The act of leaving notes in a books’ margins is such a commonplace practice, it’s got its own word in the dictionary—marginalia. For some, in-tome annotations are crucial for effective critical reading, but for others, writing in books is a bad habit best avoided.

When Writing in Books is Bad

Obviously, if you don’t own it, don’t write in it. That should go without saying. The exception, of course, is if you have express permission to do so. But that library book you checked out last week? That lighthearted fantasy novel you borrowed from a friend? Don’t even think about it.

When it’s a book you own, however, the waters become murkier. If it’s a book you plan to keep forever, I can’t see any reason why you couldn’t write in it if you wanted to. But what if you decide to give it away next year during an epic bout of spring cleaning fever?

Finding a secondhand book with handwritten notes in it is often romanticized, especially in fiction, but it might also make it harder to resell. Some folks just don’t like writing in their books, even if they buy used. They may not want their own first reading of a book to be influenced by someone else’s opinions, or they may just not like how it looks. Whatever the reason, it might be the difference between your book being happily rehomed and it being stuck collecting dust on some secondhand store’s shelves.

On the other hand…

When Writing in Books is Good

Writing in books isn’t always bad. I have a friend who adores it when people leave notes in her books. For her, it’s a creative way to connect with people she cares about—her lovingly annotated books serve as a beautiful, uniquely personal record of not only her own reading experiences but also her fellow readers’.

I also know some readers look for marginalia the way treasure hunters look for precious metals on the beach, sifting through used books for those rare, beautiful finds. I myself am not immune—I once bought a used poetry book on a whim because of a romantic dedication found on one of the vacat pages that dated back to the 1950s. And of course, inscriptions from famous authors are especially valuable—and only grow more so over time.

Marginalia is also a quick and convenient way to take notes, whether you simply want to record your journey or are planning to reference your annotations later for more productive purposes (say, a blog post!). It can even help you achieve your reading goals, if you’re looking for a deeper, more mindful reading experience.

Alternatives to Writing in Books

So, is writing in books bad? Personally, I’ve always been of two minds on the subject, and I have yet to reconcile them. On the one hand, it’s almost physically painful for me to drag my pen across the pages of something so sacred as a book. I can just about manage it, if I feel I really need to, with a nonfiction book (especially something like a recipe book). But a novel? No way.

But I have to admit, I do love looking at books with marginalia, especially old books with inscriptions dating back a hundred years or more. It’s a peek into another time, another life—a tenuous thread connecting the readers of today with those of yore.

I do prefer dedications on the vacat pages to true marginalia—writing in the back of a book is less distracting than notes in the margins. And they’re certainly easier to avoid until the book has been read and the reader has come to their own conclusions. (This is also why I often wait until after I finish a book before reading any prefaces, author’s notes, et cetera.)

Another alternative I’m fond of when I’m reading for research is sticky notes. You have to take great care with these, of course—if they’re too sticky or left too long, some of them might leave unsightly residue on an otherwise pristine page. I like color-coded tabs that make it easy to reference a specific page or quote; at most, I write a short phrase to remind me what it’s marking. 

Finally, if I’m just reading for pleasure (although, let’s face it, when you’re a fiction writer, everything is research), I don’t leave notes in the book at all. I’ve been experimenting with a bullet-style reading journal to record my impressions instead.

At the end of the day, writing in books isn’t inherently bad or good—as long as you’re respectful to your fellow readers and true to your own feelings, you can’t really go wrong.

Kim Berkley is a fantasy fiction author and video game writer who swears the books on her TBR shelf multiply when she’s not looking.