In Which I Deface Perfectly Good Books—An Apology

It started with a pencil.

A #2 pencil.

A pencil that I never thought would escalate into such a villainous fall-from-grace story.

I underlined a random line in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban because I thought it was funny—and then the next thing I knew my pages were filled with markings, notes, and (most importantly) lots and lots of sketches.

Some people tell me that I’ve ruined my books, but I’ve never had such a fun time reading before. I can't draw as fast as I can listen to a book, though. So I end up dog-earing the pages I want to draw on and leaving a little note about what I think I should draw.

I know.

MONSTROUS.

Then, when I have time, I'll come back later and draw them all.

And now, when I look back over the pages in my book, they're covered in little pieces of my experience with the story—and somehow that makes me feel even closer to it.

And yes, I know what you're thinking.

"But Elizabeth. You wrote in a BOOK."

I know.

I am aware of my crimes.

But the best part of annotating is how you notice lines that you otherwise would’ve forgotten. The fact that Hedwig flew through a window to deliver Sirius's letter in Goblet of Fire, which makes you wonder why she didn't just do it at breakfast the next morning. Or how Cedric was described as "the handsomest Hufflepuff”. I can flip through the pages and automatically remember what happened in a scene because there's a drawing of a spider sitting beside it.

Also, I apologize for the sheer number of Harry Potter references in this post. I'm rereading the series right now, and apparently my brain has decided that no other books exist.

But I think that's why I've grown to love annotating so much. When I come back to a book a year later, I'm not just seeing the words anymore. I'm seeing the version of myself who read it. The jokes I thought were funny. The ridiculous drawings I apparently thought were necessary at the time.

So, to every perfectly good book I've ever scribbled in: I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I underlined you.

I'm sorry I dog-eared you.

I'm sorry I drew a doughnut in you.

Actually...

I'm not sorry at all.