Marking in your books

[Juliet]

I just want some nerdfighters opinion in marking(Highlighting, underlining,writing, dog ear the pages, ect.)

My friend told me that the authors would not appreciated it, and would disapprove when I underline a quote I like, so I would like to know your opinion on this?

I'm just curious nerdfighter.

[Spencer Miller]

Well i imagine the authors would appreciate things being underlined and highlighted! Maybe thats just me. I can never bring myself to dog ear a page though, I just can't!

[Juliet]

you sound like my friend, but thanks for answering!

[Trevelyan]

I doubt the authors would care. Anyone who has to read the book after you might, though. If it's your book, do what you like, but if not it's pretty inconsiderate to mark it up.

[Rose the Dread Pirate]

Personally, I love writing in my books, because I feel that's how they really become My Books. My copy of Looking for Alaska, for example, is a minefield of dog eared pages, highlighted passages, and hastily scribbled notes crammed into the side margins. But a friend of mine won't even bend a book's spine if she can help it. Really, I think it depends on what kind of person you are. Everybody reads and interprets books differently, and I say if you want to mark up your copy of something, then that's fine :)

[Danno]

you might want to check out this discussion

as to the point about the author...i suspect it depends on the author, but if John's right that your individual reading of a book's text and various possible subtext is at least as important as his experience writing it, then i think how you go about reading that text is up to you.

[Felicia Marie]

I wonder why your friend would think that the author wouldn't appricate the act. I personally mark in all my books if I find a passage that I love it just makes sense to me. I know that it also makes me feel subconcious sometimes because when I lend my books out I wonder if my friends will judge me for whatever it is that I have marked. But that doesn't last very long because I honestly don't care if my friend likes the same passage as me. 

But to go as far as saying that the author wouldn't like that just seems obsurd to me because I would think that if the author was to see that you marked in the book they would feel a sense of pride. I mean you found some sort of worth in their words, enough worth to make it known to whoever else reads your book that has to count for something right?

I have notes in most of my books like highlighted passages, if a line inspried a song or artist that I love, defintions of words that I had to look up, or whatever else might have popped into my mind that I thought was important at the time. So pretty much I feel as long as it is your copy it shouldn't matter what anybody else thinks about it because it is yours.

[Lisa Ann]

The only book I've marked up is TFIOS, because I wanted to underline all the lines I love. I could only bear to put in pencil though, so I can erase it. It was drilled into my head from the age of three onward that books are sacred and not to be destroyed. I know logically that means don't scribble over the page, but I still can't annotate anything even textbooks.

[Megan]

It shows that the book has been well loved and read! I don't think there's anything wrong with it at all, although I am guilty of folding book pages sometimes- oops :)

[Charlotte Ann Gislam]

I'm used to marking and underlining when I'm reading due to my literature course so I have no qualms doing that to one of my own books. Frequently I see people writing in library books (only with pencil) and although i don't particularly agree with that  some of the the stuff they have written is a good read and opens up discussion which has been followed underneath by other people sometimes.

But yes diversion aside I have a habit of marking books and I love it. I also buy second hand books to see the markings someone else has done, so I can see what they loved. 

Marking makes them feel like they are mine.

[Juliet]

I lve when there are marks in second hand books, it gives me a happy feeling. I don't know why though.

[Julia]

I usually underline my favourite lines and sometimes even comment on the text on the side with a pencil. Stuff I need to research (words I don't know, non-fictional figures, facts, etc.) go on a sticky note or an index card. If it's a historical figure I sometimes even print out a picture, write down a short biography and put it in the book.

It's fun re-reading and re-discovering my thoughts on the text. Especially when it's been years since the first read. :)

Though I don't like it in library books. It's afterall a borrowed book, so, in my opinion, it should go back to the library in perfect condition to make sure the next one to borrow the book has a pleasant read.

[Kieran Arthur Charles McDonald]

I usually dog ear pages, and I sometimes underline (in pencil) but I refuse to highlight or write in a book (which is slightly difficult to avoid, considering I am doing English Literature in college and we are expected to annotate our books)