Marginalia

Towards the end of February, I posted in response to a book that I was reading at the time. Now I want to follow up with some other thoughts I had while reading the same section.

I may have mentioned that various people study the books that famous writers and scholars read, trying to understand how they thought. Well, one thing they study is their marginalia- the notes written in margins. Or commonplace books where others wrote their thoughts all together, combining the notes from their different readings in one convenient location. It mentioned the disappointment felt when some figure was found not to have notated their books in any noticeable way.

Well, that got me to thinking about my own habits. I never write in any books besides my scriptures. I have heard that it can help in studying- that the writing helps you retain information and then you are better able to return to significant sections for later study. But I never really took to it.

In high school, I had a few teachers who required me to write as I read. I had one English teacher who had us make notes as we read on post-it notes and stick them in the pages of our books. I mostly wrote them after finishing, and usually did not have as many notes as the other students. A history teacher made us outline the chapters of our textbook and turn them in as a regular assignment. And a different English teacher required us to in our notebooks write down the questions we had while reading on one side of a page and our insights and other non-question thoughts on the other.

Well, after doing these assignments, I found that I only found it all annoying. When I had to write down my thoughts as I read, it slowed me down, and the constant interruption disrupted the flow- of the story or narrative and of my thoughts. And after I finish reading something, I generally do remember the major insights I had. And I can come up with better ones with a better flowing story. And not making notes on a story never hurt my ability to write an essay about it. I could always think of plenty of points to defend my thesis. The only way notes could have made it easier would have been to help me find the relevant passages for quoting- which wasn't a big problem. I rarely use bookmarks, so am perfectly used to trying to find the right part of the book just by remembering what happens when and about how far into it I am. Since I do not find note taking helpful, I don't do it.

Well, that and the fact that I've read books with notations in them before, and they are as distracting as taking the notes myself- I am compelled to stop and read them, which disrupts the flow, and they rarely add to my comprehension or enjoyment. Plus, I have never read a book that I did not plan to let someone else read later on. Books are communal property in my family. Yes, they have an owner in name, but we all read everybody else's libraries, too. So in consideration to others, I leave my books blank.

Sorry, future researchers who desire to peer into my soul. You'll have to find some other way to figure me out. Good luck.