I'm an underliner.
I underline things I want to remember. I even do it in magazines (mine, not the ones on the rack). I obviously don’t underline library books, much to the relief of my former-librarian mother. I’m not as bad as a pastor friend who uses a ruler to underline (his pages are amazing displays of his fastidiousness and almost resemble art).
There’s a strange thing about my underlining. For strange reasons, it helps me remember what I’ve read. My brain is funny that way. I’m not claiming photographic memory at all. I am a forgetful person (another post for another day). Yet, when I underline, I grasp the message better. I remember concepts and contexts when I interact with pen on paper.
I rarely read on my iPad. I prefer to hold a book or magazine. I need the tactile experience. Even when I read articles online, I find myself bookmarking them or saving highlights from them to my Notes app on my Macbook. (See the video below for how I do that.)
I use Pocket to bookmark entire articles. In fact, Pocket is my source for my two blog series: Nuff Said and The Roundup. I usually just peruse Strangely, I do use a Bible app a lot, but it’s the Olive Tree Bible Reader which allows you to underline/highlight just portions of a verse.
My daughter clued me in to using felt tip pens for my highlighters a while back. I used to simply use ballpoints. (I have a thing with pens.1)
I underline phrases that inspire me. I underline an author’s epic use of an analogy. I underline a text when it’s simply exquisitely formed - an admirable use of the language. I underline a well-articulated point or paragraph.
I have a few codes when I underline.
I’ll draw a star next to something that I think “this was especially great.”
I’ll draw an arrow in the margin pointing to an underline that I think “pay attention to this!”
Here’s to all the other underliners out there!
If you underline, I’d love to know! Leave a comment, especially if you have some quirks or a personal system or method to your madness.
Stay tuned for a new series here
The whole concept of underlining struck me as a great idea for a series here… Underlinings. (I hope that doesn’t sounds a bit like something you’d wear with your swimsuit). I’ll be sharing with you short bits of provocative, inspiring, beautifully-written and helpful things that others have written that I’ve… underlined recently.
I am a LONGGGGGGGGGGGG time underliner,, I firmly believe it helps one to remember what theyve read, its been proven that taking notes, with a real pen, pencil, not some computer,, helps student learn and remember so much better, and actually holding a real book in ones hands helps one remember what theyve read,, I still underline constantly, its like a tactile thing that I cant help myself from doing,, I cant read without underlining , unless its a fictional book just for pleasure,, my bibles all have so much underlining and writing notes in the margins, and notes all over that the pages have holes in them, I star important passages, or verses, and use different colored highlighters, all the time.. . I finally as an adult ,, way to late for school,,, learned that my best learning style is taking notes, with a real pen and pencil, its how Ive memorized whole passages of scripture,,, and my daughters realized in business manegment school that she learns best taking good notes as well... .. So yay,,, for all you highlighters and underliners out there...