148 Comments

1. I’m so curious, I’ve never heard of this book. Thank you so much, Spooktacular is so much fun!! Another great party favor, I love bookmarks!

   1. I literally just started annotating my books about a month ago and love it! I enjoy ALL the annotation videos so anytime you want to show more….. 🙂

2. Watching the replays is so much fun. Playing catch up lol

3. I don’t like to write in my books but I will using the methods you gave us a few weeks ago so I don’t have too.

4. I annotate some of my books but not all. Like if they’re in perfect condition and/or an absolute favourite I won’t because ehteres no way I’m sticking anything to the paper or writing on them. But if it’s a book I love and I have multiple copys then I will or if it’s already in pretty bad shape I will. I do actually have a couple books that are brand new but I want to annotate them since it’ll be my first time reading through.

5. I annotate my books. I use colouring pencils and markers to doodle and highlight sentences, but I usually write my thoughts on a sticky note because there isn’t enough room on the page. At first it was scary because I was afraid I couldn’t ‘make it pretty’, but that’s okay, it’s just for me, not for Pinterest XD
   It’s been fun to reread those books and see my notes. It’s like having a conversation with my past self.

   1. Yes, I love that perspective!!! It IS like having a conversation with your past self. Seeing into your own mind from the future you. It’s very cool!

6. I love the bookmark!!

7. I’m an avid reader and I can absolutely say that I’ve never been a fan of annotating ever. It didn’t matter what type of book it was, either fiction or nonfiction. I just couldn’t do it. If I needed to highlight something from a particular book, I had to go find a pen and a piece of paper to write it down because even if though I knew that I could go a back to that book at any time. I never went back into that book to get the information that I needed.

8. For nonfiction I will write all over the book, but not for fiction since I will typically donate after I read (unless it’s a keeper!)

9. I have zero qualms with writing in books, highlighting them, underlining, you name it. Sure, some are precious but most aren’t and I find it helps me to think more deeply about the words I’m reading.

   1. I agree with this totally!

10. I annotate in some of my books and write in it. But only in books I reread. I love to annotate my favorite scenes or quotes I will remember.

11. I really did not like Bunny. I gave it 3 stars because it was original and the author gets you talking about the book. Overall it was just too weird for me. I don’t have fond memories of my time reading it. I’m excited to hear what you think Sarra.

12. I struggled with annotating my books for the longest time. But I did a book swap with one of my friends and we annotated them to kind of show like we were reading the book at the same time. From that moment on I have loved it.

13. I’m so excited for today’s offerings

14. thank you for the beautiful bookmark! and such a good quote! Thanks for all that you do for your community!

15. Forgot to answer the question 🙂 I started to annotate a few as part of my learning process as a newbie writer. It was hard at first as I did not want to “damage” the pages. I did it in books that I am planning to keep so no real harm done 🙂

16. Loving all of this so far!

17. Bunny has been on my TBR for a while too. Maybe now I’ll pick it up! I’ll annotate occasionally, most often with non-fiction, and when I’m having a hard time staying focused!

18. I’d like to get into annotating the books I read so that I can remember more of what I’ve read and be able to refer back to important stuff more easily.

19. Looking forward to hearing about Bunny! Loving this Spooktacular!

20. I’m going to try and annotate the next book in a series I’m reading. I’m not sure about writing in my books though.

    1. Amazon has clear post it notes. It’ll look like you wrote in it, but you can take them out if you don’t like it.

21. After hearing about Bunny for what seems like years on BookTube, it is on hold at my library. Will have to give it a try.

22. I annotate all my non-fiction books. I’m very much an underliner, scribble in the margins annotator. If there is something really important that I want to go back to I’ll add a flag or make a wee note of the page number in my annotation notebook.

23. Loving spooktacular !

24. I’m having fun with this.

25. Oh my goodness do I annotate! But some books, like ones I inherited or are signed, are strictly read- only.

    1. Yes, I agree! If they’re signed or handed down like an heirloom, I think I would say they off limits to me to annotate!

26. I don’t annotate my books because I don’t know how to. I highlight in nonfiction books for writing craft but that’s about it.

27. Oooo such a controversial topic!
    For non-fiction, I definitely annotate: sticky notes, highlight, and yes, writing at times.
    For fiction I use sticky notes, and occasionally a highlight (much more digitally), but almost never write.

28. I really want to get into annotating fiction! I annotate non fiction and do write in my books.

29. I must have missed the annotation video! Will head over to HB and check it out. I hope you enjoy Bunny!

30. I can’t believe it’s already Day 8! Time is just flying! I annotate in my books when I feel that it really needs to be done, but I use transparent sticky or tracing paper that’s cut up and just ‘free float’ the pieces with the dedicated page number written on it and leave it stuck in that page, but primarily transparent sticky when I have them available. I’ve heard about Bunny and really wanna read it, I’ve got it on a ‘suggested purchase’ for my library, hopefully, they’ll come around and purchase it soon! Also, I love the bookmark!

31. Loved watching your video on annotations! This bundle rocks!!

32. I’ve only annotated on my kindle. I did buy a used book with a bunch of annotations so I’m excited to read it and see their thoughts on the book

    1. My NaNo reward if I win will be a Kindle Scribe, so I can see lots of Kindle annotations in the future!

33. I can’t wait for this. I love reading vlogs!

34. I haven’t made it a habit to annotate – I loved your video on it though and see the value.

35. I’ve never even heard of annotating a book. I’ll have to watch your video on it!

36. I annotate nonfiction but I don’t in fiction. In my nonfiction I highlight and write notes, plus I write notes in a notebook. I have the audio version of Bunny it was interesting! It’s been several months since I listened to it.

37. I’m looking forward to hearing more about the book. It’s not one I know. I have been loving your themed days!

    1. I don’t annotate in books but I have wrote notes on notebook paper. I’m a mostly read only person.

38. I’m having a blast with this spooktacular!!! Getting all my scavenger hunt clues together.

39. With all the horrible stuff going on around the world recently, the quote on the bookmark is exactly what I needed to hear today.

    1. Also I annotate with pencil in physical books and pink highlighter in the digital copies I read from my library through Libby.

40. I’ve never actually tried it! It might break my heart a little to write in a book

    1. I can understand! You’re not alone in that. Some people really don’t want to cross that line, and that’s fine too!

41. I love all of the party favors but this bookmark is my far my favorite so far! Thank you!

42. I have started annotating books, but I still can’t write on the books! I feel bad doing so haha. I use Post-it notes and note cards to make my notes in the books.

43. I annotate in my book writing craft books, but I would never write in my fiction books. I read, and re-read my craft books time after time. Thank you Sarra for recommending KM Weiland, I always refer back to her books when I’m outlining and plotting xx

44. I haven’t yet, but I want to start with my writing craft books.

45. I’d like to learn more about annotation. As it stands, I use page flags and journal about the book once I finish. I think I need to learn a color coding system, and allow myself to write in the margins.

46. I definitely highlight and add notes when I read non-fiction ebooks. Sometimes I take notes in a separate notebook when I’m reading a particularly important hard copy of non-fic.

47. I don’t like to annotate my books, I’m very particular about keeping my books perfect (don’t break the spine or fold the pages ect) but I love seeing everyone else’s aesthetic annotations with all the page flags and highlighters!

48. ooh I’m just getting into organizing and annotating. Your give away of supplies is so generous and awesome!

49. I usually will right page numbers down in a notebook to refer to, when I want to go back to a passage or passages in a book.

50. Currently I don’t annotate my books but I keep a separate notebook dedicated to notes It’s been a while since I’ve read those kind of books!

51. “Do you annotate your books? If so, do you write on the pages or is that against all rules?”

    Yes. Writing and highlighting directly on the page. I also keep a journal of things that I absolutely love in any particular book.

52. I definitely write in my books! And the annotating supplies you recommended in your video is one of my NaNo rewards this year!

53. I only use sticky notes. Writing in the actual book is forbidden. lol

54. You can never have too much office supplies. I haven’t started annotating books yet, but I have been interested in it.

55. I definitely annotate my non-fiction books! I just use tabs for my fiction books. I go ham with notes on my kindle, though.

56. I love this kind of stuff!

57. When I get used books, I sometimes see minor annotation in the margins. It’s like peaking at someone else’s mind at that time. In the past, I’ve found myself annotating non-fiction books more than fiction which I strictly highlighted. But that is changing, and I see fiction being really fun to annotate.

58. Adding this book to my tbr!

59. Who doesn’t love a pack of fun supplies?! : )

60. I’ve been mostly reading via audiobooks, which makes annotating nearly impossible – so I want to make a habit getting physical copies of books I’ve really gotten into to go back and annotate.

61. Both my mother and grandmother were librarians. So writing in books was verboten. My relationship to this has been evolving, but it’s still a pretty big deal to contemplate. Sticky notes have been my ally in this!

62. I have never annotated any of my books! I don’t even like folding the corners on them!

63. I think for me, I tend to highlight and underline with pencil especially if I am reading non-fiction. And occasionally I might write some notes in a notebook about what I am reading.

64. Writing directly on the pages is an absolute no-go for me. I use transparent thin markers and transparent post-its so far.

65. I don’t annotate while reading too often. Most of my reading is on the kindle. However, I tend to buy paperbacks of writing craft books so that I can annotate!

66. I do not write in my books. I can’t bring myself to do it.

67. I had only annotated in books for classes and assignments. However, this past summer, I tutored an in-coming high school freshman who never learned how to annotate. We read the assigned YA novel together. I started off using a library copy, but after two chapters, I bought my own copy because I wanted to annotate and enjoyed the reading a lot when I did so. In addition to covering the topics the student needed to note, I marked things that I appreciated and noticed as a writer. I used page flags and post-it notes, but also wrote on the pages themselves. I loved your video on how you annotate.

68. I annotate my non-fiction books, which are mostly writer-related. I don’t think I’ve annotated a fiction book since college (English major).

69. I have always written in my books mostly because I don’t lend them to others. I like my books to feel lived in and loved and that’s one of the things that makes me feel that way.
    I have a note in my Google Keep for quotes that I want to keep, but I also like to write them out in my journal.

    I’m also probably one of those weird people who aren’t bothered by other people’s notes/highlights in used books! I feel like it gives me insight that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

70. I highlight my non fiction books, but I could never mark the pages of a novel

71. Oooh, I’ve wanted to read this book, too!

    And thank you, as always, for the opportunity to win some primo goodness!

72. I don’t annotate books yet but would like to get into it.

73. I used to not write in books, but as I got older, I was like the heck with it! If it’s my book, there’s something good in there, & I love it and want to remember it…I’ll write, highlight, use sticky notes…the works!

74. You have my interest peaked with this book. I will be checking it out. I love the idea of annotating books. I need to purchase some supplies for that.

75. I can’t stand to mar my paper books with anything other than reading wear. If I want to make a note of something, I’ll put it in a journal or create a document on my computer to dump my thoughts into. Digital copies are a different story. I have no problem using the notes feature on my Kindle. Highlighted digital text can be deleted later and the notes are hidden anyway, whereas with a paper copy it’s permanent and visible forever. If I liked the book enough to make notes, I’m probably going to read it again and I want each read to be unique. If I see my notes in the margins, I’m more likely to read it through that past lens instead and miss potential new insights or thought processes.

76. I will be interested in what you say about the book, it’s one I haven’t read yet so I’ll read it after!

77. I highlight in my writer craft books.

78. Cannot believe how quickly spooktacular is passing on.

    Am loving it & thank you for all the effort and work you & your team have put into it :0)))

79. I annotate (highlight, underline, notes) in nonfiction, no problem, but rarely in fiction. Mostly because I read most fiction digitally and the physical fiction books I keep are usually special editions/ collectables. I love finding used nonfiction books with annotations because it’s interesting to see what sparked ideas in other readers!

80. I often annotate nonfiction, especially books I’m reading for work.

81. I have annotated in my book. I mainly do it for books I’ve already read and want to write my thoughts in, books that I have high expectations for, or books that have large world buildings. I do write on the pages!

82. I have been really wanting to get more into annotating!! I’m stoked to watch this vlog. 🙂

83. I annotate non-fiction as long as I think it’s a book that I’m definitely going to keep. If I’m not sure, I use page flags so I can find the section again and then type the notes into my Notion. I’m one of your planner (not writer) fans and I get so into fiction that I wouldn’t even remember to annotate fiction!

84. I only annotate non fiction books and I love it ! Especially when I re-read them 😉

85. I usually stick to highlighting and underlining when I annotate books. I’m more willing to write in books if they’re for “learning” vs. “pleasure” lol

86. no

87. Enjoyed watching on the replay today. I have a hard time writing in books, but I love leaving little page flags in the pages at key moments!

88. I don’t annotate my books. It’s never occurred to me to do that honestly. lol I always get lost in books anyway and I would never remember to annotate.

    1. Yes, I agree that it would be impossible to do if you’re just hoping to get lost! I only do it with books I’m trying to learn something from or that I’m rereading to find all the clues I missed!

89. I annotated books in college, but haven’t done so beyond that. I recently got a copy of The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry and think it’d be super helpful to annotate it as I am exploring so many different styles of poetry writing. I don’t think it’s against the “rules” to write in our own books. As long as they belong to you, do whatever you like!

90. I have been wanting to annotate my books for a while now. Thanks for giving me ideas.

91. I have annotated books using sticky notes but I tend to not write in them.

92. I’ve just started to annotate my research and writing craft books. I don’t know why I haven’t done it before now. I used to annotate my college textbooks. I can’t bring myself to annotate fiction books, though. I like to resell them.

93. I struggled with annotating, but i love the bookmark

94. OMG annotating books can be such a friendship breaker lol!
    To be honest, I like the idea of annotating books, but the one time I tried I ran out of space!! So, no annotating for me. Besides I like sharing my books with others and I want them to have their own experience.

    Happy spooktacular day 8!

    1. Haha, people can get quite passionate about it!!! And yes, that makes total sense about sharing with others!

95. When I’ve annotated I’ve done a mixture of on page notes and post it notes, it all depends on the length of my notes.

96. When I was in college many years ago, I highlighted text and sometimes made notes in the margins. I watched your video a while back and decided to try annotating, and I love it. I’ve only done nonfiction, but I’m not sure I want to do fiction. I usually just journal about my fiction books.

97. i annotate some books.

98. I have an annotated my school books to keep awake and remember what I was supposed to. I would use different highlighter colors for different subjects. For fiction, I do not annotate my books. I have no problem remembering what I read. I do know that my phone sometimes accidentally will highlight a paragraph. Loving the scavenger hunt and some the events.

99. Love the writing and reading-related content– cannot wait to check it all out!

    Do you annotate your books? If so, do you write on the pages or is that against all rules?

    I do annotate my books– I love to re-read and break-down and study the masters. I never write in the books (nor bend the spines– the horror!) but I do use the colorful tabs and, depending on if the book will be a keeper, I may highlight. If I think I’ll give it away at some point, I keep it in near perfection. I also type notes up and print them out and file them in a binder as well.

    Excited for this particular giveaway! You are so creative!

100. This year my reading has really increased! And Bunny is in my to read list! I’m waiting on the copy from the library to be available for me. I annotate some of my books but it’s usually the ones that are either spiritual or self help books. I don’t usually do that in my other books like fiction.

101. I annotate some of my books, usually non-fiction. I haven’t annotated fiction before, although recently I have been mentally noting pivotal plot points as I read (“this is the first doorway” or “this must be the “all is lost” moment). I probably should be taking notes on these instead because it usually goes right of my head after that, lol! I’ve been mostly relying on library books recently for budget reasons, so obviously writing in those would be against the rules.

102. I read predominantly on my e-reader, highlighting passages I want to come back to as I go, and tracking progress / jotting notes in my bullet journal daily logs & monthly reading tracker spread. Then when I finish a book, I circle back around and migrate whatever highlights, notes and details I want to keep into my digital reading journal and analog reading log.

     It can take more time than doing it as I go, but I feel like it disrupts the flow of my reading sessions a lot less. And like Sarra said, it’s relatively minimal when I compare it to the amount of time the author spent crafting the book in the first place!

     p.s. I’m 100% on board for another Twitch stream on Sunday!

103. I annotate non-fiction all the time, only recently started to use clear postits to annotate some fiction. (Saw it first in @plantBasedBride. I also use a reading journal, the clockwork reader to jot memories/quotes etc about what I read.

104. After watching your reading vlog, I went to Audible to get Bunny. I love annotating books. I’m a terrible artist but sometimes I’ll sketch something from the story on the page with colored pencils. Then I can still read the text if I pick it up again. Don’t worry about the book collection. I tell people I’m saving for retirement.

105. I annotate non-fiction books, especially if I am doing them for novel research. But I am considering it for fiction books, especially if I find one in particular that is capturing my imagination and curiosity. I have one in particular that I actually stopped reading because it had the most gorgeous phrases and I wanted to take note of them. I will come back to the book when I have the energy to properly take all that in and make notes.

106. I get a lot of books from the library which means I cannot annotate in those books. When I own the book I always mark the parts that move me or if I have any strong reactions.

107. After watching your video on annotation and finding my son’s university notes on annotating I bit the bulletins started. I’m reading “Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg (highly recommend) and highlighting passages , underlining, writing in the margins, etc. I cannot get over the amount of info I’m retaining by doing this. One of my favourite analogies from the novel was where she makes a comment about how writers have to write everyday. It doesn’t matter what you write or how horrible it is, the more you write the better you’ll be at writing. Just like football players have to practice daily to get better, so too do writers need to practice to get better. I highly recommend this wonderful novel to every writer/author out there.

108. I remember in high school being taught to annotate books. I usually read on my kindle so I highlight constantly but I don’t really take notes

109. I do annotate books because I host a lot of online read-alongs so I have to keep track of key points for discussions. I use page flags and sticky notes, though I have been known to write in the book from time to time. I’ve also been annotating my books on writing since I learned the technique from the video you made about it.

110. I’ve never heard of clear post it’s and now I’m intrigued . I love annotating non-fiction and have been getting more into annotating fiction in the last couple of years.

111. I could never write in a book, but I suppose I will be writing notes and edits in hopefully my own novel – one day.

112. I have not heard of that book and will have to look into it!

113. I have not heard of this book but will definitely check it out!

114. Never annotated…I don’t even use pen on my study books…

115. I read bunny a few years ago and remember being so confused about what actually happened! It was good though, and shocking!

116. I love Bunny! It reminded me a lot of the Secret History for its dark academia vibes

117. I have been wanting to start annotating books but just haven’t started yet! I definitely have in the past for school but have not since then. And I definitely understand better when I physically write in the book.

118. I have slowly started annotating just a little.

119. I have always wanted to annotate, but just haven’t known how. Thank you so much for sharing! Your Spooktacular event is always so much fun!

120. I only ever wrote in books I read for school, but I’ve recently allowed myself to do it to books I read for fun. In general, highlighting helps me pay attention. This month, I’ve set a goal to read 5 writing craft books, and I’ve been marking them up and writing notes in a Stalogy notebook (boy, is that satisfying!). Most of the time I’m marking up a used book, which feels less wrong. But for the record, Wonderbook is hard to markup because the pages are so slick and there is information going literally every which way. But what an amazing book!

121. Yes I annotate and yes! I write on the pages too! Longer thoughts on post its but I totally just go for it. Books are like journals for me…. Going on a journey I must include my thoughts!

122. I was raised to never “deface” a book, so recently I’ve been trying to start annotating. It’s hard! But I think there is so much good to come from it. I’m persevering!

123. I love the look of an annotated book but have not started it yet.

124. I’ve only started annotating recently and loving it. Anything goes so I definitely write on the pages whenever I want. Lol

125. I do annotate books! I feel like it’s a gift I’m leaving to the next person who may find the book

126. I love annotating my books and finding books that have been annotated-one reason why I shop for books at thrift stores, goodwill, and used bookstores. There is something aesthetically pleasing about annotations. I also have always wanted to do a sort of book-road map Pin-pal type event where a book is chosen, read, and then annotated and then sent to the next person to read and annotate and then to the next person, (and so on, depending on how many participates I have and then once it reaches the last person, the book is sent back to the original sender. This idea came from one that I wanted to do for a road trip event. Where you take pictures of the places you stop at, whether it be a restaurant, a hotel, a landmark, etc. And then any other stops and purchases along the way. Print out the pictures and put them all in one big book and then give it to my daughter so that she can take the same route and re-visit the same places to see if they are still there and or if they have changed. To try the same food I did as well, and to take pictures and add them to the book, and continue the journey.

127. I have never annotated a book before but I would love to learn more about it! I absolutely see the benefit as both a reader and a writer.

128. My version of annotation includes page, flags, and a “craft” notebook where I actually write passages from the book I’m reading.My version of annotation includes page, flags, and a “craft” notebook where I actually write passages from the book I’m reading, or

129. Oh! That book has been on my radar for a while, but I haven’t been in a dark academia mood. Mostly in fantasy land right now… but that doesn’t mean I’m not putting that book on my TBR!

130. I am definitely team Can’t Write In My Books, but I do love annotating, and for some reason, I don’t have an issue with highlighting….

131. When I was younger, I though it was a “crime” to bend a page in a book, never mind write in it. That has changed in the last few years, thankfully.

132. Wrote in my books when I was younger and always wrote in textbooks. I still write in non-fiction but haven’t written in fiction in a long time!

133. Thanks for reminding me that I BOUGHT this book last year and forgot to read it!!

134. I keep a pencil and pad by my current book to take notes. By doing this I can pull the pages into a binder for easy reference without having to dig outa certain book. I have a small apartment so my books are stored in banker boxes.

135. I really need to get back to reading more!

136. I love the bookmark, thanks. On to the question, I’ve never really thought about annotating or writing in most books. I did find recently a book of poetry from when I was in grade 9, and love seeing little hearts on the ones I loved at the time and the highlighted page numbers in the table of contents. I never really though of what my future self would think of them as my favourites, but now I’m excited to read them and see how they make me feel now.

137. I only tend to annotate non fiction – using highlighters or underlining mostly. And yes I write directly into the book!

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