/lit/ - Literature

>>16598310
Write a goal of what you hope to achieve in a book and take notes on how it's achieved and the implications. You get more out of reading it and splitting it up into 30 minute readings makes it more beneficial than you think. A lot of times you're passively reading and you dk it. It was similar to me not using internet, I would just passively pick it up and go on the internet before I realized it.

My reading comprehension, creativity, and general reading acuity increased exponentially once I started rewriting key ideas and passages in my own words on notecards. I rarely write or take notes in books anymore.

>>16598310
>>16598477

Having a Zettelkasten also greatly aids retention and scholarship in general. If you intend on writing something about the subject matter later on, a Zettelkasten is a god-send.

Pull a ben franklin

Drill 1 of 7: Find a passage you would like to study. For each sentence, write down notes on the content.

Drill 2 of 7: Rewrite the passage from memory using only your notes on each sentence. This forces you to think.

Drill 3 of 7: Reread the original passage and correct any mistakes. This teaches you sentence construction.

Drill 4 of 7: Take the passage and convert it into poetry. This helps you practice rhythm and flow.

Drill 5 of 7: Convert your poem back to prose. This reinforces your understanding of the passage.

Drill 6 of 7: Jumble your notes on each sentence, then reassemble them in the right order. This teaches you structure and organization of ideas.

Drill 7 of 7: Repeat as many times as you want!

>>16598539
Will try this, thanks m8

You don’t need to but I get a lot out of writing some ‘final thoughts’ in my diary, it consolidates the experience for me

When I'm reading a history or a book on philosophy and see something that may come in handy later I put a sticky note in the page so that when I need the information for a quote or something, as I can always remember which book it was from, I flip through my stickies to find what I'm thinking of.
Cannot imagine being such a dire reader as these folks >>16598310 >>16598402 >>16598477 >>16598539 with their writing in their books, writing out of books, rewriting what they've read, put it in their own terms, etc. Perhaps my memory is just really good but it seems a bit excessive.

>>16598310
Only schizoids take notes, I recite screaming everything I have read this while lifting

>>16599179
>sticky note
Why would you willingly obscure the content of a book? It's annoying as hell.

>>16598402
This for sure. 30 to 45 minutes is about perfect before a break.

>>16599191
You put the sticky not on the top margin of the page, friend.

>>16599179
I'm >>16598402
If your goal is to get to x number of pages disregard my point but if you're 4 or 5 books and you want to get the most out of them then you should have a particular goal you're going for. Even in fiction if you're reading it to get some style points it works well. It's about 30 minutes then you do another book. I'm certainly growing more than just doing 6-8 hours on one book. I've noticed I'll focus in on something and stick to it w a mind on the pages. W more analysis I can change my direction more often and get more work done. It's more fun, less a hassle and certainly less stress.

>>16599179
Maybe you have a photographic memory. Unless I strongly visualize what I'm reading or re-articulate my understanding of the material in my own way, I forget a lot of what I read. I'm an ADD brainlet, I know.

I only take notes if the ideas are not summarised or organised very clearly. Taking notes takes a lot of time and energy, so if im reading a textbook I dont bother since everything is already organised and summarised for you. If you try take notes on a textbook you just end up rewriting what the author has said, which is a tedious waste of time.

>>16598310
Dfw's notes in a Delillo book

>>16599380
Absolute pleb writing in the margins

>>16599380
Was it autism?

Taleb's notes on Pinker.

>>16599452
>reading P*nker in the first place
based Arab strikes again

>>16598310
Notes aren't "necessary", but if you aren't brainstorming while reading then you aren't getting the real full experience.
You can read nonfiction for the sake of it, but if you are trying to learn a subject, notes connect your thoughts into your own understanding of the subject.

The notes are for you to reread. there are many different reasons to read a book, if it's just for fun, don't take notes. but note-taking and rereading are actually fun after you do it for a while.

>>16598310
>>16599380
Like this picture and this one, as far as fiction goes, only works you are 'studying.' I don't mean necessarily in an academic sense, but rather any work that means a lot to you, deeply influencing your worldview and/or own writing craft, a work you will reread over and over for the rest of your life. So just whatever novel you're reading this week? Nah. 'Just' a good work? Nah. But my copies of Lolita, Ada or Ardor, Revolutionary Road, Tropic of Cancer, the collected poetry of Yeats, Hart Crane, Dickinson, Naked Lunch? Yeah, those are marked the fuck up because like my closest friends, they live day-to-day in my heart and soul and I will return to them for the rest of my life.

>>16599503
Yeah I'd like to piggyback this, taking notes doesn't even have to be reread it's kinda just a space to think for a second. As long as it's not wayward from what you're solving on a general level at the time it doesn't really leave because it's a step you'll pass when you see the next bit. As long as you're taking notes everyday it doesn't matter

>>16599452
So this seems pretty tame then, unless he's taking notes on the individual pages too. All of his notes for the book are on just two pages. Still seems like a good practice because he's likely actively reading throughout the entire book.

>>16598529
Anything to read on the subject of Zettlekasten?

If you're not underlining consistently, you are either reading insignificant literature or you do not understand what the writer is trying to convey.

>>16599646
I do this with my own books. Sadly most books I read are from the library, thus ununderlineable

>>16599704
What book do you re-encounter in your reflections? For me, Mein Kampf (To truly “learn” history means to open your eyes and discover the forces that cause
historical events to happen. The art of reading and of learning means remembering the
important parts and forgetting the unimportant. pg13)and the book of Matthews (Matthew 13:44).

I think having a notepad or sheet of paper at the beginning with notable phrases and connections, antithesis is useful, so that you don't flip through pages analyzing your underlining.

Underlining imo becomes extremely useful for rediscovering the notable and to indirectly highlight(the non highlighted) what was not understood

>>16598310

If reading a text that presents an argument, and I'm working through it carefully, I will take notes on the argument, and sometimes try to rewrite the argument premise for premise. I also skim looking for the argument, as you are often wading through discussion, and come back to the discussion after I've got some idea what the argument is going to be.

>>16598310
Just do whatever the fuck you want, this isn't hard.

Have a memory that allows you to partition information and retain it in retrievable bins? Don't take notes.

Need to go back to the book all the time but remember what you thought when you reread the line? Use tabs.

Can't remember what you thought when you go back? Write in margins or on paper.

Just reading to get cheap thrills? Don't bother with any of this.

There's no one size fits all method, and there's no right way or concept of 'necessary'. It all depends on what you want.

I only write notes when reading philosophy. I find that it really helps you understand the flow of the logic

>>16598310
Only if you want to. I doubt you should take notes while reading fiction, especially since 95% of the time you won't know any historical context without consulting second sources anyway, so taking notes on second sources is better.
I think that taking notes for nonfiction is good, but only make it as detailed as you want to be.
I also try to read a section at a time, then without looking at that section, recall it. If I recall it successfully a few times I write down my summary and then move on. This way I know that I actually understood what I read instead of blindly taking notes.
This is going to sound lame but when I take notes after finishing them I either try to remember a section of my notes without looking or making quizzes which I answer without looking at the material. This way I actually consolidate my knowledge instead of hoping my stupid brain does it for me.

>>16598310
I tend not to. It's easier to find a specific concept or passage within a book if I've taken notes, but I find I retain more of the overall thesis if I don't take notes at all. Writing about what I've read in order to reflect is a bit better than active note-taking, but I've always preferred internal effortful recall of contents and elaboration with what I've already read if my objective is to get the material DOWN. Now, live conversation about what I've read is my personal ideal, but that's difficult outside of academic spaces.