Make the Mark Essay

â€Å"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting. † (Burke, Edmund) This is so true and proves that often my reading skills are like having stuffed cheeks after a good book. I have often found myself attracted to a book by the cover or the subject matter. Unfortunately as soon as I dive into the white pages my mind wanders and before I know it I have finished my grocery list but have no idea what my eyes have looked at. This is where marking your book comes into play and active reading helps to retain information. â€Å"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. †(Douglass, Frederick) Reading is something very few of us ever master, so many little words and often times the real meaning is up for interpretation. Even many of the readings that we experienced in this class were more involved than the words on paper. Reading is a passion, a quest to absorb information. To be active in your reading experience means to fully inhale every word. Taking notes in the margins ensures that the reader understands the information. Also when a reader actively regurgitates the information in the form of notes the information translates better into memory. â€Å"Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read. †(Marx, Groucho) I know that the quote may seem a little silly but it is true. Books are intimate experiences that we all share and often have different experiences with the same book. We can mark a book and the book will not get offended. Some people think that writing in a book is a form of vandalism. We learned that marking a book is not only important but gives a book character. â€Å"What is reading but silent conversation? †(Landor, Walter Savage) Douglas teaches us in his reading that to mark a book is like having a conversation with the author. Sometimes the ability to read a piece and really feel what the author is trying to speak to us is such a great experience, the book feels as if it written for us. Marking a book is fun and honestly can give the owner a sense of contribution to the author. It is almost like being a pioneer discovering a new world for the first time and documenting what you have discovered for others to learn. Douglass talks about marking a book so that the reader can return to the writings and almost pick up where they left off. I, myself have mastered the doodling in the margins but not necessarily the note taking. I want to be a better reader and so many books are out there to help readers learn a better way, kind of silly when you think about it. Classes are taught for readers to improve their speeds or their ability to retain information. Even as I write this paper my mind wanders to other thoughts about my life or how many more words I have to write to meet the requirement. I enjoy writing and I could probably type about the blank screen in many different ways but if some one else were to type the same boring story I would lose interest. I know that makes me a sort of narcissist but I think most writers probably are. Where do you start when you read a book? Most people would suggest starting with the first page but I would probably argue that point. Most of us look at the back of the book to see if we are even interested. Some of us find out from friends and others just read books because it is fun and they like the author. Do we need to mark every book? Of course not. You do not have to mark a single book if you do not want to. Marking a book is only suggested in order for the reader to make the experience more personal and possibly help the reader retain the information. I have taken classes that teach readers not to hi-lite a book because the hand can get carried away and all you end up with is a bunch of yellow pages. I do agree that putting the information in your own words helps the reader to remember the information as if it is their own. When a person picks up a book in most cases it is because they are interested in the subject matter at hand. When you become an active reader and immerse yourself in the book the reader becomes even more involved and gains more knowledge from the book. I have read a few books in my life and believe that the importance of notes in the margin are extremely important. I repeat myself only to make the point in reading that my paper is trying to make, if you do not take notes you may not catch that the information is being repeated. â€Å"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting. † (Burke, Edmund) This is so true and proves that often my reading skills are like having stuffed cheeks after a good book. I have often found myself attracted to a book by the cover or the subject matter. Unfortunately as soon as I dive into the white pages my mind wanders and before I know it I have finished my grocery list but have no idea what my eyes have looked at. This is where marking your book comes into play and active reading helps to retain information. â€Å"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. †(Douglass, Frederick) Reading is something very few of us ever master, so many little words and often times the real meaning is up for interpretation. Even many of the readings that we experienced in this class were more involved than the words on paper. Reading is a passion, a quest to absorb information. To be active in your reading experience means to fully inhale every word. Taking notes in the margins ensures that the reader understands the information. Also when a reader actively regurgitates the information in the form of notes the information translates better into memory. â€Å"Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read. †(Marx, Groucho) I know that the quote may seem a little silly but it is true. Books are intimate experiences that we all share and often have different experiences with the same book. We can mark a book and the book will not get offended. Some people think that writing in a book is a form of vandalism. We learned that marking a book is not only important but gives a book character. â€Å"What is reading but silent conversation? †(Landor, Walter Savage) Douglas teaches us in his reading that to mark a book is like having a conversation with the author. Sometimes the ability to read a piece and really feel what the author is trying to speak to us is such a great experience, the book feels as if it written for us. Marking a book is fun and honestly can give the owner a sense of contribution to the author. It is almost like being a pioneer discovering a new world for the first time and documenting what you have discovered for others to learn. Douglass talks about marking a book so that the reader can return to the writings and almost pick up where they left off. I, myself have mastered the doodling in the margins but not necessarily the note taking. I want to be a better reader and so many books are out there to help readers learn a better way, kind of silly when you think about it. Classes are taught for readers to improve their speeds or their ability to retain information. Even as I write this paper my mind wanders to other thoughts about my life or how many more words I have to write to meet the requirement. I enjoy writing and I could probably type about the blank screen in many different ways but if some one else were to type the same boring story I would lose interest. I know that makes me a sort of narcissist but I think most writers probably are. Where do you start when you read a book? Most people would suggest starting with the first page but I would probably argue that point. Most of us look at the back of the book to see if we are even interested. Some of us find out from friends and others just read books because it is fun and they like the author. Do we need to mark every book? Of course not. You do not have to mark a single book if you do not want to. Marking a book is only suggested in order for the reader to make the experience more personal and possibly help the reader retain the information. I have taken classes that teach readers not to hi-lite a book because the hand can get carried away and all you end up with is a bunch of yellow pages. I do agree that putting the information in your own words helps the  reader to remember the information as if it is their own. When a person picks up a book in most cases it is because they are interested in the subject matter at hand. When you become an active reader and immerse yourself in the book the reader becomes even more involved and gains more knowledge from the book. I have read a few books in my life and believe that the importance of notes in the margin are extremely important. Works Cited â€Å"How to Mark a Book† by Adler, Mortimer (2902-2001) http://www. goodreads. com/quotes/tag/reading, internet.