Commonplace Book Beginnings

Recently I discovered the commonplace book and its usefulness in the modern day.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a commonplace book as:

1. a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

As you know I have a new obsession with Citrus Book Bindery and for their anniversary they launched rainbow signatures which I just had to have. I have been considering a B5 journal for a while and decided to upgrade to that size even though I had no purpose for the book.

Once it arrived, I asked the community over on No Wifi Required (facebook group run by Citrus Book Bindery) what they use their journal for. I was already using a Leuchtturm1917 for my bullet journal, and a previous Citrus purchase for my morning pages. My thoughts were a book for lettering practise or set it up for 2021 bullet journal.

One of the members mentioned a commonplace book so I did some research. This lead me on to my obsession with Amy Landino who I talk about more in my post Good Morning, Good Life

Whilst Amy uses the method of storing her information on notecard and categorised into boxes, I decided this was something I really wanted to do but it the traditional way of a notebook.

I have also found this book, COMMONPLACE BOOKS: A HISTORY OF MANUSCRIPTS AND PRINTED BOOKS FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, that I am wanting to read about the history of it. If you have already done so or know where I can get a digital copy, then please let me know.

The reason I have been so intrigued with this idea is because I am always saving quotes on my phone or on pintrest but then rarely do I look back on them. Similarly, there are songs I hear that resonate so deeply within me but I cannot recall lyrics unless the song is playing. The commonplace book now gives me somewhere to place them, thus forming a habit of reflecting on why I saved that piece of information. I have now got into the habit of highlighting quotes on my kindle, making notes whilst watching personal growth videos or listening to podcasts.

My Commonplace Book journey has only just begun but here are some images of the first few pages and as I develop a stronger routine of notation and reflection, I will keep you updated on the difference it makes in my life.

Grab yourself a notebook (or index cards) and join me on the journey. I would love no know some of the knowledge you put in yours.

See you on Thursday