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{{trope}}
{{
[[Fermat's Last Theorem|I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this trope that this margin is too narrow to contain...]]
[[Self-Demonstrating Article|{{color|black|Bull. This is a wiki. You have all the room you need.}}]]
{{sidemenuend}}
Notes on a margin of the book, or close equivalent. Some teachers encourage doing this, most librarians discourage doing this. Of course, these can also be used in many ways as literary devices.
* As the author's note, may be a part of [[Paratext]].
* In case of an [[Fictional Document|In-Universe book]], either may be used as context for another, or they may combine exposition and plot- or character- relevant texts in a more condensed form. Or to implement some forms of overlap between in- and out-of- Universe, such as [[Direct Line to the Author]] setup, if the author's book is supposedly annotated by the characters.
Contrast with [[Footnote Fever]].
Somebody who uses [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]] would call this "[[marginalia]]".
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
=== Paratext ===
* ''[[Ghost in the Shell (manga)|Ghost in the Shell]]'' has some notes from Shirow.
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* In the short ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fic ''[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5198419/1/Surprise Surprise]'' by Meteoricshipyards, Harry's great-granddaughter reads a document written by her great-grandmother which has handwritten comments by Harry in the margins. Counter to what might be expected, Harry's notes have little if any bearing on the story.
* ''[http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14534 So You Just Arrived From a Parallel Universe]'', an [[In-Universe]] book released in PDF format as part of the [[Mega Crossover]] fic project ''[[My Apartment Manager is not an Isekai Character]]'', is liberally sprinkled with marginalia written by everyone from [[Azumanga Daioh|Tomo Takino]] to [[Ferris Bueller's Day Off|Ferris Bueller]].
== [[Literature]] ==
** One sidebook in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' universe,
▲** In ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince|Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince]]'', Harry finding a potion handbook full of helpful annotations in the margins is an important plot point,
* The novelizations of ''[[Yes Minister]]'' reveal that Sir Humphrey is so accustomed to making marginal notes in his official documents that his personal journals are custom-made. They are tall and narrow, giving him nothing but margins to be written in.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
=== Paratext ===
* [[Stephen Colbert]] uses these.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
Line 52 ⟶ 36:
* Some ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' have such notes to spice up [[Fictional Document|in-universe documents]].
** ''[[Only War]]'' has a tactical manual for simple Guardsmen, which is not ''all'' bad, but on the average, falls somewhat below half truth. It's supplemented by comments and more practical advice from its previous owner (presumably, deceased).
* ''[[Shadowrun]]'' supplements (or parts thereof) are often presented as (mostly) [[In-Universe]] documents posted in electronic form on a runners' forum/bulletin board, with annotations and comments by the various users who've read them. These annotations can range from anecdotes disputing (or expanding on) the official description of various products, to [[Flame War]]s between the users, to subtle running storylines.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' has book ''The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries'' [[Defictionalization|defictionalized]] as [[The Merch|extra material]]. It
{{quote|The boxed text contains the maxims themselves. The text below that is "schlolarly commentary" which, as suggested by the excerpt above the image, is going to be all over the map.
The red-pen notes are from Karl Tagon, who acquired this book as an enlistee in 3044. His sergeant at the time told him he should use it as a journal of sorts, and so we'll get an unordered series of snapshots of his military career. Paging back and forth to put the notes in order will be part of the joy of having this in hard-copy.
The blue-pen note above is from Alexia Murtaugh, to whom Karl loaned the book. (Well, "will-have loaned." That bit of story has yet to appear online.) While the book is in Murtaugh's possession it is going to get picked up and scribbled in by a few others, including Sergeant Schlock.
We will leave room for you to write in it yourself, of course.}}
== [[Real Life]] ==
* The most famous marginal note is, of course, "[[Fermat's Last Theorem|…I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain]]".
* "Everything was not [[Politically-Correct History|like this]]" — written by [[Ace Pilot|ace A. I. Pokryshkin]],
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