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32 Comments

Do you make notes or highlights when reading a book? 📖

I was reading a programming book last night and came across a phrase I really wanted to highlight and make sure I don't forget. But for some reason highlighting in a book or making a margin note felt like defacing the book - sacrilege!

I'm curious what do fellow IndieHackers do to make highlights or notes. Do you just do it in the book with a pencil, get in there with a highlighter or use something like bookmark strips?

Share your reading/learning process!

  1. 4

    i have a seperate book i use for short notes like that...for all the previous books I have read...so I can always go back to it easily

    1. 1

      I like that. I use a notepad and keep those with the book. But having something specific just for notes makes a lot of sense. Anything specific you use?

  2. 3

    No, because it feels like work.

    But some of the books I was lent contained sheets of paper with notes and placed between the book pages they referred to. This way you can add notes and arbitrary content without defacing a book.

    1. 1

      That's an excellent way to go about it! I might need to get some note sheets and a pen by the bedside!

  3. 3

    Yes. All of my books, even the 150 year old ones that I had to cut pages on, have mark up, annotations, notes, and highlights. I learned how to be an engaged reader early in life and took it to heart and ran with it! 🙃

    1. 1

      That is very brave!

      Do you find yourself coming back to your notes often?

      1. 1

        It depends on the book. 😉. I will admit, more so with the ePubs than the physical books these days.

    2. 1

      You cut up and wrote on 150 year old books? Sounds bad to me.

  4. 2

    I completely agree, Ed. I'm building https://highlighted.app to solve this specific problem by making book highlighting super fast, accessible, and organized.

    1. 2

      Fantastic idea. One thing I'd say to this tho is that I try to keep away from my phone when I read.

      1. 1

        As you should! Highlighted is designed for fast, uninterrupted one-hand use.

  5. 2

    I used to write on the pages and take notes sometimes, and writing on paper is really good for memory and retention, but the problem is that these notes are not that useful if they stay on the book/on paper.

    But writing notes on a computer is also bad because I'm not really going to remember anything I write on the computer.

    I started to follow this guide from Vasili Shynkarenka instead and it's really cool: How to remember what you learn

    Basically, what you do while you're reading is:

    1. write notes about what the author is talking about using your own words
    2. write questions or things you need to clarify about the content
    3. write the things/ideas that are popping out in your head so you don't get distracted (brain dump)

    I think it's a much better way to get value out of a book. For me, the brain dump (3) technique helps me focus, because nowadays I easily get distracted when I'm reading.

    I get so many ideas while I'm reading a paragraph, and these ideas overflow my working memory. Then I get tired or distracted and can't really understand what I'm reading, because I have these other 10 things taking space in my head.

    I don't use this technique for every book I read, only for the ones that are important or when I really need to learn something well.

    The author of the article also suggests some other valuable things like using flashcards and testing your knowledge, etc., but to me, the brain dump idea is genius.

    If you're not into that, I think you should at least write a couple of notes on your journal about what you're reading and what you're learning to keep these ideas fresh.

    1. 2

      I'll definitely be using the braindump idea. I often find myself drifting off when reading something, especially if it's something that is thought provoking.

  6. 2

    ALWAYS! … and did you know if you read on kindle (the device AND / OR the cloud reader) you can highlight parts of the text, then download all your highlights from the kindle website.

    check it out: https://www.amazon.com/b/?node=11627044011

    1. 1

      Taking notes on Kindle is painful due to how slow it is. I'll give it a shot tho!

  7. 2

    Fascinating question. If the book is available on Kindle or as a PDF, sometimes I will download it to my Remarkable tablet and read it in there. Once on the remarkable device I can then highlight or scribble and save those notes.

    Although honestly, that's quite a lot of effort. I think the best way is not to use the margins of the book, there is seldom enough space!, but instead to run a decent note book alongside. Title and date the entry, record thoughts in longform and neatly so they can be read back.

    My biggest mistake is to scribble illegibly onto some paper, stuff it in a draw and then 6 months later shred it because it makes no sense any more!

    Hope this helps.

    1. 1

      I've been looking into getting a Remarkable. How is it? Would you recommend it for reading and note taking?

      1. 1

        Yes I think I would recommend it for on the road but at home / in an office where you have all the space you need, it's not necessary.

        On the road to have an unlimited note book is definitely useful and it impresses clients.

  8. 2

    I mainly read digital books and I take notes in notion.
    Unfortunately a lot of books are chatty, repetitive and take so much time to get to the point, so taking notes is mandatory so that in case I want to refresh my knowledge I don't have to go back to the book, instead I go straight to my notes.

  9. 2

    I feel the same... Can't stand people writting in books 😩 I mean, I'll love when my kids will be lold enough to pick up the same books I am reading... So I wouldnt want to read a book that has writting everywhere... So I don't do it to my future kids 😛

  10. 2

    I always read (non-fiction) books with a pencil at hand to highlight interesting sentences. The act of "looking for the key messages" while reading ensures it's active reading. That way I found I get less distracted.

    A few weeks later, I go again through the book and write out my key takeaways, preferably in my own words. I don't do this for all books, but for the ones most relevant for me at the time.

    It's really key to try and remember more. Why? Because ideas are actually new combinations of knowledge you already have in your head. If you don't have it in your memory, you can't use it to be more creative.

  11. 2

    Sometimes yes! I always have a marker and a pencil with me:) I feel like this helps me understand even confusing and difficult topics in books!

  12. 2

    This is why I switched to buying all my books in digital format. I can highlight anything I want and all my selections get aggregated in one convenient spot. I don’t care whether or not I mark up a book, but it’s really valuable to get all the insights in one, easy to read location.

  13. 2

    I don't, it takes way too much time that takes away from the flow of reading the book.

    1. 1

      But how do you then make sure you're taking the key parts away and can easily come back to them if you ever need to?

      I agree that it takes away from the book if you're reading fiction, but I've come to feel that not taking notes on non-fiction books is a bit of a waste.

      1. 1

        I just remember the details, and I can recall them when needed.

        1. 1

          Fair enough! I wish my memory was as good as yours then haha

  14. 1

    You may want to take a look at my browser extension - it shows your past highlights when you are reading articles relevant to them.

    For example, you will see a set of highlights about leadership showing up on the right side of your browser when you read an article on a startup founder’s qualifications.

    Can you take a look and comment on it?

    https://hippo.flint.so/

  15. 1

    I've an application to manage the book note
    Lockdown book club - It is a solution for organising what you are reading for easy retrieval in the future.
    The best thing is I can add my thoughts with it. Here is one of my note from the Contagious

    https://ldbc.in/note/contagious-706

    What do you think ?

    There is a telegram group you can join for early access.
    https://t.me/joinchat/PYe78lAkyRpyU63S_9rYQg

  16. 1

    I usually write on the book itself. Whenever I'm done with a chapter, I go back to the chapter's first page and write what my takeaways from the text.

    Not great if you plan to resell the books later though :P

    I never really got used to reading books on my iPad.

  17. 1

    I normally underline key phrases, and write notes in the margins. I also have a separate notebook specifically for notes on the books I'm reading.

    I know what you mean with defacing the book though. I used to have it myself but pushed myself to ignore it. You just retain so much more when making notes.

  18. 2

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