My Thoughts on Taking Notes via Notebooks 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 notebooks:

1. You have an ample amount of space. You essentially have an unlimited amount of space for your notes, as long as you have relatively easy access to empty notebooks. You can write as much or as little as you want without worrying about the size of the margins or post-it notes.
2. It's easier to elaborate on your thoughts. Since you're not worried about space, you can go into detail about your thoughts on a scene, character, chapter, or the book as a whole. And even if you have to start up a new notebook, you still have space to write all your thoughts out.
3. If you structure your notes well, it'll be easy to find pages, quotes, scenes, etc. It doesn't matter what "structure" you settle on, but once you set up how you'll take your notes, it'll be easy to go back and find what your notes were about.

Here are the negatives of notebooks:

1. You may not have a lot of space for the notebooks themselves. While the notebooks themselves have space for your notes, you may not be able to find an easy, convenient spot for the notebook itself. And if you have multiple notebooks full of notes, it can be harder to find a single spot for all of them.
2. You may have to split your notes on one book into two notebooks. Unless you've decided to have each notebook be for a different book, you're likely to have notes for 2+ books in one notebook. As a result, one book may start in one notebook and then end in another notebook. This can be a little complicated when you're trying to keep your notes together.
3. You do have to be a bit more detailed with your notes. With marginalia or post-it notes, you know what your notes are talking about - since your notes are right next to the text. But with notebooks, you may need to include page numbers, chapter notes, and even partial quotes. This can be a bit tiresome.