Re:Ask HN: How do you take notes when reading a book?
by muzani on Monday June 22, 2020 @03:42AM
(#23598045)
I used to follow this. But I later learned there's a big plateau between where note taking is a burden and where it becomes useful. If you're rereading notes and they weren't valuable, chances are that your note taking skills could use improvement.
It's a bit like touch typing - it takes substantial active effort at first.
Have you ever found yourself looping over a few pages too many times, or that a book is too difficult to digest? Or did you have to move a few chapters ahead to understand an early part of the book? This is where notes are extra useful. This is especially the case for math, science, technical books, or journals.
Some books are not suitable for note taking. Anything where the content can be summarized into powerpoint slides. Self-help or anything that's a best seller are often simplified enough for anyone to read. Story books are designed to be read without notes, and that often include historical and biographical.
It's a bit like touch typing - it takes substantial active effort at first.
Have you ever found yourself looping over a few pages too many times, or that a book is too difficult to digest? Or did you have to move a few chapters ahead to understand an early part of the book? This is where notes are extra useful. This is especially the case for math, science, technical books, or journals.
Some books are not suitable for note taking. Anything where the content can be summarized into powerpoint slides. Self-help or anything that's a best seller are often simplified enough for anyone to read. Story books are designed to be read without notes, and that often include historical and biographical.