2024 - 010 Idea Pod | A Rough Guide to Reading & Notetaking
Reader’s Note:
Idea Pod is a collection of random ideas I am sharing out in the open. The articles are first and foremost descriptive of my ruminations. It has no intention to be prescriptive to anybody but me; ideas finally organizing themselves, like autumn leaves dancing in the breeze for so long, finally settling down neatly on the ground. The essay below is a collection of my thoughts on how I should deal with my reading and notetaking.
I love to read. I also love to take notes. Both are fun yet demanding. Since I started collecting and reading books more than a decade ago, I always think of and do things related to reading and notetaking. Like thinking of the best way to do them efficiently or the feeling random guilt for reading multiple books. Last 2021, I bought a huge A4 size notebook as repository for my notetaking. It is gathering dust not, pages mostly empty.
And today I have the guts to share some of my best ideas * audible gasps * about reading and notetaking.
Phase I: Only Rule is to Read for Pleasure
Read for pleasure. This is reason enough to open a book and spend time with it. Full stop.
If the book is so good then proceed to next phases.
Phase Ia: Highlighting
It is fine to highlight the meaty parts. It’s also fine to be interrupted by curiosity and light bulb moments. Put post-it strips in replacement of dog-ears. Highlight with Stabilo. Marginalia is encourage.
If reading non-fiction books, give myself a minute to do the following:
Read the outline first or the table of contents for every new book
For every new chapter to be read, go to the last page of that chapter and read the summary pointers (or questions / exercises if any).
After checking out the summary, scan the chapter I’m about to read for the sub-topics and topic sentences.
After reading a chapter, close the book, and recall the themes or the scenes for fiction that resonated. Take note of what you love. Take note of what made you pause. More about notetaking later part of the article.
Phase II: Option to Follow My Own Curiosity
Phase II means go to the internet and learn more about the book and its author. Check out her other works, interviews, TEDTalks, published articles, review & critique of her work, etc. Search if her name is mentioned in social media. Anything that could reinforced my idea of the author/book.
Phase III: Advocate My Own Deep Learning
To share, teach, and express what I’ve gathered from the book.
Write a journal. Publish an essay. (Publish means I scream to the void I called my blog.)
Always look out for opportunity to use my notes as raw material in my communication—to make it part of a conversation, a written article, or mentioned it to teaching. Of course, the material should be relevant and appropriate.
Finally, there’s no deeper learning and no nobler advocacy than to practice and to embody at least one lesson from a good book.
Phase IV: Rereading
Is the book worth rereading?
There’s no in between. Just say yes or no. Then fucking read it again.
The evolution of this phase is to create a list called 100 Books Worth Rereading.
On Notetaking - The Meaty Parts
First I have to define what do I mean by “meaty parts” of a book. Here are my definitions:
captivating words or line (a description of a scene, a dialogue, or a line that is beautifully executed by the author to a point I wish it is something I wrote myself (stylistic)
nuggets of wisdom and gems for the intellectual refinement
passages that capture the human condition
ideas that intersect or ring familiar to an idea that I have encountered before:
that I just have to write my own thoughts on the margin of the text (marginalia)
- moments of curiosity and lightbulb moments (books, names, and new words / concepts that piqued my interest that I must reach for the internet
On Notetaking - A Casual System
After reading a chapter or two, stop. Do not proceed.
Pick a pen and sticky pad, then take notes. Deliberately scour the previous chapter and collect the meaty parts. I will leave the sticky pad at the end of the chapter. It will be part of the book. No need to use a separate piece of paper.
On this pad: (1) enumerate the pages where the meaty parts can be found and include a short description (one to two words) what is it all about; or, (2) enumerate and directly copy the meaty parts verbatim + add some of my thoughts.
After completing the whole book, I will collate everything into a Notion page.
Ultimate goal is to have a material for an essay about the book or to have it as future reference for other creative pursuit.
For marginalia: if marginalia is impossible, use sticky notes so I have more space to write.
Thought on Book Review
I’m not sure if I want to write book reviews since I kinda don’t want to criticize or praise (too much) other people’s work. But I’m sure I want the gems inside any book to shine for many people to see and appreciate.