How to take useful notes on audiobooks

Save a way back to the passage, then write a few words about why it matters to you. You can use a notebook, a text file, or notes in your audiobook player.

Capture the thought before it passes

A useful note can be an idea, a question, a connection, or something you want to try. Give yourself a reason to return:

• An idea: The author connects a problem to something you have experienced.
• A question: A character’s choice seems to contradict what they said earlier.
• An action: You want to try a suggestion and see whether it fits your situation.

Write the point in your own words. If writing would interrupt your listening, mark the passage and add the note when you pause.

Keep a location you can find again

A bookmark marks a place in the recording. If you keep notes elsewhere, include the chapter and time. For a book split into files, include the track name or number.

Label what the time refers to. “Chapter 3, 04:20 into the chapter” is clearer than “04:20,” which could mean time into the whole book.

Put the title and author at the top of your notes. Add the narrator or recording source if you might use more than one version. Another recording can have different timings.

What a useful note looks like

In Chapter I of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum describes Dorothy’s gray surroundings, then introduces Toto as the dog who makes her laugh.

Here is an illustrative note about that real passage:

• Book: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
• Location: Chapter 1, The Cyclone, where Toto is introduced
• Note: Toto brings joy into Dorothy’s gloomy home.
• Question: How does Toto affect her choices as the story continues?

In your own notes, add the time shown in your recording. The question gives you something specific to look for as you continue.

Keep quotes separate from your own words

The sample note summarizes the passage; it is not a quotation from the book. If you want the exact words, replay the passage and check them before putting them in quotation marks.

A generated transcript can help locate a phrase, but it can mishear words. If you need to quote a written edition, check that edition directly. Different translations or revisions can use different wording, even when both are unabridged.

Check what your saved notes contain

A saved location is not a copy of the passage. Before relying on an export, check whether it contains your written notes, quoted words, or only timestamps.

For a borrowed audiobook, check your notes while you can still replay the passages. Keep enough written context to understand each note after access ends.