how i annotate my books ✍🏻✨ tips on different styles, tools, and flip throughs *simple to extra*

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— timestamps
0:00 vessi sponsor
1:05 intro
2:34 why i annotate
6:24 tools i use (pens, highlighters, tabs, post its, etc)
12:06 how i annotate (my universal base system)
15:59 different ways to annotate
19:22 how i annotate (recent book examples)
22:34 answering your questions
27:02 outro

[RichardDominguezTheMagicIsReal]

I am 62 (going on 63) and have been reading my whole life. I have always wanted to annotate but I just have never been able to bring myself to marking my books, but it never ever occurred to me to do it as a form of reacting to the characters or the story. In almost everything I read there are times I stop to yell, laugh, be sad, call out liar, etc... to the characters or the author for that matter. I am going to give this a try and just react to the book (maybe use post it note, lined ones or maybe the clear ones). Anyway thanks for sharing your ideas

[loverboy]

Even though annotating isn’t for everybody, I think it is a beautiful way to interact with the book. You are becoming one with the story, and it feels like you are putting your love through the pages just by tabbing, writing, or highlighting certain elements in the book. Thank you for these tips, Mel, this would surely help me get my hands dirty by putting my love and interaction into my books. Love your energy, girlie. Can’t wait for more of your chaotic videos in the future ❤❤

[khalilahd.]

For the longest time I was the person who REFUSED to write in my books but within the last year I’ve really been getting more into it so I’m still figuring it out 😅 but this video definitely helps me navigate the waters a bit better so thank you!

[mandiconnell]

I LOVE rereading a book I’ve annotated and seeing my old comments. It’s like having inside jokes with myself which I guess is kind of weird haha but it’s so fun

[Grace-s]

this is like the perfect ultimate guide to annotating, as someone who annotates! i think what's hard to grasp when you first start is the freedom of annotating—if you start annotating a book and the method isn't working, you can either stop or try a different method! you don't ever have to use color if that's not your thing, or you can just tab so you can revisit your favorite pages. it's such a fun process if you allow yourself to do what feels right instead of what you feel you *have* to do. good luck everyone and thank you mel!

[pretentioussunshine]

The reason I personally like to annotate is because it makes my book one of a kind.
When I seize to exist or pass the books along I will forever be part of that copy and that copy only.
When my friends and family go through my stuff they can find me in the pages of my favorite book. I just find the thought, that they should look at my books one day, hoping to connect with me, and my copies looking like every other new edition from Amazon, kinda sad
Also, if I put myself down in enough books I'll basically live forever, which is fun too I guess

[LGJBJD]

obsessed with this background, this green sweater on you, your energy in this video, your makeup and everything you said, basically (as always) just very obsessed with you 🫶

[samantharose]

Okay love this!! I’m not much of an annotator because I get anxious about potential future unhauling, so I really appreciated your ideas about writing on sticky notes inside the book and the transparent ones and also the validation that sometimes u just don’t wanna and that’s okay 💖

[artdonewithgrace]

i loved seeing the annotations of addie larue!! i first read it last year and it was a library copy so i couldn’t annotate, so i’ve since bought my own copy because i loved addie so much and have yet to annotate it, but it’s always nice seeing other people relate to addie and adore the book as much as i did <3 that book is just so beautiful, i cannot wait to reread her

[lorifrederick]

I remember waaaay back in the 70's annotating like this with all my medical textbooks in college.

[nknutson]

I don’t annotate my books, but I still found this great and really interesting. Great video ❤

[ellieskouros]

ah so excited for annotating advice from our queen mel! 👑 started annotating recently & fell IN LOVE

[ybell]

i’m doing the pencil, plus tabs and i love doing it like that!

[ashleyschuster]

I found they have highlighter tape and tabs on amazon. They are strips that can be used to “highlight” the book but are removable. I got some in hopes to get my annotated journey started.

[yanan]

started annotating my first physical book today after watching this (ive annotated kindle books before but have never been brave enough to annotate a physical copy) but im finding it so fun and i love engaging with my book more. im noticing im really paying closer attention to my story and interacting with it which is nice. i'm so excited to finish the book and see how it looks when it's done !!

[mehvishrana]

She’s so pretty!! And the way she beautifully explains everything it’s just commendable !

[isirlasplace]

I use Frixion pens and highlighters with tabs. Love them and it's how I got over the bump of writing inside my books😄

[jennymurcia]

Let me start by saying you can annotate as much or as little as you want to. I thought I would leave this tip in case anyone finds it helpful. This wont be for everyone. I know it seems like a lot, but for someone like me who overthinks everything, I find this to help me enjoy my reading while messily (at first) keeping note of what I'm liking without worrying to keep information organized all at the same time.
I found at the beginning of annotating, it was hard to know what information I truly wanted to reference back to, so I started keeping a little notepad next to my book. Instead of tabbing the book right away, I would write the page number on my notepad and marked my book very lightly with a pencil (to know which paragraph or quote I'm refering to). That was accompanied by if that page has: a quote I like, character traits, worldbuilding, etc. I do this for about 25-50 pages until I get a feel for the book and for what I actually want to annotate and it also serves me to visualize the tabs I want to use for each category. I find this specially helpful because I get a vibe for spefic themes or literary resources I want to keep track of and that way I can always see where those are used throughout the entire book. It also means I dont feel like im wasting tabs or "marking my book for nothing". Once I have an idea of the things I'd like to annotate, I erase the marks that I made on the book by referencing to my notepad and I tab (or not) what feels right for me and the book.

As Mel said, each book is different and usually that means I annotate differently, specially across genres.

I hope someone finds it helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! :)

[Thirdpagee]

I recently started annotating and it’s so much more fun and I remember so much more from the books I’ve annotated! Love this video so much! I seriously need to read and annotate babel!

Another quick piece of advice: if you don’t know if you’re going to like the book or not, just try the tabs first but the second you know it’s going to be a 4+ star book, start writing and highlighting because it’s so much fun and makes the reading experience of a favourite book 100x better! 💛

[emilynewland]

I love my transparent sticky notes! If you use a cheap ballpoint pen on them, they typically don't smudge or smear. My personal favorites are the free pens that colleges have given me.