tranum

I will highlight Bible verses in my Bible now, but I didn’t for years then I decided it’s mine so go for it. I’d like to have the new “Journal Bible” that encourages this & allows space for notes but my Grandparents gave me my Bible so it’s special to me with their message to me inside the front cover.

I don’t write in library books but I might underline in a book of mine.

ptquilts

I may make notes in a cookbook, that's it. I sell books online and it bugs me when I get one that is full of notations, underlining, and highlighting. What is the point of writing "very true" in the margins? And if you have to do it, use a pencil!

Stitchnripper

My own books are fair game. Some of them are not marked up, some are.

maryb119

I write in cookbooks. If i change the recipe or add something or leave out something. I will also make notes on quilt patterns if I change anything. Some patterns call for strip piecing but if I want to make it scrappy, I have to do the math and figure out how many of each piece to cut. I will write that down for future reference. They are my books. My grandma also wrote notes in her cookbooks and patterns and now that I have them, its a treasure to me to see her handwriting and know what she was thinking when she did this.

platyhiker

I never wrote in books until I bought some used textbooks my second year in college, and in one of them someone had done an excellent job of highlighting them. Key terms were marked with a wide swath of highlighter, and the definition of those terms were marked with a narrow swath of highlighter. I noticed that the good highlighting made it much easier to find the key terms when sweeping through a section doing a review for test. Since then, I like flagging critical portions of non-fiction books, most commonly with a vertical line in the margin by the key lines, or a star. I have a few quilting books were a critical bit of information is tucked in an odd spot, and I'll make a point of circling the information and sometimes add a reference note in the area where one needs the information. I found it very liberating to realize that I can mark up my own books if I want to, after all those years in school of being admonished not to make any marks.

With library books, I will sometimes pencil in correction when there is stupid error, like the wrong there/their/they're or wrong its/it's. My grandmother was a big reader in a town with a smallish library, so she would write her initials inside the front cover of each book she read, so that she would know if she'd already read it. Eventually, she noticed the initials of several other people regularly appearing on the same page - other people were using the same method!

WMUTeach

I never write in a borrowed book whether it is from the library or from a friend. But, if the book is mine, I fill the margins with my thoughts, impressions, wonderments and questions. My Bible is the best example with notes, definitions of words or an expanded definition the illuminates the meaning of the passage, spiritual discoveries and dates. It is my personal faith journey history. For me, any book that is used for study, is fair game when it is in my hands. Writing in my books helps me retain the content of the book. Few novels get any margin comments because for me, they are for pure pleasure reading not study. .

"cat"astrophy

bearisgray I agree whole heartedly. I too was raised never to deface any book, whether it be at home or in school and I guess it stuck, because I still don't. I do use the little narrow sticky note tabs to mark my pages and seem to work well.

sewingpup

I used to highlight textbooks to make it easier to study for the exams. I mostly bought new books and actually kept most of them to use as reference....I found it really did not matter much as it seemed most often, textbooks were changed just about every year or two. (in college). I do write notes in cookbooks like "didn't like" or "really good" or if I made some modifications to the recipe.

Doggramma

The only books I write in are my own quilting books. If it’s a book with quilt block patterns, i like the write the cutting dimensions next to the breakdown of the block. It helps me to not make mistakes when I’m cutting things out.

also, in cookbooks, I’ll note whether we liked it (with the date) or if I change something in the recipe

yes, I am also annoyed if I get a used book with writing it