Taking notes has always bugged me. Not, say, during class or while reading some oversized textbook, but while reading books for pleasure. I think it's something that happened as the result of college; this feeling that there would be no possible way to retain everything I read and I should somehow take it with me. So now I've attempted, slowly, painfully, to jot down notes as I read.

It usually starts like this: I diligently open my notebook, uncap my pen and rest it in my lap as I start to read. At first I have no problem writing down some interesting lines, noting my thoughts like a good liberal arts student. Then the notes become farther and farther apart, and the handwriting degrades into chicken scratches that can at best satisfy my academic guilt. Eventually I give it up completely, reassuring myself that I will 'reflect on my reading' when I'm done.

I just hope that someday when somebody finds my notebooks, they only stay interested for the first few pages. It's my good intentions that count...right?