How To Annotate Your Books & Improve Your Writing

I am an avid reader. By avid I mean, I read a book a week. I am also a professional writer. Reading and writing often go hand in hand. I’ve observed that in the past few years, social media has seen a surge of leisurely readers. The BookTok community on TikTok and Bookstagram community on Instagram have grown in popularity. Countless blogs reviewing books have cropped up all over the internet.

I too am guilty in indulging in all the online discourse about books. The more literary side of the web has taken up a hobby: annotating and tabbing books. Social media pages are filled with book lovers taking aesthetically pleasing photos of their books with scrawls in the margins and colorful tabs sticking out on various pages.

Annotating Books. How can it help you become a better writer?

For one, annotating books allows you to interact and engage with the book. It provides an immersive experience. It lets you have a dialogue with the book. Annotation allows you to read more intentionally rather than passively.

I have seen some readers on social media annotate, highlight, and tab nearly every word on every page! Their layouts look beautiful, but are impractical in day to day life. Also, stopping to annotate and tab that many times would create a very…