Yo, *As a note, I wasn't really too sure as to where I should put this, so I'm winging it here. I'm curious as to if any of you take comprehensive notes when reading literature. Personally, I find myself a forgetful individual and it seems that after some mediocre amount of time, I tend to forget what I have read. The thought to take notes arises, so that one could reference them if need be. Does anyone do this? Has it proved effective in terms of retention? EDIT: (Added clarification) I also mean, is any increased retention worth the hours of note taking? Or is it better just to read more at a faster rate, to maintain a certain flow or influx of literature into the mind?
Seems like taking notes would suck a lot of the fun out of reading. What exactly is it you want to remember, and why? I couldn't name any of the characters in the novels I read last week, but I don't really care - I've got more reading to do this week.
It would drain a lot of time, that's the wonder. It seems counter-intuitive in the sense that one would read less. I suppose it's rather foolish to want some permanence in terms of one's interaction with a work. I suppose those of the Christian faith rigorously read their Bible in an effort to maintain a connection and familiarity with the text. In other words, one will forget without repetition. The what? There's nothing specific. The why? I would presume that it's an attempt at stability; it's debilitating, the idea of forgetting one's existence and being rather stuck with that. On a more practical note, it would seem useful for inspiration, culture of mind, and possibly for didactic purposes.
OK. I read mostly for pleasure, so stability isn't an issue. That said, I do occasionally make a note of something an author said especially well and put it in my "quotes" file.
It depends on what type of reader you are. If you really want to remember what you've read, taking notes might be the best way to go. That's what I did when taking college-level English courses, and I still remember some of the stuff to this day. I don't take notes anymore, but I do like to discuss interesting books with people, which is another good way to keep yourself from forgetting things over time.
I take note of interesting word choices, similes etc. (and jot them down into my phone) but mostly I do what @stevesh does, pick out quotes and add them to a quote file (14 pages and counting). I do steal quotes from movies, TV shows, articles, interviews, video games etc. Wherever I find them, so that's not exclusive to reading. The other stuff (taking note of some technical things that I find particularly awesome) I don't do much because I tend to get into the story and forget the technical side of things.
