Lmst

„Nennt mich Ismael.“

Writing in Your Books Is Good for Your Brain—Here’s Why

Annotating the margins of books is an important part of deep reading and has a long legacy of merit in both science and literature

By Brianne Kane edited by Jeanna Bryner, September 19, 2024

Excerpt: "Readers on TikTok and Instagram are making the aesthetics of reading more visible than ever with creative, and often intricate, annotations. Called marginalia, these markups can be elaborate, with notes that nearly fill full pages and that are color-coordinated with the book’s cover. The emergence of such bookish note-taking has sparked a debate between enthusiasts and skeptics: Is the practice of marginalia a bad habit or a beneficial endeavor?

"#Marginalia have a long history: #LeonardoDaVinci famously scribbled thoughts about gravity years before Galileo Galilei published his magnum opus on the subject; the discovery was waiting under our noses in the margins of Leonardo’s Codex Arundel. Famous writers such as #HermanMelville and #EdgarAllanPoe are somewhat known for their marginalia, making their biographers both overjoyed and overwhelmed. Just last year #AnnPatchett, a staple on any modern fiction shelves, told Literary Hub about the joys of reading her own books and annotating patterns she never before noticed. She created a unique edition of Tom Lake for dedicated deep readers, in which she included her own annotations on her own writing style. The Patchett-ception worked: the special edition raised money at an auction for indie bookstores during 2020, and the endeavor inspired the writer to annotate a copy of her beloved classic Bel Canto as well.

"Alongside this evolution of margin additions, neuroscientists have been researching the cognitive effects of writing, pencil to paper. For instance, a study of electrical activity in the brain published in Frontiers in Psychology found that handwriting itself helps a person remember and understand more about they’ve read and written. Maryanne Wolf, director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners and Social Justice at the University of California, Los Angeles, discussed the importance of annotating with NPR in 2022. In classic former-English-major fashion, she paraphrased Marcel Proust in explaining that deep reading allows us to 'go beyond the wisdom of the author to discover our own.' In that vein, marginalia can help the annotator understand the material deeply enough to further develop their own interpretation of the text, she said. In the Journal of Language Learning and Teaching, foreign language professor Demet Yayli of Pamukkale University in Turkey, explained that in writing workshops, especially for genre-fiction writing, deep reading—which includes annotations—is critical in helping students articulate their interpretations and maintain their own 'learner autonomy.' "

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/Bts8M

#LearnerAutonomy #ReadABook #UseYourBrain #AISucks #BrainHealth #UseAIWithCaution #AIIsDumbingUsDown #Bookstodon #Books

Notes (and comics) on the hyphen in Moby-Dick
https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=71056

#punctuation #hyphen #books #literature #MobyDick #comics #Frazz #HermanMelville

Frazz comic by Jef Mallett, 12 September 2025. Three panels, showing a middle-aged teacher, Mrs Olson, talking with a schoolboy, Caulfield. She wears glasses, an orange shirt and a red skirt; he wears a blue T-shirt, black trousers and white sneakers.
Panel 1.
Caulfield: "I like 'Moby-Dick' better spelled with the hyphen.
Panel 2.
Mrs Olson: "Whatever for?"
Caulfield: "I'm glad you asked."
Panel 3.
Mrs Olson: [thought bubble] "Whatever for?" [She rubs her eyes]
Caulfield: [laughing, hands raised] "It makes it look like a compound adjective waiting to modify something vaguely rude."

I don't entirely know what's going on here. The lady liberty has been on the shutter for a while but they only recently added the Bartleby line on the lintel. I'm actually not sure what kind of business it is, but I'm into it.

#HermanMelville

A closed storefront with a metal roll down shutter. Above the entrance is stenciled in yellow on black "I would prefer not to". On the shutter itself is a slightly faded mural of what appears to be lady justice with her sword out and scales raised defiantly.

Herman Melville in his Ancestral Leven
10 Sep, Methil Heritage Centre – free

Featuring talks by Alan Riach: “Melville in Scotland: From the Pacific to Glasgow, to Fife & Beyond” – & Jana Laiz: “Inspired by Melville”

https://www.onfife.com/event/herman-melville-in-his-ancestral-leven/

#Scottish #literature #19thcentury #MelvilleMonday #HermanMelville

Distributed Proofreaders goes to sea with Billy Budd https://blog.pgdp.net/2025/09/01/billy-budd/ #ebooks #HermanMelville #BillyBudd

“Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously hidden beneath the loveliest tints of azure.... Consider, once more, the universal cannibalism of the sea; all whose creatures prey upon each other, carrying on eternal war since the world began."
- Herman Melville, "Moby-Dick"

#BookologyThursday #Book #Literature #Adventure #HermanMelville #MobyDick #Whale #Shark

Photo of two killer whales fighting a shark.

Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick" was an important inspiration for the cosmic horror genre. It presents an unstoppable force that numerous people seek to master, but Moby Dick cannot be mastered or even understood. When the whale appears, he drives men to madness or destruction.
🎨 Augustus Burnham Shute

#WyrdWednesday #Book #Literature #Horror #CosmicHorror #HermanMelville #MobyDick #Whale

Moby Dick attacking a whaling boat. An illustration by Augustus Burnham Shute.

"Moby Dick" is an #instrumental #drumSolo by English #rock band Led Zeppelin, featured on the band's 1969 album #LedZeppelinII. Named after the 1851 novel of the same name by #HermanMelville, it was also known by the alternative titles "Pat's Delight" (early 1968–1969 version with completely different guitar riff) and "Over the Top" (with "#OutOnTheTiles" intro section and original closing reprise) during various points of the band's career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOb8otk7Y0U

Happy birthday, Herman Melville (b. 8/1/1819)!

“God keep me from ever completing anything. This whole book is but a draught—nay, but the draught of a draught. Oh, Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!" (Moby-Dick, Ch. 32)

#UnofficialDiaryDates #HermanMelville #MobyDick

August 1, today is the 206th birthday of my favorite writer Herman Melville, best known for his monumental book Moby Dick. This magnificant book, first published in 1851, is as contemporary as when it was first published.
I have read and re-read it many times and even if I read a random chapter, I always discover something new to me.
For those who considder picking up a copy,go for an unabridged and in the original language version.
Happy birthday, happy reading.

#HermanMelville #MobyDick #SavetheWhales

Niek Hoogland
Pottenbakkerij Hoogland, Steyl, Limburg, Netherlands.
https://niekhoogland.nl/
https://www.immaterieelerfgoed.nl/nl/tegels-nederrijns-slibversierd-aardewerk

#pottenbakkerij #pottery #töpferei
#ceramics #ceramique #keramiek #keramik #ceramicart #contemporaryceramics #narativeceramics
#commemorativeceramics
#slibversierdaardewerk #slipware #terrevernisee
#rawclay #localclay #unrefinedclay
#tegelseklei #tegelsaardewerk #TegelseTegels
#limburgkeramiekland
#intangibelculturalherritage

August 1, 206 Years ago, on this day Herman Melville, writer of Moby Dick was born.

This summer on the beach I'll be returning to my great literary love, #HermanMelville 🏖️

#mastobooks #reading #americanlit

A photo of the Norton edition of The Confidence-Man by Herman Melville

Moby-Dick – Melvilles grandioser Kampf zwischen Mensch und Mythos https://www.lesering.de/id/5181/moby-dick-herman-melville-rezension/ #Literaturgeschichte #Buchvorstellung #Abenteuerroman #HermanMelville #Buchrezension #Weltliteratur #Buchrezension #Freundschaft #Symbolismus #KapitänAhab #Naturgewalt #Bibelbezüge #Obsession #Literatur #Klassiker #Ökologie #Queequeg #MobyDick #Walfang #Tragik #Ismael

Time for #oyster 🦪 #mushroom #chowder, black #lager and #toffee #pudding at #HermanMelville #bar

Time for #HermanMelville #bar

Bugün, Herman Melville'in ölümsüz eseri 'Moby Dick'i analiz ediyoruz Kaptan Ahab'ın beyaz balinaya duyduğu saplantılı nefretin sadece bir intikam hikayesi olmadığını tartışıyoruz.

Deniz, bizi neden çağırır? İnsan ruhunun karanlık derinlikleri, bizi nerelere sürükler? Ve nihayetinde, kendi yarattığımız kader iplerine nasıl dolanırız?

Güzel bir Pazar yazısı için linki tıklayın

İyi Pazarlar

#HermanMelville #MobyDick #kitapanalizi