How to (Not) Mark a Book

 I have to say that all in all, for more scholarly reading, I prefer ebook format to "real book".

Kindle is particularly good.   When I highlight a passage in my Kindle book, it is saved to an archive on the Amazon Cloud.    I can browse back over the list of highlighted parts and add notes, if I like, or see the quote in context, if I like.   Or share the quote on blog, email, Evernote, or other social and archival media, if I like.

(And if the government is looking over my shoulder in that Cloud, for these limited personal retrieval and retention purposes, that is just too bad.  I feel about that somewhat the way I used to feel reading and writing my "own stuff" on school premises -- the possibility of shoulder-looking-over and consequents was quite high, but not high enough to discourage this maintenance of my own space in the public one.   In some limited ways, close reading and book markings are public acts, even possibly subversive acts, though I would be surprised if the Eye of the State could make much of the type of stuff I highlight -- just saying).

In a paper book, the ugliness of highlights, underlines or scribbled margins just discourages me from ever looking at the book again.  What I usually do is grab a box of those tiny arrow Post-Its and stick them by a paragraph I want to remember and go back to.  Then on my future pass through the book I can write notes on bigger post-its, if I like,   This is useful for library books, though it is a massive pain to go back through the library books and pull out the darn little arrows before returning the book.

Another method I have used with "real books" is to take pictures with my IPhone of the paragraphs I want to remember.   You can get free scanner apps that will convert the text photos to a black and white printable format, but many times, I just use the regular photo app and then scroll back through the photos later as a kind of review.

Besides what I continue to feel is the aesthetic desecration of marking up a printed book (I am by no means making any judgment on your possible habit of marking your books, but just talking about my reaction to my own marks on my family's books) I do agree largely with Mortimer Adler.  For reading a harder book, there's no substitute for pulling out direct passages.  I used to try to write or type them out on a separate pad or document, but well, that just didn't happen because I would get too tired out and just not do it.    I still like the idea, and use it for some of what I might call my archetype books. ... like the Bible, saints' quotes, some educational tomes I really want to assimilate.

This wasn't what I meant to write about today, at all, at all!  But then, at least it's not philosophy again.