Tiara Talk: Mark My Words

One of the most interesting aspects of my literature classes in college (okay, maybe not the most interesting because HELLO LITERATURE CLASSES, but still really fascinating) is the fact that there is a great divide between the students. Over what you ask? 

Writing in books.

There are some students, like myself, who do it because we lose papers all the time and it is WAY more convenient to have all of those notes in one place and be able to reflect back on them at any point in time. There are others, however, who think it is the greatest sin on earth.

And then there are some who have rules for it, I can technically be included in this category as well.

One of my biggest rules is that  I refuse to write in hardcovers. I will flag the heck out of them but I won't write in them. (How do I get around this? I buy an extra copy in paperback of course!)

For me it is convenience, I like having my notes all in one place when I go back and have to write on the book. (If I reread it, for another class, I'll write in a different colored ink then I did the first time in order to tell the difference because different classes pull different things from books). HOWEVER, I do admit that sometimes when I want to go back and read a book just for pleasure, or lend it out, I really dislike having the notes in the margins. I often find myself having to buy duplicates for those very reasons. It just feels so awkward having someone else read those "private" thoughts that I penned. Also, it dawned on me late and life that for certain books for class people often wanted to borrow my books FOR those notes. Sneaky, sneaky.

 So...

Do you write in your books? Does it frustrate you to no end when others do? What about if you order a book used and there is writing in it? (I'm so divided on that last one. Sometimes I'm totally okay with it, other times I want a clean edition. There is no real rhyme or reason to it.)

How do you get around it? What do you do instead of writing in the book? Or, if you do write in your books, what kind of notes do you usually take? Do you highlight too?

Discuss!