Reading guide

Keep your notes connected to the book.

A useful reading note records both the source passage and what you think it means.

Explore the workflow

Keep source and thought together.

Capture selectively

Save passages that change your understanding or support a question you are exploring. Avoid copying entire chapters into notes.

Add context

Write your interpretation in the node note. The source locator lets you return to the passage when you revise the map.

Review by theme

Organize notes under themes rather than relying only on chapter order. Revisit the source when a claim needs verification.

What belongs in a reading note?

A useful reading note keeps the author’s evidence separate from the reader’s interpretation. Record the passage or figure that matters, retain its source location and explain in your own words why it belongs in the map. For example, a quotation about attention might become a node titled “Attention changes what we notice,” with a note asking whether the claim applies to work, study or everyday observation. The title helps scanning; the excerpt preserves what the author actually wrote; the note holds your question. Group related nodes under a theme and use the source link when revising an interpretation. In MindNote, changing a node title or note does not replace the saved excerpt. A reading map can organize these relationships within one book, but it is not a multi-book bibliography or an automatic fact checker.