The World of Annotation

Okay book lovers - let’s talk about annotations! I know many of us prefer to keep our books untouched and pristine on our shelves, but I’ve been meaning to dip my toes into the world of truly interacting with my books. I’ve leaned on some Instagram friends for inspiration and references to get started!

Tabs and page markers

For those who aren’t ready for the commitment of permanently writing in your books, try using sticky tabs! There must be a million colors and patterns available on Amazon, Target, and in Barnes and Noble. These are a great alternative, where they’re easy to remove and don’t damage your books.

Check out these super cute tabbed annotations from @sunflower_library! I find these so clean looking and absolutely love that they can be color-coded. I’ve noticed that many people choose colors that match their book covers and think this is such a fun idea!

There are so many ways to utilize tabs - marking quotes, romantic scenes, or world-building in large fantasy books! It may be helpful to create a key on the first page of the book or even in a book journal to remember what each color is for.

Karla shared these adorable color-coded tabs for the Flawless series on her Instagram. While it may look overwhelming at the beginning, it truly can be fun! Not sure what to annotate first? Here are some ideas to get you started!

• memorable quotes

• romantic/spicy scenes

• character development

• descriptive wording

• questions/confusion

• world building

Don’t worry too much about what to annotate. When you come across something that makes you think or feel something, mark it up!

Highlighting

Another beginner-friendly way to annotate your books is highlighting! This is easy to do while you’re reading, as long as you keep a highlighter on hand. ** Make sure you test it first to make sure it doesn’t bleed through - I unfortunately made this mistake and am so sad about it!

Check out Marcela’s highlighted annotations for Throne of Glass! She also utilized colorful tabs and notes - I aspire to be this organized in my annotating process! Check out her page on Instagram for more amazing annotation and book-related content! (Peep also the most relatable SJM notation I’ve ever seen - girl really takes us for a ride in the last 100 pages of her books!)

My friend, Alysha, shared some of her e-book annotations below! While reading Powerless, she created a color-coated guide to keep track of her thoughts and annotations. I love that even without a physical book, she is able to keep organized with this system! Where I’ve been reading a lot of e-books lately, this is something I’m hoping to try soon. We are currently working on a buddy read of Local Woman Missing and I’ve been trying to implement a system similar to this in hopes of making it easier to discuss!

Doodling

One of my favorite types of annotations that I’ve seen on bookstagram is doodling! I’m not gifted in this area myself, so I adore seeing cute doodles and drawings that others have done in their books.

This annotation from Karishma’s bookstagram stood out to me - how CUTE? Not only is it adorable, but so very relatable. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read that this little doodle would apply to. (Sara J Maas I’m looking at you). Karishma has some great content like this on her page - be sure to check it out on Instagram!

I love that she utilized highlighting and underlining as well as the doodle. When I tried using tabs only, I found it difficult to skim the page and find what I was looking for. Making use of more than one annotation type seems to be most efficient and aesthetically pleasing!

Journaling

Last but not least, let’s talk about journaling! If you’re curious about documenting your love of books and aren’t sure where to start, definitely consider getting a journal. You don’t need to have the best handwriting or professional pens and markers - start with what you have access to and get creative! Search Pinterest or Instagram for ideas and inspiration before you begin!

While browsing Pinterest myself, I found quite a few ideas for book journaling. Give some of these a try:

• Book Shelf - color in each book as you go, you can even write in the title

• Reading Wrap Up - monthly or yearly, track books, pages, ratings, etc

• Series Tracker - create a place for anticipated series and check them off as you go

• Reading Goals - establish goals to keep tabs on as you read and journal

• TBR Page - list books that have yet to be read

• DNF Page - list books that you didn’t or couldn’t finish

• Book of the Year - create a bracket of books read throughout the year to find the best one

• Book Bingo - build a bingo board as a reading challenge

• Rating System - keep a key of your rating system to reference

• Book Reviews - review your books including genre, tropes, favorites, icks, and a short summary

• Reading Challenges - A to Z challenge, etc

• Calendar Reading Log - track how much time or how many pages you read a day

Marcela continues her annotations into a book journal and shares her entries via @booksta.babe on Instagram! Make sure to view her page if you are planning on starting a journal as she will have TONS of photos that you can reference. Tabbing, journaling, highlighting - she has truly mastered the art of it all!

Another friend of mine, has recently started a Youtube channel where she plans on sharing all things book related! She announced that her next video will be about book journaling - and believe me she has a few beautiful journals! Definitely check out @seas.library on Instagram and Youtube for more of her bookish content.

You’re ready to go

I hope this provided some insight and inspiration to the world of annotating! I’m so thankful for each of my bookstagram friends for allowing me to share their beautiful content on my new blog - please be sure to check out their pages for more. Happy annotating <3