Comments on: Reading Rituals

By: Shya Scanlon

Shya Scanlon — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:54:40 +0000

I think this is smart. Though I don’t go the extra step of taking notes, I too try to consider my own writing when reading. It’s usually more like, what kind of technique might apply, or noting mistakes the author made that I wouldn’t want to make. Occasionally, too, I’ll have moments of inspiration triggered by a book I’m reading–those, of course, like all such moments, are jotted down in my doc entitled “New Book.”

By: JosephScapellato

JosephScapellato — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:52:30 +0000

Lately, I’ve been trying to “bring” my own current projects (whatever their stage of development, but always larger scale projects: novels, novellas, story cycles) to books I’m reading. When I discover a passage or technique that speaks to the project I’ve “brought,” I’ll flip back to the inside cover/front matter and take brief notes right there. (Because I never read at a desk, these sloppy notes look NUTSO.)

The older the edition, and the less I paid for it, the more likely I am to do this.

I’ve also been trying my best to keep up a reading journal, which is the future home of my nutso inside-cover notes. By the time the notes get there, though, they usually diverge from the work I “brought.” I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing. But at least it’s a thing!

By: Leni Zumas

Leni Zumas — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:13:18 +0000

I love writing in books. And reading books that other people have written in.

By: John Madera

John Madera — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:07:09 +0000

Man, I’m the same way. I cringed when I read what Chris does to his books, but then again, the notes I’ve read of Chris’s are always great. I’ll just keep my books away from him!

By: ryan

ryan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:02:55 +0000

i have some ocd issues when it comes to books. writing in a book makes me nauseous. folding pages does the same. i try my best to read without cracking the spine. the list goes on and on.

By: Lily Hoang

Lily Hoang — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:01:21 +0000

That’s awesome: code for marginalia! I’ve recently discovered these strange things called libraries, where they house books you can borrow!?! So I don’t feel right writing marginalia. Now, I take notes. I write by hand. It’s a long process, and reading takes me a lot more time, but all in all, I think I get more out of it than I did with marginalia.

By: Shya Scanlon

Shya Scanlon — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:58:03 +0000

Ha! It certainly makes you sound like a lover of language, Christopher.

This reminds me of a guy I knew in college who had developed a code of marginalia that he’d use so that if someone else found or stole one of his books, they wouldn’t be able to “steal his ideas.”

By: Christopher Higgs

Christopher Higgs — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:51:22 +0000

I almost always read with a straight edge of some kind (a bookmark or a notecard or a postcard) and a number two pencil in hand. I like the tip not to be too sharp nor too dull.

I underline phrases or sentences that I like or that seem to embody a crucial aspect of the work or that connect in some way to my ongoing theory of literature. I usually draw a corresponding horizontal line in the side margin, to make it easy to flip back and find where I’ve underlined.

On those blank sheets of paper at the back of most books (or, if the book doesn’t have those blank sheets I use the back cover) I list words or phrases I come across in the book that seem new or fresh or interesting to me. But not words that I do not know the definition of.

When I come across a word I don’t know the definition of, I box the word and draw a little dot in the side margin. This way, after I’ve finished reading I can go back and look up those words and then I usually go to my personal journal and type in the new word and its various definitions. I tell myself this system is helping me learn words, but the funny thing is: I seldom find myself incorporating many of those new words into my own writing.

If I really like a book, I type up all of the underlined passages into my personal journal, under the heading of: Notes on…

Boy, typing out all of this ritual stuff makes me sound to myself like a bit of a weirdo. Strike that. A huge weirdo.

By: Lily Hoang

Lily Hoang — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:32:03 +0000

I like to read in the bathtub, if I’m reading fiction.

I like to read in cafes, if it’s philosophy/theory, so I can take notes.

I like to read in bed, with pillows & a fluffy comforter, all the time.

I dislike reading in brightly lit places, which probably accounts for my poor vision.

By: Shya Scanlon

Shya Scanlon — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:26:43 +0000

I lather rike that image.