Within the Bookends

We often think of reading as a simple transaction:
read the words, turn the page, move on.

But reading, real reading, is rarely that neat.

As we move through a story or an idea, we pause. We reread a sentence. A phrase catches. A paragraph makes us stop and think, wait, that matters. Slowing down like this is part of the journey, and one way to stay in that moment is to respond to it.

That’s where a pen, pencil, or highlighter comes in.

As you read, give yourself permission to mark the places that speak to you. Underline a sentence that feels true. Highlight a passage that lingers. Write a note in the margin when a thought, question, or memory surfaces. These marks aren’t about getting something “right.” They’re about noticing what moved you.

A Gentle Reminder

Before we start talking about highlighting, underlining, dog-earing pages, or writing in the margins of a book, there’s one important place to start:

Make sure the book belongs to you.

This isn’t about rules so much as respect. A library book, a borrowed copy from a friend, those stories carry other readers with them. They aren’t yours to mark. But a book you own? That’s different. That’s an invitation.

A Conversation That Lasts

We’ve talked before about keeping a reading journal, and this works beautifully alongside that practice. When something stands out, you don’t have to rely on memory alone. It’s there, waiting for you. The words. The moment. Your reaction to it.

For many of us, the last time we did this was in school, studying for exams, pulling out key points, marking what we were told was important.

This is not that.

This is about engaging with a story. With a voice. With an idea. It’s about letting the book meet you where you are.

You might find that you barely mark a thing. Or that you only do this with certain genres. And that’s okay. There’s no right way to do this. There’s only your way.

What makes this practice especially meaningful is what happens later.

Months, or even years, after you’ve finished a book, you might pick it up again. You’ll see what you underlined. What you questioned. What made you pause at that moment in your life. It’s like leaving a quiet trail of breadcrumbs for your future self.

Reading this way turns a book into more than something you finished.

It becomes something you lived with.

Different Ways to Make Your Mark

There’s no single right way to mark a book.

Highlighting, underlining, writing in the margins, dog-earing pages, these are all just tools. What matters isn’t how you use them, but why.

You might keep a highlighter nearby and use it sparingly, only when a sentence or phrase really stops you in your tracks. A quote you want to come back to. A line that feels like it’s speaking directly to you. Highlighting can be a way of quietly saying, this mattered.

If highlighting feels like too much, underlining can feel softer. A single line beneath a sentence you don’t want to lose. Or maybe both, an underline and a highlight, when something really lands.

Some readers take this a step further. They’ll use different colors to mark different things: ideas they want to revisit, questions that come up, passages that challenge them. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as it still feels helpful rather than heavy.

And then there are notes.

Writing in the margins can be as simple as a few words. A question. A memory the passage brings up. A quiet reaction. These notes don’t have to be polished or insightful. They’re just markers of where you were when you met those words.

Yes, you can always capture these thoughts in a reading journal, and that can be a beautiful practice. But there’s something powerful about having those moments live right there in the book, waiting for you. Easy to find. Easy to return to.

The key thing to watch for is this:
if it starts to feel like a project, slow down.

This isn’t studying. You’re not trying to extract meaning or prove understanding. You’re simply staying present with the story or idea in front of you.

If you’re new to this, start small. One pen. One highlighter. Whatever you already have nearby. Maybe you underline one sentence in an entire chapter. Maybe you jot a single word in the margin. That’s enough.

If a sentence makes you stop and reread it, if it lingers, that’s your cue. Mark it in whatever way feels natural to you.

This isn’t about doing more.
It’s about noticing more.

A Gentle Note on Nonfiction and fiction

You might find that you do this more often with nonfiction than with fiction. That’s common. Nonfiction often invites reflection, questions, and connections to other ideas or books. Fiction, on the other hand, sometimes asks to be experienced more quietly, more fully, without interruption.

Neither is better. Neither is more “correct.”

You’ll learn your own patterns as you go, what genres invite marking, which authors make you pause, and which books you simply want to read straight through.

All of it counts.

Every mark. Every pause. Every quiet moment you chose to stay with the words.