Nollaig Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 That's because I've decided to keep track of everything I read and to write a review on each. I find it doesn't distract from my reading pleasure at all. If anything, it's enhanced it. I agr ee entirely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I jot down the occasional quote, but other than that I've only ever taken extensive notes on a book twice. Once when I was reading 'Dream of Scipio' by Pears because it was just so hard for me to keep track of characters/plots for some reason, and once after I read 'The Little Friend' by Tartt. I had so many questions after I finished and was so disgusted at the way she left everything, I had to write it all down, lol. After reading all these posts though I have to admit I might start taking more notes when I read. I think it'll help me in the future remember why I liked a book and help me decide what else to read even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landevale Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I hadn't heard of commonplaces before so I just looked it up. Very interesting! I've realised that that is essentially what my notebook is that I carry around. Now I have a nifty name for it Thanks! You learn something new every day! Happy to be of service, Kylie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purple95 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I use 3x5 index cards as my bookmarks and make notes on them as I read. I record anything that strikes my fancy such as character names, locations, dates, etc. I'll also jot down other books to read, words or people to look up and so on. I like to note at least one or two main points from each book I read and include that in the "notes" field of the data base containing the books I've read. I also record interesting quotes and keep them in a document. It's fun to review these from time to time and it helps me remember the books and characters. Cheers, dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Oh that's really clever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icecream Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 That is a great idea Purple. It would probably work for me. I have a terrible memory and I would love to take notes so I can write better reviews and get more out of the book, but carrying my book around all day is enough with the girls without having to remember a notebook too. In fact I need to find all my notebooks because they have in fact mostly disappeared. I find it useful to note down routines for the children, lists of things we need and other things to do with the children and housework. I have notebooks for all different things somewhere. I must get more organised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crotalus_p Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Maybe the occasional quote , but nothing else if it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I am a note taker on the whole, but don't really take notes from the books I am reading for entertainment. However if I get a new text book that's a different story, I read it with pen in my hand, then I underline, circle, tick, star, etc. Then I take notes. It also helps when I am looking something up , even years later, certain facts will jump out at me. That's one reason I want something like the Amazon Kindle because you can highlight without possibly ruining the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen1 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I've taken notes either while reading or immediately after finishing the last three books that I've read and I have to say I think the reviews that I've written are some of the best reviews I've ever written. I find the words are flowing more easily and I'm getting the things I wanted to say out easier and a lot quicker so I'm definitely going to continue with the note-taking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I don't take notes while reading fiction, simply because I want to differentiate it from reading for school. The possible exceptions are books I know I'll be discussing later, like Reading Circle books here, where I might make the occasional note next to things I find interesting and wish to return in the discussions. But other than that, no. I can imagine that changing once school's out, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I only make notes when reading non fiction, as a non fiction writer it is essential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andaira Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Not always, but there are times when I do. I also sometimes jot down quotes from the book that really jump out at me. And if there are any words that I've not been acquainted with before, or facts, I research them while I read to learn a little bit more about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I think I will take notes when I take my English lit course in September. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 My note-taking on "Drowning Ruth" was pretty successful.. It helped me keep a lot of things (facts, characters, periods in time, etc) straight, and it was also fun to jot down questions as I went along.. Then as I read, it was easier to try to figure out the answers for myself since there wasn't any chance of "forgetting" the thing I was wondering about 100 pages ago. I did realize that I have a bad habit of not concentrating when I'm reading characters' names during their introduction in a book. I tend to just read quickly over the name, then focus more on their traits/characteristics.. NOT good for those characters that are present early in a book, then disappear and show back up 200 pages later. At that point, I have to think to myself "Now who was 'Rudy' again??? I know I should remember which one he is...." I think jotting down every name and introduction page (i.e. Edward - p. 9 or whatever) is a big help to me, so I know where to refer back to when characters reappear. And also I jotted down little defining characteristics about them, just to help the first impressions of the character stay with me. Only drawback is I read a lot at the gym, and it's impossible to write while on the elliptical or treadmill.. I just have to jot all my thoughts down in the car after I'm through at the gym in that case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Hm, I think I might doing the character references. I tend to forget some characters occasionally, so that might be a good way to help me remember them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 It definitely helped me.. I'm going to try to focus more and do better remembering the characters' names when they're introduced, but in the meantime, the listing has helped! Bought a copy of Jane Eyre yesterday (for only a DOLLAR!!) and it already HAS a list of characters right in the front.. how handy is that?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I didn't take too many notes on the last three books I read... and I'm being really lazy about writing rambles on them too I really should get that sorted soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Slacking Roxi! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I know! I am! Its so bold. Theres no review books among them, so thats okay, but I need to get them up to date anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generalkala Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I used to take notes on every book I read in a little notebook especially for that purpose. I don't know why, but I've stopped. I might start again though - it's good fun to look through and see what you thought of a book the last time you read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anika Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I seem to make a lot of notes when reading non-fiction. When I read fiction I tend to only jot down obscure words I come across or any page number that has a thought provoking sentence/paragraph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I make notes on review books, or books that I'm studying for school, as I go along. Or even books that I know I'll be having big discussions/debates on. I like to be prepared. However, if I'm reading something for my own enjoyment I most likely will not make any notes, unless I find something interesting, a quote or something, that I want to take down. Or I may make a few general notes for reviews. However I usually like that to be from memory, or I'll flick back and look through while I'm writing one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 Oh gawd, no. Sounds too much like university coursework to me; besides, thanks to university instruction I already hyperanalyse fiction books to the point that they take me months to read... if I stopped to take notes as well, I'd be doomed. I did try to keep an in progress dictionary once, jotting down words I didn't know, since not knowing words is one of my main causes for stalling. Alas, instead of helping this made things worse - I found myself dwelling on the unknown words even more, and unable to ignore them more than ever. As for interesting and insightful quotes, so as not to interrupt my so-called flow I am of the "look for them again after I've finished the book" persuasion, which of course never works, but there you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I used to, but then, I also used to write rambles/reviews on my own blog. Now I just do actual reviews for BCF and that's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I have a lot of dystopians on my TBR pile and I'm planning on getting through a fair few of them next year. Because it's such a big interest of mine, I'm going to try to take copious notes as I go along. Well, that's the plan in theory... Hmm, maybe I should buy myself a shiny new notebook to help keep me motivated... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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