Ash Thoreau

I just started annotating books for the first time ever. We’ll see if I end up liking it. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s something I found on the Instagram version of BookTok. Basically, you highlight or underline passages based on different themes or backgrounds. I’m hoping it’ll help me remember the books I read a little better.

I decided to start with a book I’ve read multiple times, just to see if it makes a difference — Harry Potter. The problem is, my dumbass went and bought a brand-new box set of paperbacks, thinking it would be less expensive than buying them individually.

Literally right after I opened the packaging and started writing in the first book, J.K. Rowling made more short-sighted, bigoted posts on X. It made me sick to my stomach. I had debated buying the set in the first place but rationalized it by thinking, “I would buy it for Dais if she wanted to read it. I’d get her any book she wanted.” So I said, screw it.

Talk about almost instant regret. I saw the new posts a day after the books arrived — after I had already written on the title page. I hate the thought of giving money to someone like that. If I really wanted a set to annotate, I should have bought it used so Rowling wouldn’t profit. I should have trusted my gut. Lesson learned.

Anyway, since I have the copies now and can’t return them, I decided to push forward. Annotating gets easier the more you do it, and honestly? I think I like it so far.

I’ll post an update after a few more chapters. We will see if it’s something I can continue working on in future books.