We
did something a little different at the book club at the turn of the year. As a short term read, one week, we read and
discussed an essay on how we might write notes into a book as we read. This is actually a famous essay from the eminent
scholar, Mortimer J. Adler, and his essay is appropriately titled, “How
to Mark a Book.” The essay is only six
pages, so you can read it in less than fifteen minutes. You can find it here.
It’s
surprising how controversial a subject this can be. Some find writing into a book a grave
taboo. I on the other hand write profusive
notes in every book I own. There seems
to be two extremes. Which side do you
fall on?
Side
note. I just read Adler’s biographical
entry at Wikipedia and I’m surprised to learn he was a convert to
Catholicism. I have read one of his
books, though I can’t recall which, so I have known of Adler since I was a
young man. I didn’t know he ultimately
became Catholic.
The
following are my comments in our discussion at the Goodreads Catholic Thought
Book Club. Here’s a link to the thread.
Comment
1:
Books are sacrosanct to
me too, so I would never be careless with them. But I consider my thoughts to
be sacrosanct as well, so I have no qualms writing my thoughts as I read to any
book I own. Of course if I don't own it, that's different. I haven't read
Adler's essay yet, so I'm curious to see how he recommends scribbling in the
margins. I'll discuss some of my methods after I read the essay.
Comment
2:
I thought this paragraph
made a rather interesting point:
But the soul of a book
can be separated from its body. A book is more like the score of a piece of
music than it is like a painting. No great musician confuses a symphony with
the printed sheets of music. Arturo Toscanini reveres Brahms, but Toscanini's
score of the C-minor Symphony is so thoroughly marked up that no one but the
maestro himself can read it. The reason why a great conductor makes notations
on his musical scores—marks them up again and again each time he returns to
study them—is the reason why you should mark your books. If your respect for
magnificent binding or typography gets in the way, buy yourself a cheap edition
and pay your respects to the author.
A book has a soul that
cannot be destroyed? But one should be free to tamper with the body...lol.
But the comparison to a
musical score is really interesting. A musical score exists in sort of a
metaphysical nether world. The story of a book, the lyricism, the ideas, they
too exist separate from the physical book in a metaphysical realm.
John
Replied to Comment 2:
“But the soul of a book
can be separated from its body. A book is more like the score of a piece of
music than it is like a painting...."
This is one of the ideas
in Bulgakov's the Master and Margarita, isn't it? That even if you burn a
manuscript you haven't destroyed the book itself, its metaphysical existence.
I
replied to John:
Is it? The Master and
Margarita has been on my reading list but I've never gotten to it.
Kerstin
commented:
"I use laminated
holy cards as bookmarks. They do double duty for me marking the page, and their
long edges make for a great ruler substitute for underlining passages. ...it
must be the German in me..."
I
replied to Kerstin:
Ha, you should see my
scribbles. And when I'm in a moving vehicle the lines come out as wavy as a
trembling hand. Can you imagine standing in a crowded subway on my way off to
college trying to underline while the train is bouncing and rocking...lol.
Comment
3:
Adler’s
list of devices was very interesting.
Here’s my response to each one and then I’ll add a few of my own at the
bottom.
1. Underlining: of major
points, of important or forceful statements.
Absolutely. That’s probably the most important single
thing you can do, identify the salient points.
2. Vertical lines at the
margin: to emphasize a statement already underlined.
I
do this too, but more if a lengthy passage is very important. I do it in lieu of underlining.
3. Star, asterisk, or
other doo-dad at the margin: to be used sparingly, to emphasize the ten or twenty
most important statements in the book. (You may want to fold the bottom corner
of each page on which you use such marks. It won't hurt the sturdy paper on which
most modern books are printed, and you will be able to take the book off the
shelf at any time and, by opening it at the folded corner page, refresh your
recollection of the book.)
I
use asterisks too, again to highlight an import section. So what’s the difference between my
underlines, vertical lines, or an asterisk?
Not much actually. Underlining is
more when I think the particular language used by the author is
significant.
4. Numbers in the margin:
to indicate the sequence of points the author makes in developing a single
argument.
I
don’t really do this, but then I don’t read philosophic works where the
building of argument is important. If
there are several points I may list them, numbering them.
5. Numbers of other pages
in the margin: to indicate where else in the book the author made points
relevant to the point marked; to tie up the ideas in a book, which, though they
may be separated by many pages, belong together.
Yes,
I do this too but sparingly. It’s a pain
to try to find the page of the previous idea to tie them together. I guess that’s my laziness.
6. Circling of key words
or phrases.
Absolutely. Very important. A circle on top of the print stands out. I also circle dates to orient the passage in
time and history.
7. Writing in the margin,
or at the top or bottom of the page, for the sake of: recording questions (and
perhaps answers) which a passage raised in your mind; reducing a complicated
discussion to a simple statement; recording the sequence of major points right through
the books. I use the end-papers at the back of the book to make a personal
index of the author's points in the order of their appearance.
Yes
absolutely. A list of characters at the
beginning of the book, an important thought in the margin, a summary of the
salient point at the end of a chapter, an asterisk at the beginning of the
chapter, what page important thoughts or events are located in the back of the
book. I never fold a page tip. I’ll write that page number in the back.
Other
things I do:
1.
An exclamation mark on the side to highlight a well written or beautiful
section. Double exclamation marks for
something exceedingly well written.
2.
An arc of a line to connect something on the top of the page to something on
the bottom.
3.
A definition of a word or term that comes up in the writing that I needed to
look up.
4.
Emotional reaction that I might have to a passage.
5.
Question mark on something I don’t understand.
Comment
4:
Also, has it been
said? I always use pencil, never
ink. I live with mechanical pencils
either in my shirt pocket (Yes, I'm a geeky engineer) or scattered through the
house.
Comment
5:
I think one other thing
should be pondered. How does marking a
book in the new world of ebooks work?
You would think it would work the same way but I find it different. Certainly one can tack notes on any given
page, and my current Kindle has four colors of highlight to choose from. But still I find it different. I find that I do not scribble little notes as
often as when I have a pencil in hand.
It tends to be rather tedious to open up the notes page and write a
thought. I certainly don’t do it just to
put a question mark or an exclamation mark in the margin. I can’t circle an important word or
date. I highlight it, which I guess is
the same. My previous Kindle only had
one color, if it was a color, but now with four colors I have created a hierarchy
with the color scheme. That helps. Red would be the most significant and perhaps
equivalent to my asterisk in pencil. In
the Kindle format I now never list the characters at the beginning or collate motifs
at the end of the book. In short it’s is
not as detailed as with pencil and paper book.
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