The was my first read of “noted” after learning of your in the academic thread last week and I am SO excited! I did archival research in grad school, and my favorite item from the collection I worked with was the diary. So fascinating to triangulate data from dates, purchase, letters, etc. I look forward to reading many more of your pieces here!
I had no ideas that Dickens was such a performer! I still have fond memories of reading Tale of Two Cities in high school and being captivated by the story (once I got over the first two or three chapters, which were a bit too dense for Teenage Me).
I'm also very much for writing in my books -- it's always interesting to go back and see how my past self reacted to what I read. The only downside is that it makes me a little more self-conscious when I loan a book to a friend (what strange things will they read in the margins?!).
Water and raisins? I'm sure if he were alive today, it'd be Raisinets!
So fascinating to learn about about Dickens and these performances. I had no idea.
I wish I wrote more in books that own, because its so interesting, reading them a second time, to encounter my original impressions. I love it when I buy a used book and see other people's comments as well.
I did not know any of this. How fascinating. The pasted pages notebooks remind me of Francis Ford Coppola’s, ‘The Godfather Notebook,’ there’s great footage of him going through it somewhere. Thanks Jillian.
Ohhhhhhhh, this is wonderful, wonderful stuff! I had NO idea that Dickens performed his work - I've read some of his work, sure, but I know NOTHING about this side of things - and I know this as someone who studied 800+ pages (may be an exaggeration, but I'm sure I'm not far off) of 'Bleak House' for A-level English!
Such an incredible post - again, I've learned a tonne!
I don't really write in books, but I'm just beginning some research towards something and there are pencils at the ready for those specific tomes..... (not original Victorian texts, though, natch!).
I LOVE that Dickens had access to his generation's version of those little Sunmaid raisin boxes.... what an expert snacker he sounds!
I don't own many physical books as I prefer to borrow books from the library either physically or electronically. I like writing notes in my ebooks but of course they don't actually show up in the margins. When I'm done reading I often export the notes and add it to a Notion or Obsidian database where I can use to look back on and reflect on what I read.
Surprisingly, it's my books in other languages that I write all over. I highlight new words, write their pronuncication and the meaning so that I can learn the word. I like looking back at them as I can easily see what words I didn't know when reading the book. Most of the words end up being words I now know! :)
Yours is always fun and informative Jillian. I typically do not write in my books although for my book club I write notes and add flags for my comments. I think I just never got in the habit of writing in my books. On the other hand I do leave notes in my Kindle Paperwhite. Not sure why that is. I suppose if I started writing in books more I would have to use a pencil. Enjoyed the references to dele and stet which I have used before. Reviewing design drawings has standards that are similar. It is amazing to see how much media events (book readings), while still a thing, have been overwhelmed by all of our media options nowadays. I still do meet the author events and enjoy them a lot. Who better to explain but the author themself.
I thought about your Newsletter recently -- It feels right that note-taking has remained fundamental even as all sorts of things in society change. It seems we will always need some way to capture the fleeting thought and a notebook will always work. When you cover a figure like Dickens from another era it is clear the media attention to a book reading will not be able to compete with a Marvel movie or something like that nowadays. Talks at a University can stil attract a crowd but it all seems few and far between. Lots of focus on our attention spans but I think we have always had short attention spans and the fleeting thought is a decent example. Maybe keeping a notebook is an important way of being human. Sorry for the philosophy 101
(Side note:I’m fascinated with how editing shorthand and symbols form their own shorthand language).
Marginalia for me is a recent indulgence. Writing in a non-textbook feels like I’m invading a sacred space, so I’m starting out with cookbook marginalia because, textbook of sorts.
Fascinating read Jillian (as always!), plus I now know what a manicule is ;) I've always assumed that symbol was just a weird Windings thing, but now I know it's a real annotation with some great history behind it, too.
Makes me wonder quite how Dickens acted out those murder scenes. Must have been something to see.
Also, Dickens was big into serialising his works, yeah? I wonder what he would have made of Substack and whether he'd have been putting out material on a weekly basis!
edit: I forgot to say, I've annotated books a bit, but not as much as I should have done because I used to be a bit more precious about printed works. I've taken notes and annotations on Kindle, but that feels less magical to return to and look over.
As a complete aside, if you've never read or seen "S." by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17860739-s), then it's a truly brilliant example of how to make annotations feel real and special. The main story is a bit so-so, but the book is a piece of art and a joy to leaf through. You really believe you're peering into a conversation between two readers written into the margin of the pages.
I sometimes write in books - but usually bc I don't have a notebook to hand to write a proper note, and refer to the book, so I don't lose the reference. Funny thing: I like reading notes people write in library books, and simultaneously think writing in library books is utterly abhorrent (humans, eh?)...
Brilliant, as usual, and I learn something new here every week: Dickens as a performer. He was a most serious walker - usually at night, for insomnia - I wonder did his walking help come back to Earth after performances?
Having recently rewatched "Your Elusive Creative Genius," a 2009 TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert, I couldn't help but read your preview text with that in mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA&vl=en
I do not often pen notes in my own reading material, it seems the habit left when I no longer anticipated being tested on the material. I sometimes keep notes in a journal, but even that is an infrequent exercise. I suppose coming along with parents who grew up in the Depression, I felt it a disservice to the book and any future owner to write in the margins. Might need to rethink, for look at how much we learn from them, and the joys we find there. Thanks, Jillian!
The was my first read of “noted” after learning of your in the academic thread last week and I am SO excited! I did archival research in grad school, and my favorite item from the collection I worked with was the diary. So fascinating to triangulate data from dates, purchase, letters, etc. I look forward to reading many more of your pieces here!
I had no ideas that Dickens was such a performer! I still have fond memories of reading Tale of Two Cities in high school and being captivated by the story (once I got over the first two or three chapters, which were a bit too dense for Teenage Me).
I'm also very much for writing in my books -- it's always interesting to go back and see how my past self reacted to what I read. The only downside is that it makes me a little more self-conscious when I loan a book to a friend (what strange things will they read in the margins?!).
Water and raisins? I'm sure if he were alive today, it'd be Raisinets!
So fascinating to learn about about Dickens and these performances. I had no idea.
I wish I wrote more in books that own, because its so interesting, reading them a second time, to encounter my original impressions. I love it when I buy a used book and see other people's comments as well.
I did not know any of this. How fascinating. The pasted pages notebooks remind me of Francis Ford Coppola’s, ‘The Godfather Notebook,’ there’s great footage of him going through it somewhere. Thanks Jillian.
Ohhhhhhhh, this is wonderful, wonderful stuff! I had NO idea that Dickens performed his work - I've read some of his work, sure, but I know NOTHING about this side of things - and I know this as someone who studied 800+ pages (may be an exaggeration, but I'm sure I'm not far off) of 'Bleak House' for A-level English!
Such an incredible post - again, I've learned a tonne!
I don't really write in books, but I'm just beginning some research towards something and there are pencils at the ready for those specific tomes..... (not original Victorian texts, though, natch!).
I LOVE that Dickens had access to his generation's version of those little Sunmaid raisin boxes.... what an expert snacker he sounds!
I don't own many physical books as I prefer to borrow books from the library either physically or electronically. I like writing notes in my ebooks but of course they don't actually show up in the margins. When I'm done reading I often export the notes and add it to a Notion or Obsidian database where I can use to look back on and reflect on what I read.
Surprisingly, it's my books in other languages that I write all over. I highlight new words, write their pronuncication and the meaning so that I can learn the word. I like looking back at them as I can easily see what words I didn't know when reading the book. Most of the words end up being words I now know! :)
Yours is always fun and informative Jillian. I typically do not write in my books although for my book club I write notes and add flags for my comments. I think I just never got in the habit of writing in my books. On the other hand I do leave notes in my Kindle Paperwhite. Not sure why that is. I suppose if I started writing in books more I would have to use a pencil. Enjoyed the references to dele and stet which I have used before. Reviewing design drawings has standards that are similar. It is amazing to see how much media events (book readings), while still a thing, have been overwhelmed by all of our media options nowadays. I still do meet the author events and enjoy them a lot. Who better to explain but the author themself.
How serendipitous! Dickens is also making an appearance in my newsletter as well (coming out tomorrow ;)
I thought about your Newsletter recently -- It feels right that note-taking has remained fundamental even as all sorts of things in society change. It seems we will always need some way to capture the fleeting thought and a notebook will always work. When you cover a figure like Dickens from another era it is clear the media attention to a book reading will not be able to compete with a Marvel movie or something like that nowadays. Talks at a University can stil attract a crowd but it all seems few and far between. Lots of focus on our attention spans but I think we have always had short attention spans and the fleeting thought is a decent example. Maybe keeping a notebook is an important way of being human. Sorry for the philosophy 101
Charles Dickens: writer, performer, editor.
(Side note:I’m fascinated with how editing shorthand and symbols form their own shorthand language).
Marginalia for me is a recent indulgence. Writing in a non-textbook feels like I’m invading a sacred space, so I’m starting out with cookbook marginalia because, textbook of sorts.
Dickensian PERFORMED?!! Why is this not common knowledge? You are rectifying a wrong in the world and for that you have my gratitude 😀
A side of one of my favorite authors that I didn't know before. Thank you!
Fascinating read Jillian (as always!), plus I now know what a manicule is ;) I've always assumed that symbol was just a weird Windings thing, but now I know it's a real annotation with some great history behind it, too.
Makes me wonder quite how Dickens acted out those murder scenes. Must have been something to see.
Also, Dickens was big into serialising his works, yeah? I wonder what he would have made of Substack and whether he'd have been putting out material on a weekly basis!
edit: I forgot to say, I've annotated books a bit, but not as much as I should have done because I used to be a bit more precious about printed works. I've taken notes and annotations on Kindle, but that feels less magical to return to and look over.
As a complete aside, if you've never read or seen "S." by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17860739-s), then it's a truly brilliant example of how to make annotations feel real and special. The main story is a bit so-so, but the book is a piece of art and a joy to leaf through. You really believe you're peering into a conversation between two readers written into the margin of the pages.
I sometimes write in books - but usually bc I don't have a notebook to hand to write a proper note, and refer to the book, so I don't lose the reference. Funny thing: I like reading notes people write in library books, and simultaneously think writing in library books is utterly abhorrent (humans, eh?)...
Brilliant, as usual, and I learn something new here every week: Dickens as a performer. He was a most serious walker - usually at night, for insomnia - I wonder did his walking help come back to Earth after performances?
Having recently rewatched "Your Elusive Creative Genius," a 2009 TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert, I couldn't help but read your preview text with that in mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA&vl=en
I do not often pen notes in my own reading material, it seems the habit left when I no longer anticipated being tested on the material. I sometimes keep notes in a journal, but even that is an infrequent exercise. I suppose coming along with parents who grew up in the Depression, I felt it a disservice to the book and any future owner to write in the margins. Might need to rethink, for look at how much we learn from them, and the joys we find there. Thanks, Jillian!