On Marking Books
Now I read a lot of books. I love to sit down at the end (or the start) of the day on the couch in my library with a good book and a good cup of coffee. As I sit there I often look up at all the unread books on the shelves pondering which one I’d like to read next. Consequently, it is with a sense of achievement and great satisfaction that I put a finished book back on the shelf and take a fresh one down.
But ask me six months (or even six weeks) later what a certain book was about and I’ll usually only have a vague recollection. I read a lot of books but do I remember much of them? Do they make much difference in my life? Not really, to be honest.
What I really need is a system. A system to help remember the key points and good quotes from books. I often start off with a pencil with the intention of underlining lots but if you looks through many of my books you’ll find many of them with a couple of chapters full of underlining with many pristine pages in between. I try and take notes but find it too time consuming and also a bit of a hassle having to take a notebook with me everywhere I might read.
So it was with great pleasure that I read today’s post by Scot McKnight (one of my top daily blog reads) On Marking Books. Scot gives some great practical tips on reading, highlighting, note taking, and ultimately remembering and making use of what you read. As usual, his comments are spot on. I will definitely be taking this advice on board, and if you’re a serious reader you should check it out too.
Categories : Blogs, books | 2 Comments
