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Hey Reader,

Do you write in the margins of your books?

Some people are horrified by the idea of doing that. They believe books are sacred and should not be “damaged.”

I, too, believe books are sacred and there are definitely some editions of certain books I would never write in, but…

Generally, I scribble notes in the margin.

Books I read at school, like I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Tess of the d’Urbevilles and Hamlet are filled with my scribbled notes. I argue with my teacher, with the author, and with myself. I always have a pencil handy when I’m reading now, in case something jumps out at me and I need to respond.

It’s called marginalia, and it’s one of my favourite things to discover in a book.

Every now and then I’ll buy a second-hand book and find it filled with notes from previous readers. I’ve even found other readers responding to previous notes.

And suddenly, a book becomes a conversation. It keeps growing and evolving.

We think of books as static, but they don’t have to be.

I wrote my books with plenty of white space so people can write in the margins and I hope they do.

Marginalia has been around for centuries, too. Medieval monks were notorious for drawing weird shit in the margins of their manuscripts.

​Check this out, and scroll down for a bum trumpet, a penis in a basket, and a mooning monk.

Naughty monks.

How do you read?

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

p.s. I now have just two spots left for my one-off 90-minute Kickstart Your Book coaching sessions in February. Want one? Reply to this email and let me know.

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