Reading is a highly subjective and personal experience: it's determined by objectives, time, preference, resources. Therefore reading can be a way to decompress, a hobby, an aesthetic experience, a way to learn. Writing in books is associated with textbooks, or used books, but has become very normalized in the way people approach their reading. Myself included.
Annotating books is also a subjective experience, because of the aforementioned personal preferences and can have pros and cons. So here's an exploration of annotation as a process.
What is annotating?
Just as a refresher, I tend to think of annotating as the process of marking up a book to some degree. That can vary by writing and highlighting, or even drawing, in a book directly, or using Post-it notes to leave notes in the margins in a non-permanent manner. Likewise, this can expand to the use of tabs or dog-earring pages to leave your place.
Pros of annotating
Annotating can be a fun edition to reading. If you're reading as a way to decompress or as a hobby, it creates a way to engage with the story as it encourages the reader to pay attention and pick out things that resonate with them. It can also be a fun way to be creative. Some people bring color to their books and use colorful pens, highlighters, and tabs to add color and match the book, but also to create art within the pages.
Likewise, annotating is also a plus for memorization. If you think back to high school or college, close reading and highlighting was encouraged to memorize and help organize thoughts about a text. Simultaneously, this provides a good marker for information the reader wishes to return to. Whether it's for learning or for fun, annotating can help a reader find quotes and information more easily and readily.
Cons of annotating
Like I said, a lot of times, this comes down to preference. Some readers don't like the aesthetic, and they prefer crisper and cleaner books. Likewise, for some people, this is a distraction and actually takes them out of the story and process of reading. Annotating doesn't have to appeal to everyone.
Depending on how you do it, annotating requires resources. Firstly, it requires a book. Library books borrowed books, or digital books change the annotation process, so used books or new books are usually the best place to annotate because you can keep the book and easily make notes. But, resources build up over time for both books and annotation supplies depending on what you choose to annotate with, including writing utensils, highlighters, tabs, etc.
Alternative ideas
Annotating books doesn't have to be big, grand, or scary. Alternatives can be choosing to write in erasable materials, jotting down thoughts in a separate notes app or journal, or taking pictures of information you wish to come back to.
Reading is your hobby, engage with it in the ways that make you happy.