In the words of Andre-Marie Ampere, “Quotation is the highest compliment you can pay to an author”. But of course, there is so much more to it than just complimenting an author. Many of us save quotes from books we read and while our reasons for doing it may differ, the result is always the same: our general knowledge is enriched.
So how do we make room in our lives for quotes? We think that reading apps may be the answer, but let’s explore this matter together.
How to Organize Quotes from Books You Read?
There are several ways we can save and organize quotes from books we read and while some are better than others, we will check them all and you can choose the one that best suits your needs.
1. Use a Reading Tracking App
Reading apps have been around for a while and they have proven to be one of those things you never knew you needed until you tried them. And as soon as you do, you wonder how you managed to do anything without them until then.
By a unanimous decision here at Basmo, a reading app is by far the best way of writing and storing your collection of favorite quotes from books. There are several reasons for that:
- You always have your phone with you, so you won’t miss any opportunity to enrich your collection of quotes
- Whether you’re looking for a quotes app for Android, quotes apps for iPhone or any other mobile device and operating system, you will find something to fit your requirements or preferences
- Your collection of quotes will always be safe, even if you lose your phone or change it with another model
- Most quotes apps can be used online or offline
- They have additional features to make your experience better
- They are easy to use
- You can easily search through your quotes if you’re looking for a particular one
- Some apps offer the option of converting your quotes into customizable and easily shareable images
Since the only drawback that comes to mind is the fact that some users may miss the feeling of putting pen to paper and actually writing the quotes by hand, it’s easy to see why quotes writing apps are so popular.
Let’s take Basmo for example, a reading app that allows you, among many other things, to also save and organize your favorite quotes from books you read.
To use this feature, you simply need to use the scanning feature from the app. You can scan pages of a book, extract the text.
All you have to do is:
- Open Basmo.
- Start your reading session.
- Right at the bottom of your screen, there is a Scan page button.
- Tap on it and record all the pages you want.
Then format it as you see fit. You can use one of the predefined templates to create your custom quote.
You can edit it from scratch, adding background colors or images, using a dozen different fonts and colors for the text.
You can then save the quote as an image and even share it on any social media platform.
On top of this, the app can be used for recording your reading sessions, getting important insights and statistics about your reading habits, set yourself daily or yearly goals and even set reminders to never skip a reading session.
2. Write the Quotes on Your Phone / Laptop / PC, Either Online or Offline
The digital method, as I like to call it, is quite similar to the one I previously presented. The main difference is that instead of using a pen and a notebook, the writing is done in a digital format.
You can use pretty much any device you can think of as long as it has a text editing software installed. The main benefits of using this method is the accessibility and the portability of your devices. If you use your phone for example, you can easily write down all your favorite quotes wherever you are.
There are also two other subdivisions of this method, namely the online and offline ways of storing your quotes. By writing your quotes offline, you will choose a text editor of your liking and have the document containing your collection of quotes on the hard drive of the device you’re using. You are somewhat exposed to losing your data though, because hard drives are known to crash a little more often than we would like to admit.
The online version involves using cloud based tools like Google Docs where you can write your favorite quotes and have them stored in the cloud. While a popular joke saying that nobody really knows what the cloud is and how it works is still going strong, the truth of the matter is that your data is a lot less likely to ever get lost while stored online in the cloud (as long as you remember your password of course).
The online method of storing your quotes also has the huge advantage of allowing you to access your collection of quotes from anywhere, at any time. As long as you have a digital device connected to the internet on your person, you will have access to your quotes.
3. Write Them Down in a Notebook
The old-fashioned pen and paper method is clearly the first one that comes to mind, and for good reason. With over five thousand years between today and the first time a human wrote something down, we can all agree that writing things by hand is deeply encoded in our DNA.
When it comes to writing quotes, things are no different. Compared to the other methods of storing our quotes, this one does come with a couple of advantages:
- It is very easy to do and it comes very handy to most of us
- Hand writing is more effective in helping us remember things than typing
- The nostalgia of turning the page in a notebook filled with our hand-written quotes over the years is irreplaceable
While the advantages certainly look appealing, let’s have a quick look at the drawbacks of this method as well:
- You are probably not going to carry your notebook with you everywhere, so you are probably going to miss out on a couple of quotes while reading on your commute to work for example
- You could lose the notebook or deteriorate it
- It is quite difficult to find a particular quote, especially if you’re in a hurry.
Why Is Writing Down Quotes Important?
Saving or remembering quotes is an important part of the reading experience. Finding your own thoughts expressed in the words of an experienced author is as rewarding as it sounds. Whether it’s motivational sayings or words of wisdom you can live your life by, quotes bring a certain value to our existence.
Quotes come in many forms and even though the habit of remembering and repeating someone else’s words either in writing or in spoken language has been around for hundreds of years, they have gained a huge popularity in the past years. Part of the reason for that is the fact that photo editing tools and even special quotes apps have become more easily accessible to everyone and through them, many quotes have been brought to light in a more appealing form.
Having the quotes appear in your social media stream as beautiful images makes them more appealing and through the visualization, they become easier to remember as well.
While social media platforms are flooded with inspirational quotes and words of wisdom, it is also important for you to write down your own quotes from the books you read. You may save quotes that speak to your personality, needs or future intentions. Here’s a couple of reasons why writing down your own quotes is important.
1. Motivation
Who hasn’t seen a motivational quote in the past couple of years in their social media feed? I am guessing none of us. Whether you want to get in shape, be more productive or remove a bad habit from your life, motivational quotes do have a positive effect on us and can help us achieve our goals.
The thing is that while certain words of wisdom may have an effect on other people, you may need a different approach. That is why it is important to save your own inspirational quotes from the books you’re reading, because those words will speak to you and your particular needs.
Whether you use a quotes writing app or you decide to go the old-fashioned pen and paper way is up to you. What’s truly important is to get to know yourself and to understand what motivates you. And once you do that, never miss out on an opportunity to save a quote that you think will aid you in achieving your goals, regardless of what those are.
2. Inspiration for Writing
It comes as no surprise to anyone that reading and writing go hand in hand. Many readers also do a bit of writing as well. Whether it’s book summaries or a separate gig for making a bit of extra cash, writing is a pretty common activity especially for avid readers.
A good quote in a piece of writing can have a major impact. Using a famous quote to support the main idea of an article gives the message more authority, making it more compelling. Adding a good quote from the book you’re reviewing in the book summary you’re writing also improves the general quality of your work.
3. Quotes Are a Great Way of Remembering Wise Ideas or Sayings
Most of the time, the quotes we choose to write down are wise words we encounter in the books we’re reading. Whether they are a beautiful description of a person or object, a smart idea that is worth living your life by or simply a saying that we relate to, quotes bring us both joy and wisdom.
While reading a nice paragraph in a book and enjoying it is perfectly fine, it may be worth remembering the parts you like the most or the ones that are most important to you. Since it’s been scientifically proven that writing things down improves the amount of information we remember, it’s clearly a good idea to make notes of the wise words that speak to us the most while reading.
4. In time, You Will Have Your Own Collection of Quotes
Another argument that supports writing down the quotes you like the most in the books you’re reading is the fact that over the years, if you put all your favorite quotes together, you will have your own personal collection. By the way, check out our collection of quotes about reading books.
From my personal experience, this is rather rewarding. Going over a notebook you wrote quotes in for years and enjoying over and over again the words or sayings you liked in the past is an amazing activity. You can learn a lot about yourself and how you developed over the years by analyzing how your taste in quotes changed, how your focus shifted from motivational sayings for example to more complex word constructions and so on.
Conclusion
Organizing quotes from the books we read are incredibly important, whether we’re looking to use them as motivation for upcoming challenges, a source of wisdom to guide our lives with, or simply to create a nice Instagram post that gives us the satisfaction of being liked by many people.
Writing them down and saving them for later use is an easy task, regardless of the method you decide to use, and the benefits we gain from this habit are pretty much endless.
But if you’re looking to enrich your reading experience as a whole, on top of having the ability to make notes of your favorite quotes, try Basmo. Among the most useful features you will gain access to are:
- The ability to take notes while reading
- The luxury of having compelling stats about your reading habits at your fingertips
- The ability to record every reading session and write down your impressions and feelings about every book you read
- The option to set daily reminders so you never skip a reading session
- The option to create visual quotes with a great editing tool
As you can see, here at Basmo, we take great care of your reading habits and we take great pride in the product we are providing you with. Give it a try and see for yourself how we can help you take your reading to the next level.
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