Books you both read and write in

It’s been a long time since I last had a book I wrote in. Oprah and my hairdresser talking about notes and Post-its littering their Eckhart Tolle books made me think about the last time I had a book that so delighted me or inspired me that I underlined whole passages.

I do have several books that have umpteen bookmarks in them (most are by Joseph Murphy), a bread crumb trail I can follow back to the passages that meant most to me. But I no longer write in my own books. That’s because I leant one of my inspiring books to a classmate who complained about how distracting my scribbles in the margin were. I shouldn’t do that, she said. So I stopped.

But now that I think back, and when I think about the unexpected doorway that discovering other people’s notes in books is, why should someone else dictate what I do to my own books? I guess I could lend them with the warning that they’re getting more than just the author’s thoughts or emphasis.

What I really want, is a book that inspires me to underline passages, mark things with a yellow highlighter, and litter with Post-its to help relocate the best pages. And I want the freedom to do so. I have finally purchased Eckhart Tolle’s book “A New Earth” and will re-listen to/re-watch the podcasts and maybe have my own notes to contribute.

It’s not about destroying property. It’s about enthusiasm. It’s about involvement. About being so enthusiastic about something in a book, so involved in it, that you don’t want to lose it or forget it, so you leave behind your own impression on the book.