I used to finish books and then forget why I had liked them. A week later I could recall the mood but not the particular line that changed my mind. Keeping a pencil close has made my reading slower and much more companionable.
I underline sparingly. More often I put a small mark beside a passage and write a question in the margin. Why did this detail matter? What would the opposite claim look like? Where have I noticed something similar outside the book?
A good note does not preserve every sentence. It preserves a reason to return.
A modest reading ritual
- Before beginning, write one thing you hope to understand.
- Mark passages that surprise you, not just those you agree with.
- At the end, keep three lines in your own words.
The ritual takes only a few minutes. It leaves a path back into the book when memory turns fuzzy. Sometimes the path leads to another book; sometimes to a better question for a friend.
Reading is still a pleasure before it is a practice. The pencil simply helps me stay in the room a little longer.