As a political scientist, I often get asked how I take notes. There is method to the madness.

I'm a book polygamist; I will often read multiple, connected books at the same time. Case in point, these three.

Even though I'm reading three very different books, I'm going into each with the same overarching “research” question: How can we understand Elon Musk (or billionaires more generally) as authoritarian actors?

For this, I colour-code points of interest. In Nazi Billionaires, for example, I've coded: “Smells like Elon”, fear of socialism, crisis capitalism, totalitarian businessmen, wealthy elite (aristocracy), Hitler's anti-worker policies, establishment politicians, and “karma” (when the Nazi state turns on its own billionaires).

When I've finished the book, I'll go back and take actual, written/typed notes. Then I'll take out all of the tabs, erase my pencil notes, ready to reread with a fresh mind months or years down the line.

I firmly believe that every time you re-read a book, whether fiction or non-fiction, you're reading a different book as a different person.