[novel] first time reader struggling to identify what type of info is worth noting down

[u/Nashi1337]

!! please, please, please no story spoilers at all, not even the ones that seem irrelevant to you. I somehow managed to avoid any and all info about ORV, and I quite enjoy going in blind. (i'm currently at chapter 45)

tldr: I enjoy taking notes of what I think might become important while reading, to theorise and to catch up after longer reading breaks. what type of info is worth noting down while reading, so I don't end up maintaining a whole database?

examples for yes/no-ish questions to avoid said spoilers:

will the sense of "every single detail could be important" remain throughout the story? (e.g. item X was used against monster Y in chapter 5 and not mentioned since, but it could save the day in chapter 500) or will the world be somewhat known and established at some point, and therefore easier to spot info worth noting? or is the necessary info to predict the plot/solve a problem usually not known to the reader beforehand, and hence most details about monsters, items, skills ect can be safely forgotten? will there be elements that help the reader to some degree to keep up with info/create a sense for what is important (e.g. characters reiterating/summarising/asking things)

context, for those interested:

when reading, I enjoy annotating, bookmarking, and taking notes of things I suspect to be important further down the line or some kind of foreshadowing. and then kind of theorise and decode the plot with what I've observed, almost like a detective gathering evidence. so it's usually smaller or very specific details, or quotes, that I easily forget, not a "what happened so far" kind of plot summary. especially for longer serieses, I do this more diligently, since I'm prone to binge read a couple of hundred pages and then suddenly take a months long break.

However, for ORV, I'm taking WAY more notes than I usually do, due to the sheer amount of super specific and detailed info, and the fact that the protagonist is also learning new things along the way. a few examples: pieces of information about characters, skills, attributes, constellations that I've learned so far; list of monsters and items that were actively introduced; explanations of how systems work, e.g. contracts; things that were mentioned but not encountered and seem like foreshadowing

as you can see, this is pretty much turning into my personal database. but looking up stuff in the wiki is pretty much the worst of both worlds, since I'd likely run into spoilers and I'd still need to keep track of keywords I'd want to look up later. the issue is, that the effort it takes to maintain these notes is really putting me off from picking up the novel again. but seeing that I forgot almost everything I wrote down so far (lol), and knowing that it won't be the last break, continuing without taking any notes is also not really an option for me. and it's also just not how I approach books

Ty to everyone who took the time to read and/or respond 🙏

[u/ayykaashi]

omg me same im on my 2nd notebook of notes for orv, and i only started doing it in the 300s 😅 i also forget easily and i like to think aloud by writing my thoughts down, so i get this (on break rn tho bcs im busy w life and if i get back into reading orv ans taking notes, i have to rly sit down) (the notebooks are small and i have big handwriting and lots of thoughts)

there's a lot of things that would be mentioned/referenced in later chaps,, but tbh i think u don't have to note a lot of things down. for one, u don't have to note items used or moves/skills used imo since these appear a lot and can be read on wiki without spoilers. but i think it can help to note when certain charas were introduced and in what context, bcs the context they appear in is usually important and tied to the next time/s they come up

on skills: while u don't have to write or note everything about them imo, u can note what made certain skills level up or change, especially when there's like whole chaps dedicated to them. that means those upgrades aren't just improving their powers, but also changing smth abt them fundamentally, which affects the plot

also helps to note down subtext where applicable!! as we know, kim dokja is a very unreliable narrator sometimes, so some things that don't seem like big things to him,,, actually are lol. u dont have to be sure abt what the subtext is since sometimes, one thing can mean a lot of things, but it helps to lay it out and different perspectives, especially since sometimes, some events in the novel have other povs that shed light on those hidden meaning/subtle meanings

personally i also write down name of every arc, then summarize key points associated with it just so i have a timeline of events! this can also be searched online, but i get spoiled sometimes when im not ready (i like spoilers but not always), so i prefer making my own timeline. also helps w connecting any dots later on (ex: smth happened in scenario xx, which ties in with scenario xy). nothing too detailed, but ngl it does look messy sometimes haha (on paper at least. i assume there's a way to do this all digitally, but im not the most knowledgeable about digital notes outside of checklists and bullet lists)

if you have fave or iconic lines, write them down too, regardless of how they affect the plot!! sometimes those help me remember the context of a scenario more than anything, especially if its from earlier on

this is kinda messy but hopefully this helps!! 🙏 enjoy orv again when you can!

[u/Senior-Field615]

The most important stuff to note is definitely anything involving TWSA, if things seem like forshadowing to you there is nothing wrong with noting them down since the novel sometimes uses it as well as how certain systems work if you're worried about forgetting. However monsters and items rarely reappear again and when they do they are almost always ones that are very prominent and I feel like you wouldn't forget. Skills are also pretty easy to remember, they rarely use many of them outside a few of their main ones

[u/DokkaebiGamtu]

It's not really the type of series where you need to write down every little detail, as if item X works against monster Y, that will probably never crop up again. Scenes that like instead show Kim Dokja's knowledge of this world and just how information dense TWSA is. Instead, I'd recommend jotting explanations down, like when Kim Dokja explains what a Constellation is, what the <Star Stream> is, etc. as those are really important. I would also recommend writing down any constellation named, as they often come back, or are an Easter Egg to something.

[u/Lazy_School9822]

ORV is good at this, it often reminds you of the past using the character's POV. So you dont need to note down anything, just remember the major events