Book Annotation a Dying Art or a Treasure Trove for Readers? The art of book annotation can appear to be an anachronism in an era dominated by digital screens and instant gratification. It might even appear sacrilegious to some to defile a pristine page. Yet, to others, annotations are an intimate dialogue between the reader and the text, an approach that turns reading into an active, interactive process. So, is book annotation a lost art or a gem waiting to be rediscovered? Annotations: Their Background and Purpose: Annotations have a rich and long history. Marginalia, or comments written in the margins of the manuscript have long been a part of the literary culture. Explanatory comments or glosses were commonly appended to manuscripts by medieval scholars so that they might better understand abstruse philosophical or religious works. Renaissance readers like Erasmus and Montaign...
