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Comment by posharma | Hacker News Reader

How do you folks deal with the following? I borrow books from the local library but can't mark or underline anything in the book to go back and refer. How do you then keep notes to retain the salient points of the book? Maintaining notes separately breaks the flow of reading. Suggestions appreciated.

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If you'd prefer the low-tech route, try this: Buy notecards for your thoughts and leave them in the book as you go. Then before you return it, review them to make sure you've captured enough context that they make sense without the physical book.

>Maintaining notes separately breaks the flow of reading.

I would push back on this point. You do not have to keep a flow of reading. If there is something that stands out to you, then it is noteworthy enough to pause and think about it for a bit. When I read books I am waiting for moments like this, as something the author wrote resonates with me. In my opinion, that's what makes reading fun and valuable. After you reflect on the line you can re-read to get back into the flow until you are pleasantly provoked by the next piece :).

I used to keep a pad and paper - now I can snap a picture with my iPad and then annotate on it with the Pencil in my own writing. Writing is far more effective at retention than typing so I stick with it. It's not as convenient as writing directly in your own book, but it's pretty darn close. And if it's a subject of importance I'll just get my own copy of the book. I recently re-discovered independent used book sites like abebooks.com - it's a challenge to not go nuts :)

I second this. I take pictures with my phone to save for further study.

Edit: I use https://www.onlineocr.net/ a lot when I later want the text

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