This might be my favorite issue of Romancing the Phone! I've always believed that annotation is an act of love. My mother and her two sisters use to write notes in the margins of novels that they shared. One of my favorite things about used books is thinking about the passages that previous readers underlined. In the books that I keep around for a long time, finding old notes is like finding a letter to myself. Just recently I found an old Bible on my shelves where my adolescent self had crossed out a passage where the Apostle Paul was explaining that women weren't supposed to preach. I wrote in the margin in purple ink: "Nope!"
I did my senior project in college on marginalia on manuscripts and early-printed books and studied book history in graduate school. Book historians LOVE annotations. We want to know what contemporary readers are thinking, or anyone who is coming to a text. Books are made to be read, used to death. These objects have their own life and that can inform literary studies alongside the text itself.
I have my mom's Riverside Shakespeare and it has all of her thoughts from her high school and college self. Sometimes in different copies of the same book we've made similar notes.
I also value my annotations more when I reread a text, usually will annotate in a different color pen.
(Generally, if I buy a book that is older than I am (not the text, but the copy itself), I don't annotate, especially not pen).
This is giving me hives just thinking about it. I'm so thrilled this brings joy to other people, but I shall just observe. Your tagging and color coordinating is lovely, but imma sit this one out.
Did you see the reel of the mom who found her tween's annotated copy of Sunrise on the Reaping? It was full of earnest Gen Alpha slang and it cracked me up.
I am very new to the art of annotating. Last year I started using tabs and this year (gasp) I actually started highlighting and writing in books! Only for books I'm studying, but it's a start. I'm not sure if it's adding anything to my long-term experience, but I enjoy doing it in the moment.
One the one hand, the arts and crafts/bullet journaling of it all is extremely Not For Me. On the other hand, dog-earing a paperback at all of the spicy scenes is a practice as old as romance and I have partaken of it in the past. The closest I get these days is compiling an iCloud notes list of things, mostly from SJM books using the kindle search function (I spent a few fun hours trying to pin down what kind of sport exactly sunball was based on its attributes, and I'm flirting with a deep dive into the lore in advance of the next ACOTARs and the final CC).
I annotate but keep it low stakes — i just highlight and slap on a tab on whatever (so I don’t have categories). It’s also easier for transferring to/from ereaders!
I love this newsletter. All of the different annotations and types is so interesting to me. It's like a book sub-culture. Thank you for this! Also, you did a newsletter on the Boys of Tommen a while back and I've been slowly reading them. They've been great other than the fact they're so young!
I annotated two of the books I'd written and then my publisher did a giveaway for a reader to win it. It was hard work (I wrote the book about a year before, so I had to think really hard about what inspired what etc), but I enjoyed it.
I find myself annotating books when they are thought provoking and give me questions. tbh the only romance book I have annotated is Bride where I highlighted all the twilight references I found. ( I was in middle school in 2008)
im on the part about annotated books value and i have to say i would pay double for annotated books, or ones with a [dedication, inscription?]. a month ago i grabbed hamlet and said “yeah i could buy it, i’ve been wanting to read it” and when i opened it i found it was annotated and screamed (obviously i bought it). also, first rule of library science: books are to be used. there’s so many books, use them, enjoy them, i beg of you
This might be my favorite issue of Romancing the Phone! I've always believed that annotation is an act of love. My mother and her two sisters use to write notes in the margins of novels that they shared. One of my favorite things about used books is thinking about the passages that previous readers underlined. In the books that I keep around for a long time, finding old notes is like finding a letter to myself. Just recently I found an old Bible on my shelves where my adolescent self had crossed out a passage where the Apostle Paul was explaining that women weren't supposed to preach. I wrote in the margin in purple ink: "Nope!"
Long-time annotator here (as username suggests).
I did my senior project in college on marginalia on manuscripts and early-printed books and studied book history in graduate school. Book historians LOVE annotations. We want to know what contemporary readers are thinking, or anyone who is coming to a text. Books are made to be read, used to death. These objects have their own life and that can inform literary studies alongside the text itself.
I have my mom's Riverside Shakespeare and it has all of her thoughts from her high school and college self. Sometimes in different copies of the same book we've made similar notes.
I also value my annotations more when I reread a text, usually will annotate in a different color pen.
(Generally, if I buy a book that is older than I am (not the text, but the copy itself), I don't annotate, especially not pen).
love this, Katie!
i need to ask: is your senior project available to read somewhere?
This is giving me hives just thinking about it. I'm so thrilled this brings joy to other people, but I shall just observe. Your tagging and color coordinating is lovely, but imma sit this one out.
Did you see the reel of the mom who found her tween's annotated copy of Sunrise on the Reaping? It was full of earnest Gen Alpha slang and it cracked me up.
omg no searching for this immediately, no cap
Unfortunately annotating is giving law school and I can’t go back to that life 🫠😭
lol FAIR
I am very new to the art of annotating. Last year I started using tabs and this year (gasp) I actually started highlighting and writing in books! Only for books I'm studying, but it's a start. I'm not sure if it's adding anything to my long-term experience, but I enjoy doing it in the moment.
One the one hand, the arts and crafts/bullet journaling of it all is extremely Not For Me. On the other hand, dog-earing a paperback at all of the spicy scenes is a practice as old as romance and I have partaken of it in the past. The closest I get these days is compiling an iCloud notes list of things, mostly from SJM books using the kindle search function (I spent a few fun hours trying to pin down what kind of sport exactly sunball was based on its attributes, and I'm flirting with a deep dive into the lore in advance of the next ACOTARs and the final CC).
I annotate but keep it low stakes — i just highlight and slap on a tab on whatever (so I don’t have categories). It’s also easier for transferring to/from ereaders!
I was reading this in my email and I laughed so freaking hard at the way Gmail decided to place the cut. I had to share. https://imgur.com/a/5a072gv
lol
I love this newsletter. All of the different annotations and types is so interesting to me. It's like a book sub-culture. Thank you for this! Also, you did a newsletter on the Boys of Tommen a while back and I've been slowly reading them. They've been great other than the fact they're so young!
so glad to hear that!
I annotated two of the books I'd written and then my publisher did a giveaway for a reader to win it. It was hard work (I wrote the book about a year before, so I had to think really hard about what inspired what etc), but I enjoyed it.
So... Publishers are jumping on it too.
that’s AMAZING
I find myself annotating books when they are thought provoking and give me questions. tbh the only romance book I have annotated is Bride where I highlighted all the twilight references I found. ( I was in middle school in 2008)
im on the part about annotated books value and i have to say i would pay double for annotated books, or ones with a [dedication, inscription?]. a month ago i grabbed hamlet and said “yeah i could buy it, i’ve been wanting to read it” and when i opened it i found it was annotated and screamed (obviously i bought it). also, first rule of library science: books are to be used. there’s so many books, use them, enjoy them, i beg of you