In Adler's essay "How to Mark a Book" (1940), he proclaims that, "Full ownership of a book comes when you make it a part of yourself, and the best way to make yourself a part of it is by writing in it," (Adler). To say that this goes against everything I was taught when I was younger would be an understatement. I can remember teachers declaring WWIII if they saw an inch of a pencil mark in our text books. I can even remember kids being put in time out for writing in books that weren't "made for writing in." It wasn't until Freshman year in college that I was told it was acceptable, and sometimes necessary, to write in textbooks. At first I was a little apprehensive, but now I completely understand why Adler and my professors deemed it necessary to write in the books. If you write in the book as you're reading, it forces you to grasp a better concept of what you are taking in, whereas the average reader will skim or speed read through the text and not really come away with much from it. You can better appreciate the author and the text if you get a good understanding of what the text truly means.
Although I did find Adler just a tad bit obsessive with his point, I completely, 100% agree with him. As a big reader myself, I find it helpful to jot a note here or a scribble there. It helps me to remember any questions that I may have while I'm reading. And if I'm reading with a group I can always come back to the question and I won't forget. Although I don't feel as passionately about the subject as Adler, I do encourage people to jot down little notes just to help keep yourself on track, But HEY....TO EACH HIS OWN!!!!! Until next time my soul hungry readers........
IM OUT!!!!!!
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