BOOKS

OMG, you did *not* see that plot twist coming. If only you could call up your bestie and scream about it together! She hasn't read the book yet, so instead, you'll have to settle for jumping around your room and looking at fan theories instead...unless you annotate the book for your friends.

Annotating books is a super fun trend on the rise that combines reading your fave books and making notes/artistic doodles in the margin. If you have a group of friends who all want to read the same novel, you can annotate the book one at a time and pass it along for the next bestie to read. Even better? You can annotate with besties you see every day or ship reads in the mail to your long-distance BFFs. If you want to uncap your highlighters and start scribbling, here are our best tips on annotating books with your besties.

@chroniqled

Assign each person a pen color

What better reason to use your fave set of gel pens? To avoid confusion on who writes what, each friend picks a color to write in when commenting their thoughts. This can apply to all the extras too, like highlighters, tabs and sticky notes. Giving each friend an assigned color helps clear up any confusion on exactly who is falling in love with the villain and who's wanting the main character's hairstyle. Create a mini legend at the front of the book (maybe the title page?) and sign your name in your pen color for easy reference!

@nerdoneries_stationery.mv

Use clear sticky notes

Sometimes you need to write more than a tiny note in the margin—and that's where sticky notes come into play. If you don't want to rearrange and lift up the notes to read the actual novel beneath, there are plenty of clear sticky note options you can buy to see both your bestie's commentary *and* the story. If you can't get ahold of clear ones, colored stickies work just fine for that extra discussion space.

@zoecscardigan

Don't be afraid to doodle

Do you have a favorite moment in the book? Even if you aren't an artist, a quick little doodle can be a super fun way to both amuse your friends and add your thoughts about the scene. Just imagine your friends reading the book and coming across your mini masterpiece (or stick figures) during the big resolution! The sillier, the better. 

@asipofcozy

Plan your reading order ahead of time

To make the process easier, know exactly who you're going to hand the book off to after you've finished reading it. This way, there's no confusion about where the book might end up, especially if you're sending it via snail mail instead of physically handing it over to your besties. In the end, make sure that the book ends up with the person who started with it. They can send all the cute pics of your group fangirl moments and funny commentary. (Pro tip: Rotate who the book starts and ends with so that everyone gets a turn to pick and keep the books!)

Need inspiration for what books to read?
📚 6 books to read if you're obsessed with the Enola Holmes movies
📚 4 books to add to your reading list if you love The Bachelor
📚 5 winter reads for when you really need an escape

Are you annotating books with your besties?
Tag us with pics on Instagram @glbestiebookclub!

Top image: @cupsandthoughts
Slider image: @readingyetagain

by Ally Coy | 2/15/2023