Once I’ve settled on my tab meanings and made my key, I just start reading and tab away!

That way, if I come back to the book down the road, I can reference my tab key and know exactly what each color meant at that time. In the front or back cover, I always place one of each tab and write the meaning of that color. Since the point of tabbing is to make note of moments that you can reference down the road, it’s not going to be very helpful if you can’t remember what your colors meant at the time you read it. This is why I ALWAYS make a key at the beginning of every book I tab. Orange = World-building/Important Detailsĩ0% of the time, I use the same meaning for each color, but when I’m running low on a color or reading different genres, I’ll occasionally mix things up.įor instance, when I’m reading a romance book, world-building isn’t going to be something to take note of so I might change orange to funny moments instead. Here is what each tab color means for me: Each color has it’s own meaning in terms of what it represents in the book. I use a color-coded system using five colored tabs.

So now you’re probably wondering, but how do I actually use the tabs!? Truly, they are the best of the best and everyone I know that has tried them has loved them! Plus, they will last you forever! They don’t ruin your page if they need to be moved, which a lot of other tabs are very guilty of!.They have a pointed edge (allowing you to point at a certain sentence or paragraph).They are transparent (allowing you to see text underneath).They come in a pack of 2000 for under $10.You can view and shop my favorite tabs here. I have tried a ton of different tabs from different brands and have only found one that I truly love. You might think, aren’t all tabs the same? My answer: No. Having details and quotes tabbed really helps me to engage in the conversation and gives me specific references when we’re talking about certain moments. I find that annotation is especially helpful when I’m reading books for read-alongs, book clubs, buddy-reads, etc. more on this later) and it allows me to go back and reference things as needed. I make note of all the things that are important to me (world-building, romance, quotes, etc. This is totally subjective, but for me, annotation allows me to fully immerse myself into a story (probably sounds contradictory to some of you!) and to better recognize the important details.

In fact, most recreational readers would probably cringe at the idea so we use other methods, such as book tabs! You likely annotated in school with highlighters and post-it’s, however, the process of annotating doesn’t have to just be writing in your books. I have tried a number of different methods when it comes to annotating books and after much trial and error, have settled on a process that works really well for me! Keep reading to learn more.Īnnotating is the process of marking up a book to make note of things that are important or that you want to remember.

Easy writer a pocket guide