Can you do this on a Kindle (or other ereader)?

[Janna]

I have no interest in an ereader at this point. However, one thing I just can NOT bring myself to do is write in my books. I can't even underline. And to turn the corner down is a conscious and very careful decision that I sometimes do, but mostly not. In fact, I just read Ex libris by Anne Fadiman and she spoke a lot about writing in her books. I felt uncomfortable just reading about it.:D

 

Ok, so moving on...I got to wondering the other day if you can make notes on those ereaders. Can you underline and have it save that? Can you go to a blank page to write a note about something you read and it somehow makes a mark next to that sentence or paragraph or page indicating that a note has been written on that?

 

If they can do that, I would seriously change my disposition on ever getting one. And if they don't, isn't that a fabulous idea? I should figure out how to market that! :D

[Perry]

I have no interest in an ereader at this point. However, one thing I just can NOT bring myself to do is write in my books. I can't even underline. And to turn the corner down is a conscious and very careful decision that I sometimes do, but mostly not. In fact, I just read Ex libris by Anne Fadiman and she spoke a lot about writing in her books. I felt uncomfortable just reading about it.:D

 

Ok, so moving on...I got to wondering the other day if you can make notes on those ereaders. Can you underline and have it save that? Can you go to a blank page to write a note about something you read and it somehow makes a mark next to that sentence or paragraph or page indicating that a note has been written on that?

 

If they can do that, I would seriously change my disposition on ever getting one. And if they don't, isn't that a fabulous idea? I should figure out how to market that! :D

Yes, you can highlight and take notes. I haven't used that feature much, so I can't comment on it.

 

I swore I'd never get one, but I do a lot of traveling and got tired of lugging a bag of books around. I broke down and bought one, and I am a convert. LOVE my Kindle.

[Janna]

So the highlighting and note taking can be saved, right? Are there other marks you can make?

[Sophia]

I can highlight and take notes on my Nook Color.

 

Fwiw, I thought the whole idea of ereaders was just wrong, but I love my Nook and think it's the best thing I've bought myself in a long time.

 

Next to my new boots, that is :D

[Perry]

So the highlighting and note taking can be saved, right? Are there other marks you can make?

Here's what the Kindle site says:

Highlighting and Noting Passages

You can highlight text or take notes in Kindle (1st Generation) the way you would use a highlighter or pen on paper. A clipping of the text you highlighted is also automatically placed in your "My Clippings" file.

To highlight one or more lines: Scroll the cursor to the first line that you want to highlight and press the select wheel. Select "Add Highlight." from the menu to mark the beginning of your selection with a horizontal line. Scroll to the end of the passage you want to highlight and press the select wheel. You will see a box around your passage.

To remove a highlight: Scroll to any line in the highlighted passage and press the select wheel. Choose "Delete Highlight" and press the select wheel. The box will no longer appear around the passage.

To add a note: Scroll anywhere in your content and press the select wheel. Select "Add Note" from the menu that appears and use the keyboard to enter your changes. When you have finished, scroll to "Done" and press the select wheel.

To edit or delete a note: Return to a note and press the select wheel. Then, choose "Edit Note" or "Delete Note" from the menu to carry out the selected action. When navigating through your reading material, passages that contain notes will be identified by an icon in the right margin depicting text on a page.

To view your highlights and notes: Select "My Notes & Marks" from the menu to display all marks you've made in a particular book or other reading material. Each entry will show the location number, then your highlighted passage, and then your notes. You can turn pages in this file just as you would in a book. To select a highlight or note and view the marked section in your reading, scroll to the desired item and press the select wheel. If you wish to return to the location where you were reading before activating the My Notes & Marks view, simply press the Back button.

Saving Clippings

Kindle (1st Generation) also lets you take a "clipping" of the page you are currently viewing much in the same way you would cut an article out of a newspaper. Your clippings, bookmarks, and notes, will be saved in your "My Clippings" file.

Clipping Limits

 

When highlighting books, a clipping of the highlighted section is automatically placed in your "My Clippings" file. On most books, you may clip up to 10% of the total text in the title. If you reach the clipping limit, although your highlights will continue to be marked in the book itself, the highlighted sections will no longer be added separately to your "My Clippings" file.

To take a clipping: Navigate to the page in your reading that you wish to clip. Select "Save Page as Clipping" from the menu. If you only want to save part of a page, simply highlight the passage using the instructions above.

To view your clippings: To view a clipping inside your reading, select "My Notes & Marks" from the menu. If you wish to return to the location where you were reading before activating the My Notes & Marks view, simply press the Back button. You can also view your clippings from the Home screen without needing to locate the item from which the clipping was taken. Navigate to the Home screen and open the "My Clippings" file. This file will display the clippings as well as the title and location of the passage from which the clipping was taken.

More About Notes and My Clippings

The "My Clippings" file contains all of the bookmarks, highlights, notes, and clippings you have made while reading on Kindle (1st Generation). The contents of the "My Clippings" file are available to read later or to copy to your computer if you want to further edit or send them to someone else. The "My Clippings" file is stored as a TXT file so you can easily import it into one of your computer applications.

All of your notes are also automatically backed up on Amazon servers in case you lose or break your Kindle (1st Generation). When you download an item from Your Media Library that you previously added notes to, your notes and last location read will come down with it. When you open the item, you will be right where you were the last time you read the item and all of your notes will be included. Note that your "My Clippings" file is not stored on Your Media Library.

To delete your "My Clippings" file: Navigate to the Content Manager from the Home screen menu. Locate the "My Clippings" file and select it with the cursor. Then choose "Remove Selected Items" from the menu. On the next screen, confirm that you want to delete the entire file. Deleting the "My Clippings" file will not remove any notes, bookmarks, or highlights you've made.

 

 

Your files are saved permanently, or until you delete them.

[Amira]

Like you, I never, ever would write in a real book (I felt the same way about that essay in Ex Libris), but I write all over my ebooks. I have a Kindle and a Sony reader, and it's much easier to annotate on my Sony. The Kindle is pretty limited with what it can do in comparison.

 

But I love annotating now.