out from, but the birds become disoriented by the reflections. Sometimes they survive the bang against the glass. Sometimes they don't. Sadly, this one didn't.
This is not the magical thing.
I drove my daughter to school as she had to be there earlier than usual. Out of the kindness of my heart, I agreed to drive her. Usually, she walks.
By the time I arrived back home my stomach was rumbling and my mouth dry. I could finally sit down to eat my breakfast.
I decided to read the news which I don’t often do as usually I listen to the radio. Today was different. As I scrolled, not really reading anything, I see it - The mysterious doodles hidden in a 1,300-year-old book.
THIS is the magical thing.
Several centuries ago, a woman, possibly a nun, scratched her name in several places on the pages of an 8th-century pamphlet, a copy of the Act of Apostles from the Christian New Testament. This small book is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, UK.
The woman, named Eadburg, used a dry-point writing implement, cutting the surface of the paper so lightly the letters are almost invisible to the naked eye. Intriguingly, further on, small doodles of people appear. Some are drawn with a square face or with a body drawn around the shape of a thumb. Some have their arms outstretched and their faces carry a deadpan expression.
At first, I wondered if it was April Fools Day.
Nobody knows why the letters and drawings should be so purposely invisible. Maybe because ink was scarce or expensive. Maybe this was the only paper she had access to. Maybe she wanted to make her mark on a text mostly read and learnt by men.
Sometimes it happens. The universe hears you and delivers its gift. My brain had been turning over ideas for this week's post, something more about writing notes in books, a partner article to the one I wrote last year Writing in the Margins. And then I read about a woman who scratched her name invisibly in the pages of a sacred religious text. Perhaps there's more to writing in the margins than meets the eye.
Unscientific notes about making notes
A few weeks ago, I asked Do You Write in Your Books?, on a writers' forum. It sparked a fascinating discussion. As writers its probably unsurprising no one disagreed with writing in books even if they didn't practice it themselves. I’ve gathered the data. Here are my notes about other people making notes:
There is writing in books
There is not writing in books
There is a reluctance to write in books
"I always admire the book club participants with their notes and bookmarks. I feel like they've seen deeper into the story than I have. Perhaps I've only tasted the surface?"
Books are precious
"But, I'm starting to see that scuffs, bent pages, and even bent covers along with marginalia are a sign of deep noticing and living with a book."
I've always treated my books with care; I never turn down the corner of a page to mark my place. I use a bookmark. But when I look at my recipe books, they tell a different story. These are the books I live with. Many of them, the favourite ones, are dog-eared and broken. Pages have slipped their place to be taped back down securely, sauces and red wine stain the best recipes. These are books that have earned their place in my life. I wonder if my 'other' books should be the same?
There are highlights and notes on Kindle
There are apps for digital notes: READWISE, EVERNOTE and GOOGLE KEEP
There are those that read fast and want to slow down and those that read slowly and want to speed up.
A good idea - keeping an index of notes
More ideas on note-taking
Write when and where you bought the book on the title page. On the last page, write when you finished the book. If you don't finish the book, add the page number you stopped reading, the date and why you stopped. There's no judgement here. Life's too short to read books you don't care about.
Before you start reading, find out a bit more about the author. Are they still alive or dead? It can be illuminating to find out more why the author wrote the book they wrote at a particular point in their life. If it’s an old book, what was happening in the world then?
Why not keep an index of words you don't know, in order to look up later.
Underline beautiful language
Make a note if something is relevant to your life experience. Or not.
I often have strong ideas on whether I like/love/hate a character and I write that down. My thoughts have often changed by the end.
Keep an index of quotes - could be on one big, beautiful digital document or in the back of the book as you read.
Mark every page you've written on with a post-it note, one of those tiny ones. It makes it easier to find the notes you made further down the line.
So what's the point?
Is all this note making, keeping an index, filing quotes on a google doc really necessary? Probably not. But if you're anything like me and struggle to remember anything you've read from the night before, let alone a year ago, holding a pencil in your hand with the purpose of making a mark can help with remembering and understanding. It's definitely made a big difference for me. There's something about writing by hand that activates my brain instead of letting it slump into autopilot. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.
For example, last week, armed with my handwritten list of groceries, I went to leave the house when my daughter asked me to get some more nutella. I said 'yes' or 'sure thing' or something like that and left the building.
But. I didn't write it down.
And, I didn't get the nutella.
This week, written at the top of my grocery list were: granola, coffee beans and coffee filters.
I forgot all three.
It’s a good idea to read the notes you’ve written.
Notes in other people's books
In a book my Granny gave me many years ago, Beauty of Libya, there is a handwritten message:
I love this. There's so much in this short message. In 1978 my grandparents reached their 36th wedding anniversary. They were living in Libya. If my maths is correct, they married in 1942. Imagine how much the world changed in those intervening years. Margaret and Neville married in the middle of World War II. By 1978, they had three sons, had lived in Hong Kong, Mumbai and Tehran and had a number of grandchildren living in three different countries.
Beauty of Libya is a gift from their friends to celebrate a life lived that far. Did they have a party? Who was there? Who were Norman and Pam? It’s always at a point like this I wish I’d asked more questions about their lives while they were still alive. Life advice: If your grandparents are still alive, ask them questions!
What are your thoughts? Do you write in your books? If so, what is your system? Do share in the comments below.
