The rise of e-books means the decline of fringe comments (comments written by readers in the margins of their books) to the dismay of many book lovers, librarians, and historians. do you write in your books? Do you like to read what others have written in the margins of old books?
in the article “book lovers fear a bleak future for marginal notes”, dirk johnson discusses the history of the marginal:
You are reading: Should i write in my books
marginia was more common in the 19th century. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a prolific outsider writer, as were William Blake and Charles Darwin. in the 20th century it came to be seen primarily as graffiti: something educated and respectful people didn’t do.
pablo f. gehl, curator of newberry, blamed generations of librarians and teachers for “instilling in us the idea” that writing on books “spoils or damages” them.
but marginalia never disappeared. When Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in South Africa in 1977, a copy of Shakespeare was circulated among the inmates. mandela wrote his name next to the passage from “julius caesar” that says: “cowards die many times before they die”.
See Also: Tess Gerritsen – Book Series In Order
studs terkel, the oral historian, was known for warning his friends who read his books but left them unmarked. he told them that reading a book should not be a passive exercise, but a raucous conversation.
Branded books are seen as increasingly valuable today, not just because of a celebrity connection, but also because of what they reveal about the community of people associated with a work, according to Heather Jackson, an English teacher at the university of toronto
students: tell us what you think about writing in books. Do you write notes in the texts you read for school? Do you write in notes that you read for fun? why or why not? Have you ever come across a book with notes written in the margins by someone else, like a family member? Did they add or detract from your reading experience? How do you think the digital notes in eBooks compare to the footnotes in print books?
See Also: Alyson Noel – Book Series In Order