Reading i Note Taking While Reading One can write notes either in the novel one is reading or in a separate notebook. The advantage of the former method is that it doesn't disturb one's reading too much; disadvantage is that it spoils a book, it affects one's second reading of the novel, there is not always too much room for the notes in the book. One way round these problems is to write brief notes in pencil in a novel as one is reading, then to copy these up and expand them in a separate notebook. These also allow one to copy out brief extracts from the novel which strike one as important, and it means that you file for future reference only notes about which you have thought a second time after having finished reading the novel.