HOW I WRITE MY NOTES WHILE READING BOOKS

~ Ellyn

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Hey guys, welcome back to my blog! Today I’m coming at you with a post requested by you guys! Early last month I wrote a blog post with some tips on how to annotate your books and was asked to go into more depth on how I write my notes while I read the books. So, here we are just over a month later and I’m finally getting to write this post, sorry it took so long! 💕💕

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EBOOKS

I love writing notes in ebooks and showing you guys my ridiculous highlights and commentary on Goodreads! ← You can click the link for more details on how I annotate my ebooks. Though, if I’m reading an ebook for review I will also write physical notes to keep my thoughts in one spot. I do find ebooks really helpful for jotting down a quick though easily on my phone and for finding quotes later on because I will have already highlighted it.

AUDIOBOOKS

Ahh, yes. Audiobooks. Because I will annotate anything if given the chance. I generally use Audible to listen to audiobooks so that makes annotating while I listen very simple because they have a bookmark & notes option.

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So, like with an ebook, I’ll just click on the clip option and write down my notes whenever I have a thought or want to bookmark a quote etc etc.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

I usually write my physical notes in a notebook and I also often write physical notes for audiobooks & ebooks. Like in these photos:

HOW I TAKE MY NOTES

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^ My notes for Daisy Jones & The Six

[You can find my typed up notes for Daisy Jones & The Six here. You can also find my review here as well if you’re interested to see the difference between my notes & my finished review.]

WHAT DO I WRITE IN MY NOTES?

I generally will write down anything that I think is important or that I think sounds interesting. This can include locations, question, theories, quotes or just my general thoughts; if I like a certain character or the book as a whole.
I will write down pretty much anything in my notebook, and sometimes my notes can become pretty in-depth. If you’re looking for what some of my more thought out, quote-heavy notes can look like, check out my notes for Cress by Marissa Meyer here.

I also write down character names, personalities, ages, ethnicities/ identifiers etc. because my memory is pretty poor and it’ll be helpful for me because I like to include character guides in my reviews.

I also take note of any Trigger Warnings (TW) while I’m reading just so I can include them in my quick thoughts when I add it to my Goodreads challenge or so I can let friends know if I think it might trigger them.

I will also be pretty informal with my notes because it’s generally only me that reads it and hey, they’re fun to look back on.

WHAT DO I USE TO WRITE MY NOTES?

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You can find more information about the specific products/brands etc I use on my Annotating 5 Tips blog post. But, I generally use an A5 5 section notebook like the one in the above picture! I also generally use the same types of pens because using different types irritates me.

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I also will use highlighters if I have a lot of notes for a specific book, like I did when I read Cress by Marissa Meyer. I generally use the highlighters to differentiate themes or comments in my notes, sort of like I would with differently coloured sticky tabs in a physical book.

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WAS THING HELPFUL AT ALL? LOL.

DO YOU HAVE ANY NOTE TAKING TACTICS?

I HAVE HAVEgoodreadsiconinstagramiconpinteresticontumblricontwittericon

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Published by Ellyn

Hi I'm Ellyn! I review and talk about books. I’m also a huge movie nerd and general lover of baking and all things Keanu Reeves!

14 thoughts on “HOW I WRITE MY NOTES WHILE READING BOOKS”

  2. Your organizational skills never fail to impress me! I have tried taking notes in the past but I’m too impatient and distractable. When I’m enjoying a story I don’t want to leave it, and once I’ve stopped reading, it can take a while until I work my way back to my book. I now just try to jot down my thoughts after I finish a book. It also helps that I many times rant to Chana about things that I both love and hate, so I many times have those conversations to look back on as notes.

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    1. Yay!!! Thank you so much Ellyn!
      I’m gonna be getting myself a bigger notebook and trying to take better notes! This post has been super helpful and I so appreciate you giving us examples too! 💕💕

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    2. Haha, thank you! I never think of myself as a properly organised person so it’s nice of you to say that! 💕

      I usually always take notes, but I completely see where you’re coming from because sometimes I get so absorbed with the story or just can’t be bothered to write any notes! I use that method sometimes too, as soon as I finish the books I’ll quickly jot down as many notes as I can.

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    1. I’m glad you found it helpful! I have the same problem – I can never remember anything about the books I read which is why I started notetaking in the first place! I write notes on my phone too, I usually use the InkPad app because it’s easy to get the notes on my laptop too.

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  4. Pingback: Month in Review // Greyson Unplugged – April | Part 2 – Use Your Words

    1. I hope you find a system that works for you! I was never much of a note taker before, but I’ve really gotten into it this year and it’s really working for me! If you’re more of a binge-reader, have you tried the specific review notepads/books? They’re roughly a page per book you read and you can just jut down your overall thoughts.

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