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/lit/ - Literature

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[ERROR] No.2036992 [Reply] [Original]

Have you ever come across a used book that had really useful and great notes written in it by a previous owner ala the Half-blood Prince's potions book that Harry acquired?

>> No.2037003

Nope.

>> No.2037004

>>2036992
Several used course books. Whoever had them before me had a superior intellect, and I thank him/her for helping me get high grades.

>> No.2037014

>>2037004
what courses were the books for?

>> No.2037017

I tend to find yellowed bits of paper with scribbled test scores and doctor's appointments on them.

My horribly aged, used copy of The Trial had some really strange words and phrases underlined- usually not terribly significant words, so I have to assume either the reader was overanalyzing or just liked the words. There were one or two one-word notes that I could not decipher written in a girilish but hurried cursive.

I personally dislike marking up books, but I've taken the habit of using objects that signify something that I did on a specific date, just because I think it's a lot more interesting when you have a date. A museum ticket, a fast food receipt. I'm thinking of writing a short piece of incredibly dense and surreal prose and slipping it in the spine of one of my favorite books just for giggles, hoping someone will find it after I'm dead and my books have changed hands. Perhaps a hideous stick figure drawing, even.

>> No.2037018

>>2037014
Political science, sociology, and a world religions course. Two of the books seemed to have belonged to the same person.

>> No.2037019

Not useful, but crazy

>> No.2037025

>buy used textbook for college
>it's been annotated
>and by "annotated" I mean some stupid bimbo highlighted every fucking sentence

what's the point of using a highlighter if you highlight fucking everything?

thank fucking god she quit reading after the third chapter, because that's when the highlighting stopped.

>> No.2037046

>>2037025
I saw some bitches in my physiology class today doing the same thing. Way to fuck up a two hundred dollar book

>> No.2037050

>>2037025
I see girls doing this stupid fucking shit all the time.

They go through texts, indiscriminately highlighting every goddamn word on the page. Oh, they'll skill a word like "The," but every paragraph gets colored.

They think highlighting is the same as processing the information.

>> No.2037053

>>2037050
Skill? Meant to write skip.

>> No.2037057

Am I the only one who hates to make any sort of annotations in a book?
I am the kind of person who reads through a book, works with it, but I actually don't write anything in the book or mark anything, I note everything that is interesting down on my pieces of paper / on computer.

>> No.2037058

>>2037050
Girls always take the most notes in class. Even if the professor's using a powerpoint that s/he emailed us all beforehand the women in the class are all tediously taking notes and highlighting while the guys sit back and actually think and listen. You can go back later if you don't understand. I average one page of notes for every twenty pages of notes the average girl will take.

>> No.2037064

>>2037058
and girls always use different colored highlighters. Like they'll use pink for one paragraph, blue for another, then yellow, then green...

>> No.2037065

>>2036992

I've had detailed notes wrote in the margins, entire books highlighted. I've had left-over papers wedged in the books filled with notes, drawings and ramblings.

I always rent or buy used books for college courses, some scribblings in the back of the books or in the margins have helped me pass classes I otherwise wouldn't have.

>> No.2037062

>>2037057
I had one high school English teacher who would make us take notes in the books and would collect them and read them to make sure we were doing it seriously. I really hated that, it physically ruined the book, made "active reading" tedious, wasted a lot of time, and was plain annoying. Otherwise, he was a bro and everyone in the school was sad when he died (the only teacher to get a memorial service at school after dying, he had sexy daughters).

>> No.2037068

>>2037057
I do the same. I found a surprising benefit to taking notes on another sheet of paper: since I had more space to spell things out, I found myself using the space, and subsequently started learning a lot more about the material.

>> No.2037069

what's the best highlighter color?

yellow is too bright. I like blue but it can sometimes be too dark and make reading slower. orange seems like a good compromise. pink is just an annoying color

>> No.2037076

>>2037069
I use yellow most of the time, but orange is my go-to when I don't have yellow.

>> No.2037078

>>2037069
fuck highlighters all together, I just underline important shit with a pen.

No point in juggling a highlighter and a pen to take annotations. Plus, highlighters tend to bleed too much, depending on the type of paper.

>> No.2037080

>>2037062

Ah that sounds so annyoing. Let me guess, you had to buy the book for yourself and then he had you do this, right?
The fact with the daughters was uncalled for, but made me smile a little... oh well

>>2037068

Yeah same with me. Actually writing the stuff down, makes it stick somewhat better in my case, or lets say its easier to remember it. Since you had to read and think about it already, while writing it down.

>> No.2037083
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[ERROR]

my copy of the metamorphosis has writan all along one of the pages "my silence will not shut up" it was problably written by an overanalizing fag

>> No.2037085

>>2037069

I kinda like green. Something like neon green. Sure it is bright, but not as bright as yellow.

>> No.2037094

>>2037080
> Let me guess, you had to buy the book for yourself and then he had you do this, right?

Yep, I had to pay for a book I knew I would never read again because it would be an annoying eyesore. I ended up buying replacement copies of The Catcher in the Rye, Fahrenheit 451, and The Things They Carried later on

>> No.2037101

>>2037094

God how I would hate something like that...

>> No.2037102
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[ERROR]

Screw highlighters, I use a sharpie to underline and circle things (if I use a pen I sometimes don't notice it). Highlighters are too bright, too colorful, and they blot and bleed a lot onto the other side of the page

>> No.2037109

I used to use books for school that my brothers had gone through. assholes filled the margins with useless info

>> No.2037113

Twas a scrap of paper that lead me to 4chan.

>> No.2037118

>>2037102
>implying sharpies don't bleed like a whore who can't afford to take the week off

>> No.2037120

>>2037118
the only sharpie that bleeds for me are the thin pen like ones

>> No.2037128

ive had a few books with penis and breasts drawing in them. why are people obsessed with drawing genitalia?

>> No.2037130
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[ERROR]

>>2037118

>> No.2037144

I dunno how people can stand using gel pens especially the famous pilot g2. They bleed through paper like, well, like whores working double shifts

>> No.2037156

>200 dollar textbook
>1.50 notebook
>fuck notes, I'd rather write all over this book

HURR DURR

>> No.2037158

>>2037156
That's basically the attitude of a lot of people in my classes, ya.

Personally I like using smaller notebooks instead of 8.5x11. I'm more likely to study from them when they're more wieldy. I just about never fill up normal spiral notebooks anyway

>> No.2037166

Paper notebooks are so last century anyway. I prefer using a notebook computer and OneNote. It's impossible to get the functionality and organization of that program with pen and paper.

>> No.2037178

>>2037166

The biggest reason I still write my notes and summaries of courses with a pen is because the stuff sticks easier than when writing it on a netbook / computer. If I wrote the stuff once myself its like remembering it partways already.

While writing on the computer is kinda doing it brain afk. I can write you a whole page in word and after I finished I remember nearly nothing of it.

>> No.2037191

>>2037178
You're lucky, when I take notes my mind strays and I can hardly pay attention to what I'm writing, especially since it takes forever

>> No.2037193

>>2036992
My professor gave me a copy of Mishima's TotGP that had all his margin notes in it. They were actually pretty useful

>> No.2037210

>>2037193
my english teachers have almost always written notes into their books. i wonder what insights they have. i wish they would sell me their books

>> No.2038083

I used to write wrong info in my textbooks just to troll whoever got them next

>> No.2038093

I always buy textbooks new, so nope.

If I ever see somebody else's notes, I feel compelled to be aligned with their thought process, otherwise I get paranoid that I know less. Usually they'll drift off and link other concepts from different chapters too, so it gets quite annoying.

I'd rather do all of the work myself.

>> No.2038102

I would leave yellow stickies in my high school Physics and Econ books. But now that I'm in college I stopped....Since I don't buy or borrow these books.

>> No.2038109

>>2036992
I picked up a used copy an abridged copy of Edward Gibbons The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It was filled with pretty useful liner notes and had some neat post-its in it. Then I gave it a loan to a friend and he took all the post-its out and gave me them back in a big pile.

I'm too lazy to go through and find out where they go again.

>> No.2038379

>>2038109
I hate lending people my book. They always come back dog eared, yellowed, with cracked spines and folded covers. Half the time they didnt even finish the book

>> No.2038590

bump for more stories and highlighter opinions

>> No.2038664

>>2038109
>>2038379
THESE PEOPLE WOULD STOP BEING MY FRIENDS. WHAT THE HELL. I HOPE YOU CALLED THEM OUT ON THAT BULLSHIT.

>> No.2038714

>>2038664
SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCKING FUCKASS DAMN

to add to the thread, no OP, I haven't. just unhelpful and incorrect bullshit in all my books.

>> No.2038723

My library copy of Aldous Huxley's Island had a ton of snarky notes "correcting" his grammar when it wasn't even wrong.

>> No.2038735

I hate to mark books, so I put post-it's whenever I need to make a note.

>> No.2039320

I usually use a tiny notebook or memo book to write notes in and stick them in between pages. Lines and more space than post its. I always take them out before I sell the book back, though. I just always assumed whoever got the book next would be annoyed by it or the store would remove the notes themselves. Now I guess I'll leave them in since it seems some people appreciate that in a used book

>> No.2039325
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[ERROR]

>someone had spilled coffee or something on Spinoza's Ethics
>the library hadn't noticed
>I return it
>they make me buy it for 20e

>> No.2039338

I once got a copy of "Our Town" with a paper in it outlining the themes, motifs, etc. Probably copied from Sparknotes.

I never even liked "Our Town" either.

>> No.2039523

A copy of Demian I took out from a local library was filled with highlighted paragraphs, though it looked like the person stopped halfway through. It was also pretty much falling apart when I got it, the librarian asked if I really wanted to take it out in that condition

>> No.2039617

a lot of the books I've gotten from used books stores are extensively written in. not too mush of it is insightful either; I suppose that's the hidden cost of getting 8 books for $20

>> No.2040964

>>2039617
Get used books from library sales, they're seldom written in since people fear getting fined

>> No.2041002

I found a love note inside my copy of Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady. Made me B'aww

>> No.2041005

I have a '57 copy of portrait of the artist that I bought at a used bookstore that has all kinds of little notes about Stephen Dedalus written into it. Also has the former owner (a woman's) address and name written in the front. My guess is she prly died and her family donated the book.

>> No.2041006

>Buy used copy of Twelfth Night at a bookstore
>Has all kinds of notes about the play written into it/personal opinions; etc
>Has girl's name written on front (owner, as well as the name of the class and school she used it for)
>Look up girl on facebook; have two mutual friends

>> No.2041009

>>2041006
Do it, Anon.

>> No.2041499

I don't know of any used bookstores around here. There's a Half-Price Books about a half hour drive away but their selection isn't the greatest.

I want to read people's wonderful takes on literature ;_;

>> No.2043043

why buy used books anyway? if you're not going to reward authors for their work you might as well just pirate the books

>> No.2043064

>>2043043
what if the author's dead?

>> No.2043067

>>2043064

Then fuck em in the eye. Dead motherfuckers can fuck off if they think I'm paying their lazy asses.

>> No.2043074
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[ERROR]

It wasn't scribbled in or marked up but I liked the fact that I found it buried away in a second hand book store because it's a weird as fuck tome and the guy who wrote it sincerely believed he had stumbled onto the keys to the universe.

I still haven't finished it because it requires such a suspension of disbelief but some of it is interesting nonetheless.

>> No.2043082

>>2043074

What else do you read?
You sound like you're a slut for weird/interesting books.

>> No.2043088
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>>2043082

Oh man.

Have you heard of this series?

I'm reading it at the moment. It's about a guy who is apprenticed by an Native American and taught all about being a 'Man Of Knowledge'.

Shit is all about lucid dreaming, suppression of the inner dialogue, astral projection etc. It covers a period of decades because it takes so long for him to master these techniques.

I know, i know.

Obviously it's best taken with a hefty grain of salt but it's surprisingly easy to read because the author is filled with same skepticism and disbelief you are. So when he sees and experiences all this absurd shit it feels much realer than if he was an avid convert.

Seriously recommend, just for the 'wtf' factor, some of the things he describes are pretty amazing, even if highly improbable. Also his teacher is a hilarious motherfucker.

>> No.2043090

>>2043088

Dunno if troll. But just on the off-chance not, then you should know that Castaneda was a complete fraud, and Don Juan didn't exist.

Just sayin'

>> No.2043091

>>2043088

I love throwing these kinda books in with the mix.
It's boring to get stuck all the serious stuff - thanks for showing me this one. Do you have any other recommendations?

>> No.2043096

>>2036992
I've never seen good notes; I've seen random highlighting and nonsensical scribbling.

>> No.2043106

>>2043090

Yeah, I knew Castaneda was bullshit but still, it's an entertaining read. And I do believe in the ideas of projection and lucid dreaming bla bla.

Besides, the other guy didn't know that. Why ruin it for him?

>>2043091

I have a few others at home but i'm with my parents at the moment and can't remember the authors names. I recommend just having a look around the philosophy section at your secondhand book store and ignoring all the notable authors. Go for the complete unknowns or just whatever weird shit catches your eye. You'd be surprised what you find.

>captcha: bolshevik orkesho

>> No.2043111

>>2043106

Shall do!

>conclusive stalnte

>> No.2043116

I've always liked the idea of writing a kind of commentary in a book as I'm reading it, but I'm too obsessive about keeping it in good condition to actually do it.

The only time I've found something written in a second-hand book was in Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, where some guy had drawn a rectangle around a paragraph about how the soldiers all shared their cigarettes and shit, and alongside it said "true socialism". Real insightful.

One time I did find a receipt from a butcher in a very old medical textbook, it was dated 1919 and the total amount paid was 6 shillings or something.

>> No.2043128

>>2043116
>>2043116

>6 shillings or something

Dude...

>Medical textbook
>butcher
>6 shillings

>> No.2043189

I was once going to get a textbook out of the university library for my dissertation. I happened to flip it open and written in the front cover was "Too old no use!"
Saved me reading outdated information.

>> No.2043193

>>2043128
I really don't understand what you're trying to say.

>> No.2043213
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[ERROR]

>>2043128

>> No.2043218
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[ERROR]

Once anon bought a used copy of the Grove Press edition of the 120 Days of Sodom. A previous owner had marked, with a rubber stamp manufactured for the purpose, the phrase "There are no rules" in the top right of the first page.

Anon doesn't know why someone would buy a rubber stamp that says "There are no rules" but he wants one.

>> No.2044641

My brother used to have a bible that had belonged to a priest and was full of post-its. He took them out and threw them away before I could read the insights. :/

>> No.2044648

My copy of Yeats's poems is second hand. It was full of notes in pencil, I think made by more than one person. These people were clearly smarter than I, in any case - they introduced me to Platonic forms, for example:

. . . the mountain grass
Cannot but keep the form (note: Platonic?)
Where the mountain hare has lain