We’ve all at one point in our lives read a book and wanted to annotate or highlight quotes, scenes or emotions, but never knew how to go about it. Stress no more; here is a quick and simple guide to help you.  

Why do we annotate?   

Before we begin, we must explain why we annotate in the first place. For people like us, it is a way of bringing us closer to the story, the characters, and our community. For me, it is a way of living life through a story (if that makes sense).  

Every time I annotate, it feels like I’m having a conversation with the characters and the book, but this doesn’t necessarily have to have a huge meaning behind it; you’ll get your own reason and voice as time progresses. 

The basic tools  

For readers using e-books, you can opt to use highlights  

• Blue – funny  

• Pink – spicy 

• Orange – translation 

• Yellow – the characters’ “Lovey–Dovey moments” 

This is usually a good option if you’re naturally not the expressive type, if you simply don’t want to write anything or if you want it to feel like a secret code from you to you  

With E-books, after you highlight, there’s usually an option to write a note. 

For readers using physical copies, you can use the highlights you have on hand, or you can use these codes.  

• Star (*) – Funny  

• Question mark (?)- translation 

• Heart (<3) – the characters’ lovey-dovey moments  

• Exclamation (!) – spicy  

Then you can choose to follow up with sticky notes to annotate (this can also double as a safety mechanism; if you don’t want someone to read your annotations, you can remove them and place them again later, just remember to write the name and page of the book) 

What to actually write  

• Reactions. 

You can simply opt to react to the text with one word, like what? wow, nooo, yes! and aww  

• Connection. 

You can connect the text with another one that you read in another book. Like what I usually do when I come across the word ‘manhandle’, because I once read a series called the Manhandled. It makes for a good comedic break while reading or re-reading a book.  

• Translation or define vocabulary. 

I can’t even count the number of highlights and annotations I have on the Vitale brothers’ series under translations; the book is like 35% orange since they sometimes converse in Italian and Japanese.  

Also, having this type of annotation eases re-reading. Your future self will thank you. 

This guide will initially help you until you get the hang of it and customise it as your own. Just remember, there is no wrong way; it just has to make sense to you.