You Want Me To DEFACE My Books?!

By Rachel

So, here’s my history with annotating books.

Tumbleweed Gif

I don’t do it.

I’ve never had the urge to do it, I’ve never really understood why someone would want to do it. It just feels… wrong. That being said, I do enjoy making notes in and highlighting sections of eBooks, but that’s not the same thing is it? It doesn’t feel the same. Writing in a book feels bad. Making notes in eBooks is fine (I’m not overly fond of them anyways) but in real, physical, delicious, paper books? Nope. Nope, nope, nope.

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2015-Discussion-ChallengeEven in school, when I was studying a text for English Literature, I would take separate notes in a jotter and reference the relevant page number. It probably didn’t help that novels simply don’t have enough margin space to write the reams of notes required on symbolism, dramatic irony, and all that good stuff.

I’ve just never felt the urge to write in a book. Until last year. I stepped way out of my comfort zone and highlighted my text books for my Health and Safety diploma. I had seven text books to cover in 32 weeks for three 3 hour exams. Those babies had to be cut down one way or another. It took immense bravery on my part, but I’m so glad I did it because it really helped with revision. Still, that was a text book, not a novel.

I own a beautiful copy of S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst (I still haven’t read it yet, but I will… one day), which is a story within a story and has scribbles throughout the entire book on purpose, and that excites me. I get it. But I still don’t want to do it. Or, at least I didn’t, until the wonderful BookTuber that is Ariel Bissett posted this:

I’ve never been more persuaded in my entire life to do something “wrong”. What do you think? Do you annotate books, do you keep notes in a seperate journal, did you annotate and then later regret it? Let me know!

About Rachel

Avid reader & #bookblogger. Lover of all things business. A fan of drinks & dancing. Ever optimistic. Feminist.

54 Responses

  1. legalreader

    I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with highlighting or annotating in your own book – I mean, we all read differently! And when I do buy used books, I kinda like seeing writing in them – feels like the book has its own story you know?

    Liked by 1 person

    2. Emily

      I Agree, I think everyone reads diffrently. I have an on and off relationship with annotating books. I fell in love with Black out poetry and that got me intreasted in the world of Writting in books. for a while a friend and I would read the same book. when I read it I would make notes, underline quotes I loved and things like that then I would let her read the book and so the same thing so when I got it back I could find out which parts of the book really stuck with her. as we all read the same books with diffrent mindsets and experiances so through this i saw the books in a diffrent angle to the way I would have seen it.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Rachel

        When I first discovered black out poetry I squealed a little on the inside! I used black out poetry in my Wreck This Journal though and can see why people like doing it, I could maybe do it in an unwanted, beat up book, but it still makes me feel… off lol. I really love the idea of writing in a book and then sharing it with a friend so you can see their thoughts! I’d probably be overly sarcastic in my comments! The thought of it makes me smile though. Unfortunately, I don’t really have someone I could do that with IRL – and I’d have to buy two copies of the book probably! Maybe one day I’ll get the annotating bug, but for now my books are safe! R x

        Liked by 1 person

  2. HOLLY

    I watched this video the other day as well, and I found it to be pretty convincing too! Although I would never write in one of my more expensive editions of a book, I’m not opposed to highlighting and putting in sticky notes to mark my favorite parts. I’ll usually write in other books, especially ones for school. Now I want to annotate more! Good old Ariel, always switching things up!

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    1. Rachel

      I love Ariel’s video – she’s super hyper in it though! She’s so convincing in it – I definitely considered it and fought with myself for a while, but lots of people are commenting saying about post-its and that seems the best of both worlds… R x

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  3. Galit Balli

    Omg, I laughed so hard.
    My books are perfect no matter how many times I’ve read them. Their spins is still perfect and I never open the book more than a little to read them. I never write in them or place bookmarks even and I never – ever, letting my books leave my house, lol, ever!
    I am sure it’s more fun that way where you can write on the book and make it more personal, but I can’t, lol.
    Great post and video 🙂

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    1. Rachel

      Oh I’m a definite spine cracker. I should do a post on that too. I can’t dog ear. But I crack the spine every time. I don’t really take books out either, but I do use bookmarks – do you find they ruin the book somehow? How do you keep your place?? I think Ariel’s idea of being able to share your notes with someone else while reading is fantastic, but I just can’t do it. I will try post-its though! Thanks for commenting 😀 R x

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Galit Balli

        I hate post-its in a book, unless I know I will buy another copy, lol. Bookmarks just leave this tiny gap in the pages, and I am not doing that, lol. If I have anything to share about the book (good or bad), thank god there’s Goodreads these days or just email or text a friend 😀 I do love to see people that don’t care about this little book obsession, they are free to enjoy the book, like it meant to be, lol, but I can’t 😀

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      2. Rachel

        Even post-its?? Your books must really be immaculate!! It was a toss up for me between using Goodreads updates more often or trying post its, the Goodreads updates are handy, but with post-its… there’s just something about it that’s appealing at the minute, so I’m going to give it a try first. R x

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Jennifer Austin - Author

    Never, never, never deface a book! That video annoyed the hell out of me. At first it was the delivery, which was irritating, but I always tell myself not to get upset by that because every person is different and I shouldn’t judge on different personalities. But I just couldn’t get on board with what she was saying. It might have also hurt that she was being negative about a book I love. Anyway, I will never dog ear a page or write in a book or highlight or doodle or anything else. I just can’t. It feels sacrilegious. I have a reading journal for fiction and research , (or when I was in school) I would use notes. JMHO.

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    1. Rachel

      Lol Jennifer! I can see which side of the fence you’re on! She’s much more animated than usual, but I really love Ariel’s videos, you should try a couple more of them, she’s not usually that hyper! I was surprised to hear that critique actually because I’ve seen so many good reviews for that book! I don’t dog-ear or write in them, but I do crack spines!! I’ve looked at getting a proper journal like this one – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reading-Journal-Potter-Style/dp/0307591662 – but the post-its seem like a great idea too! I could keep them in the actual pages and refer to them, without defacing. WHY have I never thought of this?!?! R x

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Brandie

    Woah…she’s pretty excited about this isn’t she. Lol. I am really OCD and just don’t know that I could deface my pretty new paperbacks. I just don’t think I can do it!! I love highlighting on my Kindle, and that’s pretty much all I read on. My paperbacks are purchased after I’ve already read the eBook version and are just for show, to make my bookshelves pretty. If I were to do re-reads using my paperbacks, I don’t think I’d be able to make notes in them. Every fiber in my body says, ‘noooooo’. LOL. 😉

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    1. Rachel

      LOL! Yes, she’s super animated, even for Ariel! I really can’t do it with novels. It was a struggle me even doing it with text books – but that was useful and I would do it again. Kindle is so good for making notes and highlights – it’s great for writing reviews too. Haha – that’s how I feel too R xx

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Turn the Page Reviews

    I normally do not write in my books wither- though I did a lot in college. I recently picked up a copy of Walden for a book club, and the highlighter had to come out. Sometimes I think it helps you pay attention when your mind isn’t 100% engaged.

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    1. Rachel

      How did you overcome the barrier to do it in college?? I definitely see what you mean with it helping pay attention – I found it very useful ding it in text books, but I don’t think I can touch my novels! R x

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  7. Blaise @ thebookboulevard

    I’ve been thinking about this video, too. I don’t feel the urge to annotate for pleasure-reading; if I take notes, they’re in my blog notebook as things to consider for review. I’ve thought about annotating via sticky notes (because you’re right–the margins are so narrow) but I just haven’t really needed to do it.

    It doesn’t feel wrong to me, per se, but I don’t really have a desire to do it either. It’s very much eh. I do, however, see her point–as long as notes don’t interfere with the text, reading an annotated book sounds like a lot of fun.

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    1. Rachel

      Note-taking with sticky notes seems to be a great idea! I think I might give that a go. Reading an annotated book sounds fantastic! That’s why I bought S. even if I can’t quite get around to reading it R x

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Caught Read Handed

    Okay, so I’ve always hated writing in books as well. I only have ONE book that I write in when I read it, and it’s Perks. I write in it because I’ve read it about 10 times and every single time I read it I find something else I love or relate to or want to remember. I don’t write in any other book. I don’t like it. Ariel’s video is a legit amazing case to start doing so. I’ve recently started using those little flag stickies to mark passages that I like. I’ve always kept a little notebook with me where I note the page number and write out the quote (or just put the page number so I can go back and look), but I really like these little flags. I can write a short note or put a star or heart on it. It kind of does what Ariel says – I’ve just lent out my ARC of Magonia with the flags still in it, so my friend can see which parts I liked.

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    1. Rachel

      I don’t think I’ve ever written in a book… I have this thing too about neatness when it comes to my notes, and if I write in a book and it’s messy then it just drives me insane. If you mark it you can’t start over you know? She’s MUCH more pumped up in this one than usual, it’s like Bissett on a sugar rush, but she did make me think about doing it! I love the idea using sticky notes though! I might try that from now on, at least they’re not permanent and that could also be super helpful for reviews. It’s strange because I LOVE the premise of S. having all those scribbles in it that make up a more complex story – but just don’t have the desire to do it myself. At least not yet. It may change one day. R x

      Liked by 1 person

  9. pennma05

    I can’t write in books either. I did use highlighters when I was in college but that was because I never thought about using sticky notes. I love that idea! Lately I had started a reading journal where I would jot down thoughts as I was reading or quotes but that got kind of tedious. I might have to give the sticky note idea a try!

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    1. Rachel

      I don’t know why I’ve never considered sticky notes either! I was going to use a journal but that seems too much like effort and studying when I’m in the middle of a great book – s sticky tabs it is! R x

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Kathy

    I cringe at highlighting or writing in a physical book. I’ve always been that way and can’t shake it. eBooks? No problem. I’ll highlight and make notes until the entire book is yellow and never be bothered by it. For physical books, I’ve exchanged my post-it notes for my phone camera and usually take a quick snapshot of a passage with the page number for later referencing.

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    1. Rachel

      I’m the same, Kathy! And I love the ability to do both in eBooks, but not physical books. Taking photos is a good idea too, though sometimes I want to make a comment and not sure how I’d go about that with the image! R x

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  12. Liza Barrett

    In my 12th grade English class, we were actually REQUIRED to annotate the articles and essays we were reading. Our teacher actually reviewed our annotations and graded us on the quality of them. This is something that I just don’t understand.

    a) I don’t annotate the books I read because, like you, I can’t bring myself to deface my books
    b) I, like you, prefer to write what notes I need on a separate piece of paper
    c) I have a pretty decent memory — it’t obviously not perfect or photographic, but it’s good enough to remember details long enough to have a conversation about it, write a report, or pass an exam.
    d) If the annotations I DO make are intended to aid MY memory, what does it matter if the notes are meaningful to my teacher? So I scribbled some nonsense that is unintelligible to the teacher — as long as I know what it means, it does its intended purpose

    Sooo … a bit of a tangent, but it’s what I thought about. 🙂 Nice post!

    ~ Liza @ Classy Cat Books

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    1. Rachel

      WUT? We had to take notes, but we could either take them in the book or separately. I chose separately, but it probably didn’t help that the classic we were reading (Of Mice and Men and Frankenstein) had teeny tiny margins! I think the defacing thing even stems from when we were kids, I don’t know about you, but I would have been told off for drawing in books etc. It feels wrong! I found for revision purposes, a notebook for my notes was much more effective. The only thing I’ve done in recent years is highlight parts of a text book, but even then I keep notes. Thanks for commenting, Liza! R x

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    1. Rachel

      *Deep breaths*

      Just kidding. I used to cry internally at black out poetry, but at least the way you do it gives an unloved book a new lease of life. I did do one in my Wreck This Journal. I should probably post a picture or two of it on the blog, I wanted to do a feature for it, but alas I don’t have your photography skills, or anywhere suitable to take the pictures! R x

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  16. chuffwrites

    I love that video so much, and really like the *idea* of annotating in books to leave your own running commentary of your experience reading — only, I can never think of anything to SAY. If I had super funny or articulate things to add to the margins of my books, I totally would! But I’m apparently not that clever. XD

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    1. Rachel

      I like the idea of it too, much more than the reality! I would have so much sark in those comments, and if you know who will be reading it after you, say you’re swapping it with a friend, then you could probably have “in” jokes in there too – would be lots of fun! R x

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    1. Rachel

      It just feels wrong to ruin the pretty. But I agree, Ariel really made me consider it! I might pick up a charity shop copy of one or two and do it in those… R x

      Like

    2. Rachel

      You are on a commenting roll!!! Lol Thank you for taking the time to check out my posts. I can’t do it either, I might be able to if I had two copies and one was more beat up. I have a feature coming soon in collaboration with another blogger that will challenge this though… should be fun! R x

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  22. Wendy

    Terrific video, and I totally buy her point of view. However, I usually am only taking notes on things I want to remember, and it’s easier to read through and find specific notes if they are all together in my notebook, instead of sprinkled around a book. I could care less about broken spines, and the first thing I do with a hardcover is toss the book jacket, so it’s not a “pristine” thing for me, just a practical issue.

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    1. Rachel

      It was an excellent video, wasn’t it? Oh, Wendy, I feel like I need to buy plasters for your books! Lol for someone who’s more practical though I can see why that would help. In fact, this video, and another blogger’s views, will result in a new feature here shortly! Exciting! R x

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  24. Ksenia

    OMG, I feel the same way about the books. That’s one of the reasons I love e-books, I can highlight and make notes and I don’t feel guilty about it at all. I had similar experience with my text book when I was studying for an exam in college. I highlighted text I needed, but it was awful. Though I admit Ariel sounds very excited and convincing in this video.

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    1. Rachel

      Yes! eBooks are brilliant for being able to highlight and add notes, and it’s so much handier when it comes to writing reviews too! But I can’t be parted from my precious paperbacks for too long! I have to say, I took the plunge last year when doing a course and highlighted the textbook, and I found that to be less painful than a novel. Baby steps 😉 There’s a new feature launching on the blog on the 15th, in collaboration with another blogger, which I think you’ll find interesting. It was part-inspired by Ariel’s video, and this blog post… R xx

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