My Thoughts on Taking Notes via Marginalia as You Read

Given my recent posts, I figured I'd give my thoughts on each of the note taking methods for reading. While I wanted to share my thoughts with you on each method, I didn't want to go back and add more to the posts, So here we are.

I'll be going in the same order as I did with my posts on the tips for each note-taking method: marginalia, post-it notes, notebooks, and electronic documents. How you personally feel about each note taking method - and about taking notes while reading - is wholly up to you. If you don't take notes while you read, that's fine. If you do, hopefully my posts on taking notes while reading help you.

Here are the positives of marginalia:

1. All you need is your book and a pen or pencil. If you're going out, you don't need to worry about bringing any other accessories like a notebook, post-it notes, or another electronic device.
2. You don't have to figure out where to put your notes. They're in your book, so wherever the book is placed is where your notes are.
3. You don't have to go hunting for your notes. This similar with point two, since your notes are in your book. You don't have to look through notebooks or documents on your computer to find your notes.

Here are the negatives of marginalia:

1. It's easier to use pencil over pen. While in point 1 of the positives, I say "pen or pencil," it's honestly the safest bet to use pencil. If you make a mistake, there's not a lot of room to cross it out and write next to it. With a pencil, you can erase your mistake.
2. It works best with physical books. While you can have a form of "marginalia" with ebooks (i.e. highlighting the text and then making a "comment"), you don't see your thoughts directly next to the text - you have to tap a few times to get to your notes. And with audiobooks, you can "bookmark" certain places, but you need another accessory to take actual notes.
3. There's not a lot of space. While it is a convenient spot for notes, the margins in books are small. If you have a lot of thoughts on a scene, phrase, or character, then it's not the best note taking method. And if you write big, then there's even less space.