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Taking Notes While Reading: What Do? 2017-03-17 06:20:03 Post No. 9252439
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Taking Notes While Reading: What Do? 2017-03-17 06:20:03 Post No. 9252439
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How do I go about journaling about what I am currently reading? I am attempting to start reading things other than newspapers and magazines, so I picked up Gravity's Rainbow yesterday.
I knew going in that it's regarded as a complex book, and that I might not be able to finish it. However, I believe it would be an excellent book for me to slowly read and analyze.
The problem is, I am lost as to what I should journal about. I want to venture more into analytical writing; although, I was never really exposed to it during high school and I am currently saving up for college. I know this may sound stupid, but should I focus on writing more of a summary of what I just read, my analysis, or both?
My other two questions are:
When journaling while reading, is there some sort of style guide to follow in order for one to come up with a better analysis? Maybe like writing about the author's biography, defining words that I am unfamiliar with, listing all of the figurative language that I can find, and rounding it off with my interpretation of the page, chapter, and/or book?
Are there any good introductory books that might cover this topic that /lit/ is aware of?
The whole reason for me wanting to journal is because I have slight memory problems, and I've understood over the years that I'll remember something more if I write it down. Please be easy on me :(
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>taking notes while reading
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>Find a good book
>Buy it
>Take notes in the margins when you have a thought about what you're reading. Underline and or mark bits you like.
Those are the things I tend to follow.
I've been much into journaling about what I've read, so I can't give much advice on that aspect of it.
If you have memory problems then anything by Pynchon is a bad start. He's an amazing author, but you will hate him for how he writes. I commend you for starting with him. Good luck
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>>9252439
>be reading
>"wow this sentence is good, i'd like to remember it better, if only I had a copy of it in writing i can refer to"
>writes sentence verbatim
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>>9252468
I thought about doing that but I also want to be able to lend my books to others or give them to my kids one day and not interfere with their reading experience.
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>>9252477
Well I never intended on writing any of the sentences verbatim, but I more-so desired to know if /lit/ journals while reading, and maybe have some of these people share their tips.
>>9252468
I appreciate it. I probably will hate him for how he writes, but I see it as a goal for me to complete something like this, and I believe the story will be interesting; even if the book takes a while for me to complete.
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>>9252490
That mindset will prevent you from getting the most out of your books. How many books have you already lended to others? Your personal library is for your use primarily.
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>>9252439
I'm sorry for your memory problems man
GR isn't an easy book but it's fun
You shouldn't try too hard to decipher some passages which may seem convoluted (like all the Pavlov stuff or parapsychology ones) or you'll go crazy,
my recommendation for Pynchon is to just read it and don't take him too seriously
Just have fun and maybe take notes on the various characters and on the main themes, or on things that you think seem interesting and want to know more of
Also maybe do an autistic thing I do with books, draw a map of the places the carachters go to etc
(Sorry for my shitty English)
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>>9252751
Thanks for the input, I'll try that out. Right out the gates, the book has already made me laugh with Pirates' response regarding seeing the rocket's vapor trail.
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