How to Keep a Commonplace Book (And Why You Should)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- My very first video on TH-cam was a guide to Commonplace Books. I have wanted to make a better version for awhile now - and here it is. Today, I talk about commonplace books. This is a great form of journaling, and I think it is essential for the intellectual or creative life.
Enjoy!
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I used to do this in random notebooks, but I never left the quotes in just one book. Never even knew it was called a commonplace book. Thank you for this one!
Yep, me too!
I have random thoughts and quotes written in margins, menus, catalogs, cookbooks, and such.
Always keep paper and pencil with you.....one never knows.
Now it's a "thing"? Madness, I tell you, madness.😮
yeah
"A thing"? Only since the Renaissance 😅 They just go in and out of fashion. As you say they're clearly "in" again
Me tooooo
All this time I thought I was very disorganized; never thought about keeping neat quotes in one place. Thanks!
Giving myself the freedom to be a bit messy when taking notes and scribbling thoughts has been incredibly helpful
unfortunately, messy is messy, and for the most part, cringeworthy :)
@@amandasteven1400 what is wrong with you? such a weird thing to find cringeworthy. weirdo with your smiley face condescension
@@amandasteven1400and to be cringe is to be free
@@amandasteven1400good.
@@amandasteven1400 I'd rather let my thoughts flow freely, so if it is cringeworthy so be it.
Here I am, 75, heavy reader all my life, lots of loose paper sitting around with quotes garnered from favorite books...and I never, ever thought to--duh--just use notebooks. Big thanks.
Commonplacing, florilegia, anthologies, miscellanies, zettelkasten are such a fascinating tradition. They make a lovely ratchet for thinking.
Mr. Hoorn here, interesting to see you here too lol.
"...a lovely ratchet for thinking." I like that.
I like those words alot.
Hmm
What are florilegia, miscellanies, and zettelkasten?
As a fashion design student keeping a small commonplace book in my bag was the best decision ever. Everything around me can suddenly inspire me or make me question and rethink certain topics. Writing or drawing it down immediately not only helps me keep track on what inspires me but also frees my mind so I'm not constantly consumed by my school and work
That sounds lovely
When I was in graduate school, commonplace books were a requirement from one of my profs. My classmates and I had shared “commonplace” books via Evernote where we could share ideas and thoughts with each other on the novels we were reading. It’s fascinating what we all would come up with and share between ourselves.
I love this idea of a shared commonplace book with a few friends!
I like commonplacing so much, bcz I can't decide a lot of time where something belongs + a tendency to hoard info to "keep for later". Both together makes commonplace books perfect for me to collect all info and ideas etc. With comments and thoughts in a generous margin.
So in short: consume, capture, contemplate, and collate. Solid idea
thesaurus for the win
I have kept a Book Journal since I was 12 years old (so for almost 20 years) and I had no idea I was keeping a Commonplace Book until the last few years. I keep trying to elevate the quality of my Commonplace Book. Thanks for the vid!
I have recently fallen in love with Philosophy and started to read books with more substance that can help me cope with life and make a better human. I just started my first commonplace book on the topic of Love. Will be watching your videos to help me with this new endeavor. Thank you for mentioning Philosophers and poets like Aurelius; I am already fascinated with his quotes.
Oh mannn this is what I needed!!! I’ve had this particular quote in my head since reading Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent, and it’s the smallest quote that I’ve never heard anyone mention. The character is learning a new language so when she speak it’s very choppy and when they were in a crowd of people she says “If I become lost, I will never be found again” and the other character says, “sometimes you’re unintentionally poetic” and it’s such a seemingly insignificant part of the book but that quote has struck me so deeply for some reason so that’ll be the first quote in my commonplace journal, thank you for the wonderful idea 🥰
That series is so full of small quotes like that!
I’ve been keeping a commonplace book for a few years and I use it as a mental health tool, the quotes I’ve been gathering mostly from novels but also the odd poems, lyrics and even films, help me clear the fog and inspire me. Anything that ‘speaks’ to me. There is no order or index, but I love that in this instance. Oh and I write using fountain pens just because I love the feel of it - always have 😊
I have a book that is a combination of a commonplace, a notebook, and a diar... a manly journal. Oftentimes I find something interesting from a philosopher, I write it down, and then I pen a short essay on that and mix it with my poems and other daily thoughts and ideas for my academic papers and fiction.
It’s not a man purse, it’s a satchel!
Hi! I am quite late haha! I have a question to ask you, how do you put all of this in one notebook? I mean, how do you manage it? What about a pocket notebook
@@VinayakLuharuka-vn9dr Greetings! I just begin with the date and add whatever I want to write. There's not much more managing to do. Then I just browse if I want to find something.
@@Alkemisti Oh that's a great idea! So simple!
I love your reflection on the act of writing. This is something I'm learning as well. I'm not sure if I'm to the point of articulating the value of writing by hand, but I'm getting there. For me fountain pens made the act of writing just the slightest bit more exciting and got me back into the contemplative act it all.
Common Place books, I believe, were very popular in Victorian era England. When I took a Victorian lit class in undergrad, my prof had us keep a running common place book of our favorite quotes, and ended with a reflective essay on what those quotes say about the culture that produced them and why they resonated with us.
I love this idea
I have sort of a hybrid between a commonplace book and a journal, 😅
Sometimes a quote reflects my day better than what I could say.
Fellow philosopher here, very interesting and helpful video Jared, thank you! I've been keeping notebooks of quotes I like or like to think about for years now, but was never really consistent with it. You make me want to actually stick to it and renew the way I think about it! Kind regards from France
This is precisely what I do with my Obsidian zettelkasten notes. I just collect passages from books I read.
Anyway, here's a thought for anyone wanting to start a commonplace too: It takes time to build it up, but just keep working on it, but don't overdo either. Maybe you see all these videos of other's commonplace, and see how 'complex' they are. But they too started out small.
Don't worry too much about trying to make connections between notes. Over time, you'll start to see some of your collected quotes (and thoughts) actually relate to each other, effortlessly. Especially if you tend to read within a specific subject, many books will talk about same concepts and ideas, and this is usually where you'll stumble upon much unintended overarching themes.
Yes, just collecting the passages allows you to stumble on common ideas or themes, or to make connections, or just to have thoughts you wouldn't otherwise have.
Obsidian is amazing, although I usually use it for my academic stuff because of the sheer volume of things to keep track of and the stakes are higher. Otherwise I'm an analog person.
Just a query, I am a PhD student in History. While reading books for literature review, I feel I understand better when I copy passages verbatim. Go back to them again, make interconnections and analysis as a second step. However while the advantage of this is that I don’t have to go back to that book and I have all important passages in my handwriting , however on the other hand the volume of the notes increases immensely with this and the tendency to write more than just the core arguments unfolds. For days one is just copying important passages with obviously some inputs, interpretations that follow. Is this the right way to create these commonplace method for literature reviews in research ?
i didn't know there was a term for this! i recently started using an unused notebook to keep track of all the research i did on mostly for my current sewing hobby
Commonplace books look like an interesting concept put together. We appreciate your videos. Keep up the good work.
This is the simplest explanation I’ve seen on this topic and I’m SO glad you’ve shared this!!! Starting mine today 🙏🏾
Thank you! I loved how you summarized a simple question I had…which is your title! 😅 I’ve through out my life often written down things I’ve heard, read watched or simply noticed that were profound to me. But never thought of keeping special/dedicated books for this! 🤷🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️ I loved how you were concise and not all over the place rambling on. Brilliant! Thank you!
I keep several. One for my day job, one for each instrument that I study (I have a viola book, piano book, violin book, etc), a nature journal, and one generic one for everything else.
I would love to read your nature journal!
what kind of stuff do you write in your instrument books?
I just started a common place book without even knowing what it was 🤯 I just wanted a place to write my thoughts about books or articles or videos. And now I have the name for what this journal is. It helps to make the internal, external, if that makes sense. Thanks for this video!
I read lots of books every week and I first read the book and put a check mark beside the interesting paragraph. Later, once I finish the book, I will come back and check those paragraphs. Once I select the paragraphs and ideas I like, I copy and paste them on my apple notes. I tried lots of common place book methods but apple notes helped me a lot. If I want to recollect an idea, all I do is just type it in my notes and I will find it. I have read over 500+ books and my notes is now what I consider as the most valuable treasure!
It might be nice to print your notes out and have them made into a book!
thank you for simply explaining commonplace books and letting others know it's okay to be messy and unorganized! i just started seeing organizing commonplace book videos get recommended to me in my feed but most of them focusing on intense organization and the ~aesthetic~ of one's notebook. the reason i stopped with journaling or writing down quotes in my notebooks is because i felt like i was shamed for my bad handwriting and for not having a clear organization method, also the proliferation of social media at the time, bullet journaling, consumerism with craft supplies added to that feeling of dread every time i opened up a notebook to write something down. there's nothing wrong with wanting your commonplace book or journal to be organized or look a certain way but for me it was really draining and getting away from the main purpose.
writing by hand is very helpful and i find that i absorb the information more. writing by hand is a commitment and it's a commitment not only to the thought but your feelings at that time thus inadvertently validating your own feelings, thoughts and ideas. some basic organization patterns that might be helpful for those who want some organization but not super strict: have a commonplace books for themes (grief, pride, love, etc), genre of books you read (sci-fi, non-fiction, self-help) or just a dialogue commonplace book for quotes you hear IRL that strike you for creative writing. thanks again for efficient explaining commonplace books and how to get started!
I started doing this! I will double check later, but I believe I came across this idea, albeit slightly more structured, in an episode of the podcast Pints with Aquinas. I think it was the one on memory with Dr. Kevin Vost. Described was the story of how he (or whoever it was) had slowly built up a whole catalogued system of notes and thoughts, connected via tag descriptors and categories. On physical index cards!!!
There’s a digital way to do this now, with a free program called Obsidian. I started that up but I will say I love pen and paper too much for that.
Love Dr. Kevin Vost and Pints with Aquinas ❤️🔥
This video is what started me to have my own Commonplace Book!
George Berkeley’s commonplace book is usually published as “Philosophical Commentaries.” It’s a ton of fun to look through because you get glimpses into ideas he took seriously but didn’t quite develop enough to publish.
While I focus on storing ideas in my zettelkasten and I've always considered there being a risk that commonplace books would create duplicate work, this video makes me see them as a possible breeding ground. An intermediary phase with (as Jarad points out) intentionally low barriers of entry and structure just to capture more
What a marvellous little video! I was thinking about what to do with a blank sketchbook I have just found in my pile of variously shaped blank sketchbooks. The algorithm has answered my problem.
Something to add is the act of writing is another way that the text sinks in. I mostly paraphrase and then expand ideas but stuff like this is very nice. been enjoying the vids~!
I collect funny lines. Funny how they pop up in my daily conversations and gets people laughing. Fun to do and share.
Nice!
this is a super cool idea! thanks so much. i’ve been popping quotes down in my day-to-day journal but it didn’t feel quite right, so this is a great idea and I’ll definitely be picking up a fresh book to try it out :)
I've been doing exactly this in a spreadsheet for years. I like it that way because I can access it from anywhere and it's easier to keep track of the sources. Plus I can type much faster
How have I never thought to do this before, thanks for opening my mind
Such a great idea. In the past I've written quotes at the back of my normal journal, this is better. Thank you
You can also have folders in google drive or tiktok and saved it there. BUT the key thing is that you have to reflect on it and writing on a piece of paper is best imho.
That's a great video, Jared. Typically, I have a habit of organizing quotes and ideas I gather from books or media by creating separate notes for each book, titling them as "[Book name] quotes," and storing them in a folder labeled "General notes." However, your approach is more efficient because sometimes there might not be enough noteworthy ideas in an article or media piece to warrant a separate note. Additionally, your method enables the collection of quotes from various sources in one place, which is especially useful when reading or watching multiple things concurrently.
This is what I've been doing most all of my life! I didn't know it had a name!
I just happened to perchance over your video, and I think this is sort of what I need to start doing. I have a hard time focusing and remembering the key things that inspire me and always end up ruminating over one specific concept at the cost of losing everything else out of my mind and not being able to come back to it. I really feel the need to physically write more to keep my inspirations and syntheses in one place.
This is the best explanation and example I have found in all my searching on commonplace books, thank you.
I just subscribed to the newsletter. I also just started one on Substack. Wanted to give it a try since the blog is slow. Enjoy the videos brother and I am looking forward to reading about the stoicism aspect as I see many similarities in it and Christianity. I realize the differences but I think the two can live together or one can envelop the other. Looking forward to more on this!
I am going to start doing this. I already started recording my own random thoughts in a miscellany, but I need to also connect existing material with the thoughts that it inspires. I started because I aim to write papers on a number of topics but I have always struggled with following through on any one thought.
THANKS! I watched almost 10 videos before this one trying to understand a commonplace book. Some just do one of these three steps and others are just to verbose. This is perfect for me!
Really helpful video - thank you. Have been taking photos on my mobile of quotes from books that resonate with me. Never knew quite what to do with them and never heard of a common place book before. Am ready to start one ...
I do something like this. I keep an old mayonnaise jar with a lid that has a slit in it. Beside it is a notepad and when I find something said is really funny, I write it down and stick it in the jar. It can be something from a friend, something from a movie or a song, but it can never be something that I've said. Someone else can write down something I've said, but you can never write down something you think is funny. It always has to come from an outside source. Then when you're feeling down or blue, you open up the jar and go through the things that have been written down.
that's neat! I used to think about doing the same thing but with wholesome stories and funny memories collected from the people close to me- just in case of sad days... I never did get to actually do it. I just ended up hoarding screenshots, chats, and memes on my phone instead 😭 that I never actually revisit because it's become a chore to sift through that many files... 🤦
having a physical container for those is much more manageable but so hard to get things rolling.. there could even be multiple jars, slit boxes, or tin biscuit containers each with different labels to fill with either jokes, quotes, questions, or writing prompts..... but I don't know why it's so hard to take that first step. Even now, it's easier to make digital notes and screenshots...... but I barely open those up when there's too many 🤦😭
p.s. sorry for the sudden thought dump, but yeah just been agonizing over neat ideas 😅
I've collected ideas for a long time - in my planner, my journal, where ever. I didn't know it was commonplacing until recently. often I find that I enjoy quotes on ways of expressing weather, or nature. Some are quotes I find amusing - not with any great significance, but just make me smile. Now I've started a commonplacing journal with one of my (many many) journals on my shelves. I knew there was a reason I had all those pretty journals!
😀 Very inteligent people used to write them in a card index box. That makes you convert the thoughts into attributes easy to search later...
I was looking for what to do with my new journal, and I ended up filling the first page by having a conversation with myself about that quote, "The Saint is Never Busy". I, Myself, and Me reached a conclusion that seeing work as play, like Alan Watts spoke of could be one out of context meaning, and another could simply be that a person who doesn't hold an opinion can be seen as a saint, having an unblemished reputation. It was a good first page, and I think you gave me the confidence to start this journaling journey on a commonplace but analyzing it path.
Thanks!
I think this is a great summation of what a commonplace book is for. I've been watching a lot of videos on the topic and it seems people have slightly different takes on what is a commonplace book and it's purpose. I have always been a note taker, listmaker, "quote" saver and just all in all love to write things down. The problem is I have I have partial notebooks, scraps of paper and notepads all willie nilly and can't really access the things I wrote down to remember. I was delighted to find out that commonplacing is a
" thing" and there is a way to be more intentional and organized. Anyway a lot of the videos that I have watched are very rambling and it seems like the commonplace book can be a catch all for everything from your grocery list to book summaries to your deepest thoughts on some important personal subject. Anyway this was simple and concise and to me embodied the real purpose of the practice of commonplacing. Thank you!
Did this years ago. Never knew it was a thing. Very cool.
Bro changed the way i look at things and its bloody briliant
I have thrown away so many diaries and journals because they were really Commonplace books and I thought I was doing it wrong. I’m sure I’ll buy another for the new year, only this time I won’t beat myself up because it’s a smattering of this and that and what-not. Thank you!
I have an Office Document where I save quotes that I enjoyed and they make for great inspiration for my comics and my own writing. Much of my art and comics are inspired by collages of poems and quotes from various published writings, shit-posts, blogs, and fanfiction over time.
Reflecting on reoccurring themes in various pieces of literature is a great exercise and I hope more people keep common place journals, whether in a notes tab in their phone or a physical journal
I never knew that this was considered a 'commonplace book' but I'm glad that I now know the term! Thank you for making this video :)
39 seconds in and i was immediately taught that my pocketbooks and travel journals are not journals, but rather commonplace books.
thank you for mending my vocabulary, i'll write this into my commonplace book.
Best video I've watched on commonplace books. Thanks
Bro, your channel has become a life-saver for me, i think im going to start one asap
I first came across this term in Lemony Snicker’s ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ novels!
Very cool! Had not thought of that! I thought by the title, the idea was to have a kind of coffee table paperback or standard hardcover philosophy book for others, guests so forth, to pick upA
3:55 "Read, Mark and Inwardly Digest..." Someone is familiar with the Book of Common Prayer.
Very helpful video; I'm late to the party, but just subscribed.
great observations and content. writing it down by hand, totally agree deepens the connection to the idea. thanks for creating this vid.
Damn, this makes me wish I had started one earlier. I've found great quotes and thoughts in books before and just never knew what to do with them. Sometimes I'd put them in a note on my phone, but I realized those always disappear in my notes, never to be read again lmao. But a great idea, will definitely start one of these!
I've just stumbled across your channel via this excellent video. I was very curious about the title, not having heard the term 'commonplace book' before - and now I'm glad I clicked the thumbnail! A really nicely explained way of organising/generating thoughts and ideas. Thank you!
Its interesting how much the meaning of a quote can change based on your previous knowledge. From "the saint is never busy" i would have thought that he is never busy because he has intentionaly put distance beetween himself and the actual world, kind of like puting himself above the world, justa thought
Wow...great thought..I will have to add your thought to my little journal❤
Hiya, first time watching a video from your channel. I used to do something like this when I was in middle school/high school. I had a notebook where I would just write down quotes and passages that I really liked or thought were insightful. Nothing fancy about it necessarily. I wasn't even quite sure why I did it, and I certainly never knew that was an actual thing that people did. I stopped doing it years ago, but I actually found that notebook again a week or so ago (I moved very recently, so I had to go through all my old stuff). I didn't see much of a use for it anymore, but also didn't have the heart to discard it. I'm still as avid a reader and media consumer as ever, so maybe I'll take this video as a sign to start adding to that commonplace book again. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us :)
I have one. I use it to note best of all i read, to write down motivational stuff n all, but to reflect and for my thoughts n stuff i have a different journal.
And i must say, it is important to do this.
I never heard of this. I just started reading recently, on my fifth book now since I deleted my social media. Unto that, I have been highlighting my favourite quotes and new words and sticky-noting them on the page with the meaning. 🤔 this is interesting.
You could tell who is a genuine bookworm or who is just vlogging about books but doesn't read. JUst subscribed!
Wow first comment -- Really appreciate your videos, Jared!
Had no idea this was called a "Common place book" - my life and thoughts felt so collected when I kept one of these journals, even if I was copying words on a page
I don't know why but your handwritting surprised me!
I have a note on my phone (have had it for a few years now) in which I put every quote I come across that I like. Whether that’s through media or I’ve heard it in a conversation. But I never knew what it’s called! 😊
Found quite interesting that concept you mentioned about what Marcus Aurelius had referred to as 'dieing the mind' (3:51) - i.e. digesting the text until it becomes a part of the way we think💡
Plenty to quote and digest right here in this video 👍
Great idea. In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance there was a line about the professor feeling more kinship with his failing students than his good students. I thought it was interesting but i never wrote it down. I should have.
“The militancy of the Jesuits he somewhat resembled is a case in point. Historically their zeal stems not from the strength of the Catholic Church but from its weakness in the face of the Reformation. It was Phaedrus’ lack of faith in reason that made him such a fanatic teacher. That makes more sense. And it makes a lot of sense out of the things that followed.
“That’s probably why he felt such a deep kinship with so many failing students in the back rows of his classrooms. The contemptuous looks on their faces reflected the same feelings he had toward the whole rational, intellectual process. The only difference was that they were contemptuous because they didn’t understand it. He was contemptuous because he did. Because they didn’t understand it they had no solution but to fail and for the rest of their lives remember the experience with bitterness. He on the other hand felt fanatically obliged to do something about it. That was why his Church of Reason lecture was so carefully prepared. He was telling them you have to have faith in reason because there isn’t anything else. But it was a faith he didn’t have himself.”
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Respected sir, your knowledge is great, your psychology is excellent…good video…good information…regards
I think you are a very likable person. I love your videos.
Well done! Thank you.
Hand writing also establishes neural pathways in a way that typing does not.
I have a MS-Word doc Quotations in which I keep quotations I've found over the years in alphabetical order by topic. So far it is 500 pages.
That is incredible!! 🎉
I was looking up videos about keeping a commonplace book and then you hit me with Wendell Berry, Ursula K. Guin and Rowan Williams in the first 1:18 - three of my all-time favourite writers. Impressive.
I bought The World Ending Fire on your recommendation and ...I love it, thank you.
very interesting, i really appreciate everything you expressed here
[UK, May 2023]
Fabulous video! 👍🏽 👍🏽
I also have a quote from The Dispossessed in my commonplace book. ☺️ I don’t include my thoughts in mine though. I find it fascinating how differently that people can do the same thing.
If I started a commonplace book, I certainly would include so many from Ursula K. Le Guin's books. They're dense with striking passages.
these are great tips to share. Thank you very much
Great channel. Keep it up
I like to add quotes occasionally to my journal. Or just phrases I like. Commonplace book is an interesting idea that I will be sharing.
Commentary used to be more of those than original books! Good idea.
Physical writing - pen or pencil on paper - cannot be dismissed. I tried to go paperless recently, using only a tablet and stylus. It's a great device, and I really enjoy using it. In the end, though, I went back to paper and pencil...
Oh, wow! I've been doing this for years and I didn't know others did or that it had a name!
Ooh! Like a secular lectio divina 😊
I finally have a system for organising what's in my Commonplace Book that works. Found it on You Tube somewhere
Sold when you mentioned The Dispossessed straight away
Not me realizing I've been doing this for countless journals and it's a thing. Realizing now that everything I do is a thing, not because others do it, but because I do it! 👀
I used to do this in my school agendas, glad it has a name
I have taken notes and kept a diary daily since 1992. I dream about having the time to put it all in Obsidian and reflect on it all. Perhaps that will be my first project when sometime I retire... 😊