How to Annotate Books For Fun || A Beginner's Guide

I've been annotating books for several years now and it has truly elevated my reading experience.

Initially, I was firmly in the "no writing in books" reader group and I only annotated in e-books. But one day, when I was reading Children of Blood and Bone as a paperback, I simply could not hold myself back. I HAD to highlight and comment on things, so I picked up a pencil. It (metaphorically) broke a dam in me.

My annotating methods and habits have evolved over the years but my love for it has only grown. I initially wrote this post in 2021 to encourage more people to pick up annotation. Over 5 years, it has received over 270 thousand views and has been linked in educational sites too (like university sites and google classrooms). I love that so many people want to annotate for fun.

So, as of August 2026, I've done a whole revamp of this post. I cleaned up a few things, rewrote a bunch to be clearer and more helpful, and I've added a few new sections to help the modern reader who reads in many ways.

Want to start annotating but don't know where to begin? You're in the right place. In this guide, I'll cover what to annotate, tools you can use, how to annotate in different formats, and give you a ton of examples to refer. Let's go!

This is a long-ish post because I try to cover a lot. Feel free to use the table of contents to jump directly to the section you're interested in!

why should you annotate books?

There are several benefits to annotating. But to mention a few major ones:

1. It helps you read actively. Active reading is when you are engaging with the text rather than just passively reading the story. It also reduces skim-reading, if you have that habit. Annotating makes reading into a conversation with the author.
2. You will remember more. This is a by-product of active reading. You remember more details of the book and also your reactions to it. Remembering more will help you articulate your thoughts on the book beyond "liked"/"didn't like" it.
3. You will understand the book better. When you annotate and physically engage with the book, you will begin to notice details more. Reading between the lines gets much easier.
4. In case you want to verify something or reread a favourite part, annotations are great for future references. They also come in handy if you are a bookish content creator online.

A ton of people relate annotating to studying and hence don't want to do it when reading for fun. I did not annotate for studying because it wasn't encouraged in my academics (we didn't even have required reading, sadly) but I understand the sentiment.

You have to separate the act of annotation from studying. The benefits of it are why it is encouraged in academics. But annotating can be a fun activity too.

Writing comments, including drawings or illustrations, and conversing with the text makes the experience of reading much more fun. Annotating is not just for critical thinking, quotes, or discussions. It can be commentary on funny dialogues, shocking turns, or rants on annoying characters.

Authors spend years working on their books. Take a few extra minutes to annotate and fully experience the books. It will help you to enjoy your books more and will help you create a reading habit too.

If you still need convincing, read the essay How to Mark a Book. I came across this essay through Naya and absolutely loved it. It reinforced my love for annotating and reassured me that, despite tons of people in the book community saying "it's a sin", it is actually a good habit. I later bought and read the book it was originally written as part of, How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren—it's a great guide. I've annotated it extensively too 😆

how to start annotating right now

Start simple. Pick any book and a pencil. Don't fret about picking the "right" book or having all the necessary annotation tools.

Preferably, a physical or e-book to start with. It's an easier start. However, if you prefer audiobooks, don't worry I will write a section on that later in this post.

Underline lines that stand out to you, don't think about whether the line is worth it or what it means. If you like a line, underline it (or highlight it in the ebook). If it made you feel a certain way, write your reaction or add an emoji there!

Write down reactions you have while reading. We always have reactions while reading, even if it's just "OMG I can't believe that happened" or "this was foolish." Write it down on the margins or whatever available free space.

there's no perfect or right way to annotate

You're reading for fun! Don't make annotating a chore. Let it come naturally. Annotate when you feel like it.

Don't underline something just because you think you should. Mark sentences when they call out to you or if you think they're important to the story. Write comments if you have something to say or if the passage made you feel something.

If you're holding a pen or pencil in your hand, ready to mark anything of consequence, it will distance you from the story. Don't look for reasons to use your tools. Read normally and think of the tools as an extension of your mind. Pick them up when you have a reaction to something in the book and mark/write whatever comes to mind.

Annotating may feel weird in the beginning but the habit will grow over time. Don't expect yourself to go all-in the first time you start.

All of the annotation inspiration online is maximalist. I know that they look beautiful and sometimes you want to mark everything just to have those kind of pages. But it takes time to get there. Also, each person has a different style of annotating. So just focus on penning your reading experience as you read. You will figure out your preferences and build your own annotation style as you annotate.

tools for annotating physical books

When you want to level up your annotation, or when it feels like underlining/highlighting isn't enough, explore more annotation tools.

There are several ways to annotate. I will list and suggest different methods later in this post. But these are some tools to get started.

You can use one or more of these tools at a time. You can mix and match to create different annotation methods. I highly recommend trying them out in increments and playing around with them.

For example, I like to use different tools depending on whether I own the book I'm reading. I also like to annotate differently for different genres. You'll figure out what you like as you annotate.

1. pen or pencil

The classic tools.

When you're just getting started, pencil is best because it's less scary to mark something when you know that you can erase it. Blunt pencils work best to erase later on.

Pens are really fun to annotate with, though. You can use different pen colours to create contrast or to make your annotations prettier. The colour can also influence your motivation or enthusiasm to annotate (I always annotate more when I use a pink pen because I like the colour 😂). You can also use different colours for different types of annotations (underlining vs writing or to underline/write different themes).

2. highlighters

There are so many types of highlighters in the market and you will definitely find some to your liking.

Pro tip: test your highlighters on the last page of the book to check for ghosting/bleeding of the ink before you begin annotating. Not all books have good paper quality and some don't work well with most highlighters. For example, the more pigmented colours of Mildliners are not mild enough for many books (speaking from experience 🥲).

I prefer Tombow brush pens because they provide more control when highlighting due to the thickness of the brush tips. The pastel ones are of the right pigmentation to work with most kinds of paper.

3. sticky tabs/notes

Sticky tabs are small tabs that are used to point to a specific line on the page. There are various types available such as arrow tabs, rectangular tabs, and different coloured tabs. These are the best tools for references. For example, to mark quotes or passages that really stood out to you and you think you'll want to quickly find it in the future.

Sticky notes can be used when you want to write a lot of content (the margins sometimes have less space too) or when you want to talk about something tangential to the topic on the page.

4. notebook/phone/another device

You may not want to mark the books themselves for whatever reason. At those times, you can keep a notebook with you to write in. If you have a digital device with a good note-taking app, that helps too. I like making notes in GoodNotes on iPad for some books.

Note-taking on your phone also works but generally, phones tend to pull our attention away from whatever we're doing, so I don't suggest this unless there's no other way. If you do use your phone, keep it on "do not disturb" mode so that you can read without distractions.

I highly suggest using a note-taking app that supports multimedia to take notes on your phone. You can add pictures if you don't feel like typing or you can add voice notes. Apple Notes' "insert text" feature which reads the text from your camera and automatically types it is very handy.

how to annotate a physical book

There are multiple ways to annotate books. You can either pick one beforehand or decide later based on what you want to mark in the book.

Don't stick to a system immediately. Try out different methods. Be open to exploring and changing. Annotation is supposed to improve your reading experience, not put your thoughts in a box.

1. underline/highlight

These are two of the most basic ways to annotate.

When you read a line that is powerful or lyrical, mark it. If a dialogue made you laugh, mark it. If you want to highlight multiple lines or entire paragraphs, do it!

You can use different colours to underline and highlight. The colours can signify different meanings like yellow for important facts and green for good writing. Different colours can also mean different readings. For The Poppy War, I used one colour for highlighting during my first read and another colour during my second read.

Depending on how "important" the annotation is, I use a different tool. I use pens and highlighters for ones that I want to stand out, pencils for random lines that resonate but don't mean much without the context. You can try underlining with lines and waves to differentiate.

2. circle/bracket

For singular words or short phrases, circling them with a pen highlights it well. Whenever I come across a word or a sentence that is important to the topic or means a lot, I circle it. I also circle words that I've come across for the first time and write their meanings nearby.

For paragraphs or multiple lines that mean a lot, I use brackets either at the beginning and end of those lines or on the side, bracketing the entire paragraph.

3. write your thoughts

Another classic annotation method. This is a little more in-depth because it involves you writing your opinions and conversing with the text.

Annotating with writing doesn't mean you have to write a lot. Comments can be short forms or small sentences too. You can fit smaller comments right after the end of paragraphs or in the margins. It can also be emojis, "LOL", or other slangs. The point is to note your thoughts and/or emotions.

Longer comments do take up more space. When I was reading The Burning God, I took up almost half the page's empty space once because I had so much to say about a certain theme.

Writing comments can change based on genres and themes. For example, I barely write in romance books. The extent of my annotations are generally "this is so cute!" and "OMG" unless I'm ranting about something.

But when I was reading The Right Swipe, I added longer comments to highlight how CTE was spoken about, note my thoughts on the dating industry, etc.

Tip: if you are prone to rephrasing a lot or are not good at space planning (like me), try writing with a pencil instead of a pen. That way you can erase and write again if needed. The downside is that pencil marks can fade over time.

Annotating with writing is really fun because you're almost conversing with the book. It's also fun because you can see your old notes during rereads and have conversations with your older self through new annotations.

4. dog-ear pages

Dog-earing, or folding corners of pages, is helpful because you can easily find your favourite parts of the book later. Or you can refer to important parts that you've marked.

This is probably the most argued-about method of marking a book in the book community. But it is very easy to do and requires no extra tools.

You can mark your favourite scenes, important parts, or pages that have a lot of annotations by dog-earing those sections. I would especially recommend this method for the last reason. If you've annotated a lot by writing or highlighting on one page, you might want to refer back to it later, so dog-ear it.

5. draw/doodle

This is not a method that I use a lot but I have seen other people use it.

One way is to doodle small symbols to signify specific themes and maintain a key for these themes at the beginning/end of the book. You can also simply draw hearts or stars to mark parts you like.

If you're reading non-fiction books that explain topics, you can draw mini mind-maps to remember things better (I did this for The Power of Habit).

how to annotate a physical book without writing in it

If you want to start annotating and are not comfortable with marking the book yet, this is for you. There are ways to annotate without writing in the book. You can use these methods to get into the habit of annotating, and you will probably work up to writing in the books later on.

These methods are also useful if you're reading a borrowed book, like from a library or from a friend. I also use these methods in case I'm unsure of whether I want to keep the book or unhaul it later.

1. use sticky tabs

Whoever invented sticky tabs are a GENIUS because they are so useful.

There are so many ways to annotate using sticky tabs. Since they are available in different colours, you can assign themes to colours and add a key at the beginning like Myonna. Some readers use the same key throughout their books and others switch whenever.

You can also use tabs to mark quotes, favourite lines and passages, or parts of the book that made you feel something.

Or you can simply use the page tabs wherever without caring about the colour. Since I don't assign colours to themes and usually just use one colour per book, I choose a colour that matches the book cover.

I love the Morandi sticky tabs because I double then as a bookmark too. Whenever I start a book, I pick a sheet of the sticky tabs and use it throughout. If I want a combination of colours, I transfer the ones I want to one of the sheets. It's easy and convenient.

Although the arrow sticky tabs are convenient to point to the exact line, I've grown to like regular sticky tabs and I place them right above the line I want to highlight. It's easier to refer back this way, for me.

Sticky tabs are the most handy to mark things that you think you'll want to refer later on—like great quotes or important passages. I've seen people add tabs wherever a character appears too. Do what you feel like!

2. use sticky notes

Annotating with sticky notes is helpful when you have a lot to say about something as they provide more space. You can use sticky notes instead of writing in the margins.

Some readers stick the notes in the middle of the page, others stick them near the part that they're commenting on. You can also stick the notes sideways so that a little bit of the paper peeks out of the notebook similar to page tabs, making it easier for you to find later on.

The one drawback to this is that it covers up a part of the page. Hence, you have to write and stick after you're done reading. And when you're referring later, you can't read the page that you wrote about without removing the sticky note.

There is one way to make sure that they don't cover up the page. Stick the notes at the bottom of the page, so that the sticky parts are on the empty space, and fold them into the book. This way you can flip them open to read your notes and they don't cover up the page as well.

Transparent sticky notes have been invented in the last few years and they're pretty handy. Try them if you're able to get them!

3. use a reading journal/make notes

If you want to annotate but don't want to do anything to the book, you can maintain a notebook as a reading journal to write your thoughts in. This also works for audiobooks as bookmarking in the audiobooks itself can be messy.

For non-fiction books that give a lot of information or books that you're learning a lot from, making proper notes works well. Reading the content properly such that you can write the most important points by memory vastly increases comprehension.

You can also make notes on an app on your phone since you will have your phone with you most of the time. This can result in distraction as you can fall into the phone's black hole through notifications and messages.

Both of these methods can be tedious compared to other methods of annotation because they remove your attention from the book. If you can manage to just write the notes and not fall into social media, these are great.

Leonie uses these methods of annotation so you can check out her video to know more on how to use them.

how to save annotations from borrowed books

Use the above methods and...

1. Copy over the quotes to another notebook or a notes app. Then remove & discard the sticky tabs.
2. Write the page number or chapter number on the sticky note and transfer it to your notebook. I have so many pages of sticky notes from borrowed books in my journal and it's really fun to look at them.

OR you can keep a notebook/paper with you while reading the book and quickly note all your reactions/comments in that itself. I don't prefer this because it breaks my reading flow, but maybe you'll like it.

what to annotate in a book?

If you are new to annotating and don't know what to annotate, I've got you covered.

These are some ideas that you can try out but know that annotations are very personal and what works for others may not work for you. Different people annotate different things. Try a few of these and your specific annotation method will develop once you get the hang of it.

1. Quotes. Any lines that are written really well or that strike a chord in you. If you're a reviewer, these can be mentioned in your book reviews.
2. Write your thoughts in the margins or on sticky notes if something shocking, exciting, annoying or sad occurs. Or if you simply have something to say in relation to whatever is going on.
3. Doodle emojis to signify how you're feeling during a scene.
4. Summarize your thoughts at the end of every chapter. This is a good way to see how much you've retained about the chapter and to also write down any opinions or criticisms. The ends of chapters are good since there will most likely be more space to write and you will have more to say.
5. Mark text that relates to the main plot. This will be good with books that have a ton of plot (like fantasy, mystery) or ones that discuss topics in-depth.
6. Note new words that you come across along with meaning. You can do this on the page or at the end of the book on an empty page.
7. Question actions of characters or themes portrayed. If there is a representation of a marginalized group that you are a part of, you can note your thoughts on it.
8. Theorize where the plot is going in the margins by noting foreshadowing* in the book.
9. Mark references to look up later. I do this with books that involve history or mythologies that I'm not familiar with.

This is not an exhaustive list. I'll probably come back and update whenever I think of something else. But this should be enough to get you started!

*Foreshadowing is basically hints dropped by the author which subtly leads up to the future plot.

how to annotate ebooks/digital books

If you're a digital reader, I got you! I love my e-reader, it's so convenient to read on the go and I get through way more ebooks than paperbacks. Digital annotations are just as fun and beneficial too.

Additionally, a lot of people find it easier to begin annotating digitally before annotating physically. It's less "scary" than making a mark on physical books, you know? I get it. It feels easier to play around and mark things without overthinking about making "good" annotations.

E-ink readers are usually limited to highlighting and making notes. Unfortunately, there aren't more ways to annotate in most of the affordable devices. I highlight without abandon and make notes for any reactions. I do not think about noting only "worthy" comments. Everything is worthy.

E-readers also provide a bookmark feature. I don't use these a lot because I'd rather find something through my annotations. However, for some books which I like to reread from a specific part, I bookmark those parts for convenience. You can try it and see if you like it.

Since I use a Kindle and use Kindle Unlimited, I can help you a bit more with that. Kindle does save your annotations for all books bought/borrowed on Amazon even after you return them in read.amazon.com. It does not save them centrally if you sideload books but you can still find those in the device/app.

A few e-readers have the option to scribble on the page similar to regular pages, in that case most points from the previous section about annotating physical books stands!

For some books, I prefer reading them as PDFs and annotating on other apps. For example, the GoodNotes or Notability or the Preview app on iOS. There are quite a few PDF apps which supposed note-taking, you can explore and choose depending on your preferences. This option is best, in my opinion, for comics and books with multi-media style pages that you don't want as paperbacks.

how to annotate audiobooks

These are the trickiest. I usually read books that I know I wouldn't annotate on audio such as contemporary romance books. However, I do have a quick system in case I want to save something.

I bookmark/save at the point in the audiobook that I want to "annotate". In case I want to save quotes, I return later when I've got time and transcribe the quote to my notes app or a notebook. I almost always copy over quotes to somewhere else because it wouldn't be easy to find them later otherwise. I also use the quotes pages on GoodReads to find/mark quotes later on.

Some apps provide the option to add comments with the bookmark so I do that for quick reactions. For longer comments, I prefer to pause the audiobook and type it out in my notes app along with any marker to map in the audiobook (time/chapter number/plot point/line).

best books to annotate

Technically, any book can be annotated. You have the build the habit of annotating your thoughts using whichever method instead of keeping your opinions in your mind while reading.

But there are books that will make it easier for you to start annotating.

1. Annotate your favourite books. As you love them, you will have a lot of opinions on those books. Reread them and annotate! Mark your favourite passages and the things that you love about the book. Underline lines that made an impact on you. Doodle/write your emotions in the margins.
2. Annotate books that you're disliking. If you're reading a book that you're not enjoying, annotate why you're not enjoying it. Is it the characters or the plot? Do you not like the writing? Did you find plot holes? Make yourself expand on your opinions during annotation.
3. Annotate non-fiction. Whether you read non-fiction often or not, they can be very fun to annotate. Mark important points, make summaries of chapters, and tab what parts of the book make sense to you. Here are a few non-fiction recommendations to get started:
   • Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb.
   • Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Edoo-Lodge.
   • Atomic Habits by James Clear.
   • Seeing Like a Feminist by Nivedita Menon.
   • How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur.
4. Annotate fantasy books. These books have entire worlds and concepts within them. Because of the amount of information they contain, they're great to annotate. Highlights quotes and phrases, tab parts that are important or explain something, and write your thoughts on the world-building and characters. Here are some great high fantasy books to start annotating with:
   • Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko.
   • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.
   • The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang.
   • The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty.

how I annotate books

No one has asked me how I annotate but I am jealous of the creators who get asked to share their systems, so I'm sharing mine anyway.

While my annotating habit started with e-books, I annotate more when I read paperbacks. There's just something about holding the book and using a pen or a brush pen that makes it more engaging.

I don't annotate all the paperbacks that I read but I usually can't hold back if I have comments. My habit has fully developed so I get a pen in the middle of a chapter if I don't have one because I NEED to annotate.

My system used to be mostly sticky tabs and a few sticky notes. But now use sticky notes only if I want to write a lot and usually directly annotate on the page.

As you can see below, I used 6 different annotation methods in The Art of Creative Thinking—highlights, underlines, circles, sticky notes, tabs, and writing directly on the page.

I love writing comments and my reactions on the margins more than highlighting. My comments range from intellectual opinions to "OMG" and "are you serious?????" depending on my mood.

It's fun to read my past annotations and see how I notice different things as I've grown as a person. I especially noticed the difference during my reread of The Poppy War. I picked out different themes as "main" in my two reads and it is interesting to see the difference because it was partly influenced by my life events.

After annotating the first two books of the series, I went to TOWN with The Burning God. I completely marked the book and made it my own. It was so fun and I truly feel like I gave the book the attention it deserves.

Another book that I annotated was Fahrenheit 451. While I did annotate my reactions, I commented a lot about the themes portrayed and the writing style. My review came out really well because of my annotations and I even shared a lot of them in my review post.

Annotating non-fiction books is a completely different type of joy. When I read Maybe You Should Talk to Someone recently, I used THREE forms of annotation. I highlighted lines that resonated with me, tabbed the highlighted lines which I wanted to come back to, and wrote chapter summaries at the end of each chapter with sticky notes.

Another non-fiction book that pushed my annotation limits was Atomic Habits. While I highlighted lines on the book with two colours, I also made notes on my iPad using GoodNotes. This was the first time I made proper notes and it was great.

Because I annotated while reading the above two books, my reading comprehension and memory retention improved. I remember a lot from them even though my memory is generally not great.

endnotes

There is no right way to annotate and there is no best way to annotate. This is a deeply personal habit that is different for every person.

When we read a book without annotating or noting anything, we are mostly simply absorbing what the authors put in front of us. Marking a book while reading is a way to make it your own. You take the story and put your spin on it through your opinions and the parts that you pick out as "important."

I believe that the best way to know if someone has loved a book is to see its condition. Keeping it neatly on a shelf without even breaking the spine is a form of love, yes. But the people I relate to are the ones who have worn down copies of their books with annotations, showing how much they've read and engaged with them. (I'm quite proud of my shelves which are filled with annotated books and it's usually the first thing visitors comment on too.)

let's chat!

Do you annotate your books? What are your favourite methods of annotation?

If not, are you here to start annotating? Did you find this post helpful? If you have any more questions, feel free to drop them in the comments or email me!