How to Read a Novel With a Pen

With the great novels, we must pause and slow down and unpick along the way. There is no way that one can read a novel too fast if they are committed to marginalia. This is synoptic reading, where everything else you've read comes in and informs what is here before you today. You do not need to have a solid reason for highlighting anything in your book. Just follow your gut. And if you feel like it, highlight it. Because once we've finished reading them, we will organize them.