To write in and highlight books?

[DaisyRaine90]

Not in library books I might add, but books around the house (all belong to me). I highlight, underline, write in the margins and notes in the back and generally deface them.

I love it when I get books second hand that also have some writing in, or read them at other peoples houses.

It's like old style academic twitter.

Lots of people tell me you should never write in books. #

AIBU? or do you do it too?

I change 'seagull' to 'gull' wherever I see it written.
even in library books, but in pencil

YANBU. I'm a writer and I can't stand people who act like books are ornaments and give faux gasps if someone mentions turning the corners down, breaking the spine, writing notes, whatever. Books are meant to be read, not to look pretty on a shelf.

I wouldn't buy a secondhand book with writing in it though. I'd find it too distracting, reading all the notes!

I know why I don't do it: because considerable effort was invested by my primary school in teaching us we should leave books as we find them. They were all going to be used by someone else afterwards.

If you're going to throw your books away or burn them, rather than pass them on, I suppose it doesn't matter. It would depress me to vandalise them though, it would be acknowledging that something valuable was destined to be worthless.

Ever read the poem 'Marginalia'? Love it!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/m.poemhunter.com/poem-amp/marginalia/

@WhooooAmI24601 I'm with you. Books need to be cared for.

Though I like second hand books that have been written in, or have odds and ends used as bookmarks left in them.

Go for your life OP.

I bought a £150 legal text book decades ago and annotated it to within an inch of it's life. This helped me get 51% in an exam I shouldn't have passed and saved my employment.

I love making highlights on Kindle books. Recently I was reading a charity shop paper back and thought "why not". It was very liberating

If you're going to throw your books away or burn them, rather than pass them on, I suppose it doesn't matter. It would depress me to vandalise them though, it would be acknowledging that something valuable was destined to be worthless.

You missed out a fate for the books - that they live on your shelves as part of your home, and that you revisit them over your lifetime before passing them to your family and friends. Thoughtful annotations are not vandalism.

I love love love this. I scribble all over books but have very specific methods - pencil only, no rulers, and never ever ever any neon highlighters. The neon ink fades over time and looks ghastly. Post-Its are terrible for books, incidentally. The adhesive damages the pages if they are left in for a long time. Pencil is far kinder.

I love the idea that books bear the marks of their readers. My cookbooks in particular are covered in notes - I annotate every time I make a recipe with the results and any adaptations.

*Ichdleigenach
*
Marginalia was beautiful
Loved it

One of my top 10 poems now

On a rational level, of course you may write in your own books. But on an emotional level, it definitely feels like vandalism - however each to their own; I'll continue not defacing annotating my books and you can add marginalia (now that's a great word!) to yours.

*Marginalia
*
Keep saying it over and over it’s a lovely word for a lovely thing

💕

YANBU.

I have a number of books from my DSis who passed away whilst studying for her A Levels. Her annotations, particularly in Pride and Prejudice, bring me such joy as they are full of her sense of humour. It's such a lovely thing to have both for myself and for DD in the future.

Nothing wrong with it but I don't do it myself. I feel Ike a bit of a twat unless I'm actively researching sonething.

*Flokidoki
*
That’s beautiful
My condolences 💕

I tell my teens to feel free to scribble, annote, highlight and turn the corners down (to place-mark) any of their own books as they see fit. (Obviously not library books or other people's!) This was generally frowned on when I was young, even for your own property. Not sure why, as if books are sacred or something? When doing homework I lost count of the hours I spent searching for a good quote I'd previously read just because the place-mark note had dropped out. Your book, your choice!

Flokidoki