Annotating books




I took Donald Burgett's Seven Roads to Hell out from the library the other day. (It's an excellent first-person account from the Battle of the Bulge; highly recommended.) I took it home and started to read. After a few pages I noticed someone had written in the book.

How could they do that, I thought, write in a library book? That's pretty terrible.

Then as I looked at the notes I realized that they were adding to the account - that some reader had put his own experiences in the margins and between the lines. (From what he saw and what he commented on, I'm guessing he served in CCB of the 10th Armored, probably as part of a scout unit.)

And instantly my feelings changed.

I do kind of wonder how I'd cite the notes, though.