But keeping notes on books seems like such a good idea. I mean, on one level it may detract from the suspension of disbelief if you're interrupting your immersion in the book with frequent trips back to reality to make notes on its content, and of course it could also lead to over-analysis. But on the plus side, it would be very useful for complex books (like detective novels, as you say), and would also be useful if you start reading something and then have to abandon it for a while (I still haven't finished Sharpe's Fury, which I started on my birthday IIRC) :)
For academic purposes, I never read anything without a pen in my hand - it just isn't worth reading an academic article IMO unless you're taking notes at the same time. And then I get all anal and index the notes alphabetically. I told this to a PhD who's a year ahead of where I'm at, and she was quite angry with herself for not doing this all along, so I don't think everyone does it. But it helps me.
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Date: 2008-02-10 01:50 pm (UTC)But keeping notes on books seems like such a good idea. I mean, on one level it may detract from the suspension of disbelief if you're interrupting your immersion in the book with frequent trips back to reality to make notes on its content, and of course it could also lead to over-analysis. But on the plus side, it would be very useful for complex books (like detective novels, as you say), and would also be useful if you start reading something and then have to abandon it for a while (I still haven't finished Sharpe's Fury, which I started on my birthday IIRC) :)
For academic purposes, I never read anything without a pen in my hand - it just isn't worth reading an academic article IMO unless you're taking notes at the same time. And then I get all anal and index the notes alphabetically. I told this to a PhD who's a year ahead of where I'm at, and she was quite angry with herself for not doing this all along, so I don't think everyone does it. But it helps me.