If you're reading good books, you might want to take some notes. Don't bother with modern note-taking systems or apps - just get a good journal and start your own commonplace book. Enjoy!
I have such trouble with keeping common place books because I either try to keep them too organized so they never get filled and I forget them, or I just use it as a catch all for to do lists, sketches, random memos.
You might prefer a Filofax Notebook. The pages can be moved from one cover to another, so you can carry one to write in and move the pages to other ones as you go along.
@@latetodagame1892 amén to that. I started with a basic composition book. I still use them cut down to fit in a traveler’s notebook of a variety of sizes for a variety of different things. They actually take Fine- stub nib pens like a champ, depending on the ink I choose.
I started writhing in a commonplace book before I started writing in a journal. My mind is all over the place and this has kept me thinking straight for years. The key element: devote the first 5 pages or so for making an index if one isn’t already present, and number your pages as you use them. This allows you to note and easily find the specific things you know are important enough to search for at a later date, much easier.
Totally agree! I really enjoy John Locke's indexing method for commonplace journalling, it's structured yet flexible. Before I would resort to a simpler version of the Dewey Decimal System and I couldn't keep anything in order without tearing pages out and rearranging them.
Also, you don't need to use numbers in order for every page. Or even numbers at all. You can use symbols or doodles and just track those in the index. Helps with ADD a ton.
I think you could also attach the index pages separately at the end of a journal by making a pocket for the back cover, similar to the ones that Moleskine journals have. Then you have your entire journal free to write!
I have lost my ability to write due to a stroke. I only have my left hand and it is useless. So I use the notes app on my iPad and collect quotes, questions, lists, ideas, pictures, art essays, free journal articles, words and their definitions, etc. it helps keep me motivated and learning.
I used a commonplace book for something like seven or eight years without realizing the concept existed already. Obviously I didn’t call it a commonplace book but it was a delightful and enriching tool and my constant companion. These days I keep that sort of stuff in Obsidian, but I still write and sketch in a journal just for fun.
Love the obsidian shoutout. I’ve realized that I rather use it for storage and discovery as opposed to actual understanding though. So I’m going to try the commonplace book and using my own hand then add it to my obsidian after!
I think a 3-ring (5” by 8”)or disc (Circa system) notebook is more practical than a bound book. When making notes on a book you don’t know how many pages you will need. Movable pages keep book topics or categories together. If I need to carry some of the info for reference or to add additional points, I take out the pages and/or blank sheets and put them in a rigid plastic folder. Available in stationery stores/departments. Then, they go back in my notebook when I’m finished. I buy packets of colored paper and assign a different color for each book I have set up. So notes from several books can be in one section. I’ve used this method for decades.
I started doing the exact same thing 2020. Using a bound notebook seemed like more work than managing a couple of binders. Also got a small 6-ring as the common place and just move the pages to the big binders as needed.
For a dual purpose notebook you can run the notes front to back and back to front, number in both directions, meet in the middle without an arbitrary middle start point. Fills without gaps.
Thanks for the great introduction! Maybe you could show some of the old commonplace books you've used? That would be so cool. I wanted to try this for a very long time, but never was actually able to keep it up. I have two main problems. First, I don't like to be interrupted while reading, but constantly stop to write quotes/notes feels very distracting. I tried to first mark the paragraphs with pencil and come back to takes notes later when the book is done, but it is always a ginormous project and I always give up. Second, I have taken some notes before, but never find myself going back to read it again. I feel that really undercuts the value of the practice. Maybe I am just lazy, but when do you think is a good time to review the old notes?
U can just take a pic, and write it down by the end of the day, and ig going back to your notes, just do it whenever you are in the mood to look through, no need to make it chore
For the first one, you could try taking notes at the end of every chapter. You could add a reflection or a review too. The second one is much harder. I know I've struggled with it too. It is fun collecting for collecting's sake. LOL. What I would do is add some sort of catchy/captivating tag/label/trigger word highlighted at the top of an entry. For example: erotic, shocking, disgsting, infuriating, wtf?, scary, thoughtful, etc... It has to be strong and definitive. So the next time you read something and felt any strong emotion or trigger, it would be fun to scan/browse/look back on similar entries and see the pattern (of your thinking mostly and also emotional response too). Also, try making your commonplace books more purposeful so that you would have an actual use for it. For example, if you were a writer, it is useful to have a collection of say, best plot twists. For someone who has constant mood swings like me, it is really helpful to have entries "that makes me smile no matter what" or "puts me in a good mood". Everytime I feel stressed or anxious and overwhelmed, I would find some hilarious entries to relax me a bit.
Excellent advice. I too have kept a commonplace book since adolescence; notes on reading, thoughts on writing, etc. As you have said, I felt " called" to it.
I’d love to see a video on how you take notes from books. What kind of things you write and how you do it in your commonplace book. I understand it is a personal thing and different for every individual. But I’m just getting started with getting back into reading and I’d love to know how to take notes from books and what sorts of things to write. You mentioned you draw sketched/diagrams sometimes? Thanks!
I collect blank books of all types, but I suck at using them as sketchbooks or journals like I intend. Three years ago I began using them as commonplace books and now I go through them in about half a year, replete.
I actually use a commonplace notebook for daily life: whether I'm out, at work or at home, I carry a small one with me. Anything that I want to remember, whether that's details or a though that pops into my head as a result of what I'm doing, I'll write down in my notebook. Then I'll index it according to John Locke's method. I admit to have gotten the idea from A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, when I read that way back before I turned 10. But I've been doing it every since and I assumed that it worked this way in general. I didn't know this was just for books, although i have a separate one for when I read.
@@penpaperleather Yes. However, the series deals with some serious dark themes - loss of a parent, violence, injustice, deception, lies, conspiracies, abandonment, poor child care - that I only really analyzed after reading it as an adult. Perhaps warn your 4th grader about this, in case they are more on the emotionally sensible side? It's a great adventure story whose morbid and dark tone is cleverly subdued by humor and literary wit. The series also makes very insightful commentaries about morality, justice, corruption and how society should (or shouldn't) function. Exploring these at an early age would be so rewarding. In my humble opinion, the protagonists exhibit personalities that good for children to read about - academic inclination, a curious mind, humility, courage in the face of adversity, loyalty towards each other and their friends, and most importantly, love between siblings (there is no sibling rivalry, thank goodness). It greatly impacted me, a socially awkward bookworm, during my elementary years.
@@lenanana8 thank you very much for the detailed answer! It sounds like amazing books. I will probably read them with my daughter so can discuss various themes! Thanks again!
@@penpaperleather No worries, always happy to recommend my favorite books to others. I hope you and your daughter have meaningful discussions and make good memories reading these books!
A tip about inks bleeding through onto the next page: that's an easy fix. I learned it from doing mixed media altered book art. Keep a writing board, like a big bookmark, in your book. You can make beautiful decorative ones or just keep it simple. Two simple ones I use are a thin, cut to page size plastic from packaging or a piece of cardstock.
Excellent vid. I love your patient way of explaining, so it was extremely useful for newcomers and boiling the whole writing 'thing' as it became for me to" Just do it' . thanks, Jared!! 👏🏽
What an amazing idea!! I keep notebooks everywhere and I’ve been popping these thoughts in my journal and it gets a bit messy and confusing. I’m definitely going to start pulling these out for a commonplace book. I’m very happy this randomly popped up on my feed ❤ Thankyou for sharing!
I find the best way for me to keep a commonplace book is honestly just to write notes on my phone's native note taking app. Writing quotes by hand as I read them is too distracting for me, and takes too long, while capturing them in my phone is much quicker and the small screen basically forces me, psychologically, not to start rambling on, which is quite a problem for me. I can then send everything to my computer, collect it in a pdf file, and print it in an A4 piece of paper, which I then put inside the book I read.
Ohhh wow dats pretty good idea, actually, for me whenever I write digitally it just sorta gets lost in the mess and I never come back to it again, or it gets deleted, But getting it printed out is such an amazing idea ⭐⭐
Whatever process works for you is fine. I do think that a physical notebook is better as it forces you to slow down and digest words and ideas. You don't have to write things down all the time you can do a collection of quotes at the end of the week, or even after you've completed a book.
I use my notes app as a commonplace space as well and I’ve been wanting to compile and print them for a while since I like having physical notes, what method or format did you find was best to print them out? I’m kind of lost on how I should do it
When you take notes what kinds of things are you writing? Are you writing about the author or connecting ideas from what you’re learning in the current book to other things you’ve read?
As I got older it got really cumbersome keeping multiple notebooks but I've kept up the habit writing almost daily since 2005. My regular notebook (from a reg moleskin size) is a pocket sized notebook dot grid now. Not too thick, if I run out a get a new one out of my drawer and continue where I left off. After I date the notebook the start and end date (Oct 2022-nov 2022 for ex) and I organize all my notebooks chronologically
Wow! I didn't know there was a name for this. I started doing this in 2015-2016 just to remember important pieces I've read or anything that really stuck out to me.
Haha, I'm watching videos on commonplace books before I start my first one and you mention Gender Trouble. Such a funny coincidence because that's the first book I'm planning to start writing about.
I used to like dotted journals too but I find linear journals are better to really get a good lining. I'm still kinda confused with using just a commonplace book. So, for me, I use (1) journal, (2) quotes, (3) language, and (4) a book where I write finances so I can keep good track of it.
I have a separate always-on-me pocket notebook where I sketch down everything and then transfer them to specific notebooks such as my Commonplace book. I use colored stickers to categorize notes on different topics/disciplines.
I clicked off because you started the video telling me what a common place book "isn't" and everything you listed is what I use my common place book for. 🤷♀️ it's my catch all whether it's shallow observances or deep introspectives. It's simply a book that's on hand to catch anything I'm mulling over.
Good information. Fyi, trying a smaller appature will allow for a larger field of focus. I get that you want as much light as possible, but not at the expense of being out of focus. Your camera was hunting for focus between your hand and the paper. It would not be noticed if the appature was adjusted. Maybe compensate for the less light from a smaller appature with an additional light source? The " in thing" for photography is a shallow depth of field but it is over used in photography and video. Don't take this as a negative comment. It is just a suggestion that I learned the hard way. Your video is great and the content is both unique and interesting.
Hey, a Book People bookmark! Stopped by there on my first visit to Austin last year, what a cool spot--I envy that it's your local haunt. Picked up White Noise by Don DeLillo and Machines in the Head by Anna Kavan while I was there.
@@_jared Nice! I have a book of his short fiction on my shelf next to Dostoyevsky... we'll see who I get to first, though I have been itching for a reread of Notes From Underground
you've inspired me to start a commonplace book, thank you. i realized i've been using my phone notes app for the same reason but it was getting clogged and clunky and it's a bit too ephemeral. if i eff up my phone all of my precious notes are gone!
Why not Obsidian? I do actually use it to work out my thoughts, but it also ends up being organized and tagged so it's easier to find stuff if I ever need to, unlike my old notebooks. If someone came to you and said: I'm gonna give you the power of global text search over all your notebooks. For free. Would you not take it?
As a user of Obsidian for notes and zettlekasten, I was thinking the same thing. I am about to try a commonplace book, and think a physicial notebook will be superior for random thought and quote reflection for the following reasons: One, as studies have shown, writing is better for memory than typing. Two, a physical artifact is a combination reminder (when you look at it) and more enjoyable to go through (for me, but I think for many). Third, the intent is different: this is to catch random thoughts and quotes; Obsidian is more for ideas that I may want to develop into something more. Fourth and last, I prefer the sight of my handwritten ideas to those that I have typed. I have notebooks going back decades and occassionally look through them. It is just more personal. Of course my thoughts won't necessarily resonate with you as we are different people shaped by different influences.
Obsidian does *exactly* this for those of us who use it; it just doesn't *only* do this. You could think of it like Obsidian being a digital replacement for a *stack* of notebooks, which includes the commonplace book. Most notably, avid users if Obsidian and similar software, engage in the same *practices* of collecting this information, actively engaging with books read, etc. (Obviously, there's still the established debate of analog vs digital.)
This is part of what obsidian does for me. Plus more. And usually graduates into more permanent. thoughts->notes->essays. I’ve done this common place book style for years. The problem is actually using it. Its really easy to write and forget in a book where things are so scattered and standalone. I do have a notebook to throw stuff in but it’s just a prelim to obsidian. Then things get linked and are trivial to pull into cohesive essays when I can fire in my brain “oh yeah I remember I wrote thing [[ bla blah ]] “ pops up and I immediately fill in all details. Not trashing on notebooks, just that they’re terrible for making the stuff useful without quite a bit of effort stand-alone
Exactly. There's something to be said for the tactile nature of writing things down on paper, but it's easier to actually *find* it again with Obsidian.
This is one of the ways I use Obsidian. The Obsidian app on my phone opens directly to a file I named "idea dump" which I go back and sort later on desktop. I love physical notebooks, but for quickly capturing fleeting ideas, I've found mobile apps like Obsidian and Drafts to be more practical than pocket notebooks.
@@RachelRamey for me, I even don't look for it after. When you write it by hand becomes a thing you wrote it, you remember it. You use your visual memory, hand memory and listening memory reading it. You are going to remember it. If it is important, you need to write it down. And you will discover you being selective with what quotes you take the time to write it and you will know better what it is important to you.
@@Ssaidak having used paper for a long time before I went digital...for me, I don't. Whether it's on paper or digitized, if I've recorded it, I remember *that* I recorded it. If I need the word-for-word quote, the details of scientific study, etc., I will not just "remember" them -- in any format -- I have to be able to find them again.
There's a lot of people saying "OK, so a commonplace book is just a notebook." It's true to an extent. It's a _type_ of notebook. You may also have a notebook for specific purposes like writing poetry, doodling or whatever you choose to do when you put pen to paper. The purpose of a commonplace book tends to be a "thinking" notebook. You put down any unprocessed thoughts and you process them through the pages. From there, you can leave the insights in the commonplace book or move them to a place where they are more easily searchable (e.g. a digital medium). To say "it's just a notebook with a fancy name" is to miss the point.
Perhaps not the answer you were looking for but what I use is 5 see through highlight sticky notes from a thrift store. You give each a meaning, after 3 to 5 chapters you review your highlights and note down thoughts about what you’ve read. This is just because I can remember 5 colours and about 5 chapters, it doesn’t need to be that number. This way you don’t have to constantly stop, but you’re still kinda keeping a system for remembering key things of the book you’re reading.
Thanks. My problem has been that I’m usually reading several books at once and also listening to podcasts, but I only have one journal or commonplace book. Please advise. Thank you in advance.
I have very bad performance anxiety so I'm having such a hard time writing stuff down and doing it consistently. Any tips? I'm the type that buys books and ends up not using them because I don't want to ruin them 🤣
My best advice: take a pen, scribble all over the first page, and then remind yourself that everything else you write in your notebook will be better than that.
Ive got a few i think. I didnt realize that id started one regarding religion/ spirituality and one i have thst keeps quotes and poems from around thr internet. I worry im doing it all wrong but i guess theres no wrong way to do a commonplace book as long as you're writing your ideas down. 😅
I quit writing (and the dream of being a writer) a month ago and my mental health has truly gone up. I highly recommend squashing any dream that tramples on your sanity.
I'm a 60 year old child who's never outgrew her love of toys. As an early education major, I wrote several research papers about the importance of them to child development & by extension, their impact on society. So I had to just watch a 4 part documentary on the History Channel called 'The Toys that Built America'. 2 toys had inspiring stories (notes & sketches in my commonplace book): Tetris and Jenga blocks. Their inventors had enough difficulty to justify quitting more than once. But they didn't. Not only did it change their lives, but created legacies that millions pay good money just to play with them. That wouldn't have happened if they'd decided "too hard" and spent their spare time in more leisurely pursuits. Just sayin'
oh my goodness I read gender trouble for while I was doing research for an essay... it was a pretty heavy read but that just meant that every sentence was so interesting. Great book! I remember the 1999 Preface being good too.
I keep several journals, and I use fountain pens, mechanical pencils, and woodcase pencils, but even though I keep watching video after video about common place journals, I can't find a reason to keep one except as an aid that allows me to complete a particulat project. Think Einstein or Leonardo. It's more of a brainstorming book than anything else. I don't have time to keep a journal about everything I read, or quotes I pick up here and there. If something is important, I'll remember it. If it isn't important enough to remember, it's better off out of my head. In an absolute worse case scenario, I'll remember enough to quickly look it up, which I'd have to do in a common place book, anyway. I tend to think about ninety-eight percent of common place books out there, certainly of the ones I've seen, and just ways of marking time, or pretending you're being productive and accomplishing something worthwhile. Life goes too fast to spend any of it marking time. Maybe I'm missing something, but I've read a blue million common place books, and all I see in ninety-eight percent of them is a way of wasting time while pretending to be using it.
Jared, your advice is not complete unless you address the problems of those who suffer from writer's cramp, and who find hand-writing anything longer than a shopping list very awkward and uncomfortable. Advise, please?
@@_jared The video is great, but I just didn't quite understand what help it is to do this...just personally, how does it help you or is it mostly a kind of hobby?
Hey, I know this is late, but in case you wanted to know I have two Notebooks that I use like this, I just didn't have a name for that. The first one I use as a stream of consciousness /brain dump. Because I don't think linearly, so it helps me understand how things are connected, and focus. The second is more creative I enjoy fiction and writing. Some writers say that ideas come from confluence, finding connections between random stuff you liked. So I do that. Collect quotes or thoughts and then play with words. I also know plastic artists that do this to develop concepts that they transform into pieces later Anyway I hope this helps :)
I get you are describing how you are formatting your common place book. However, the blurriness is a bit distracting. Maybe turn off autofocus on your camera, since it is focusing on your hands and not your writing.
I'm interested in the subject but the video is way too long and boring. I don't care about your pen or your bookmark, just tell me about the subject that your video is supposed to be about.
This is a video of a voice over of a guy with a notebook. He talks about the notebook and the paper and writes some scribbles. He makes suggestions on how to divide the notebook. He refers to his common place book but we never see it. Weird. Maybe this guy is lying about having a cp notebook. Otherwise why won’t he show us?
I have such trouble with keeping common place books because I either try to keep them too organized so they never get filled and I forget them, or I just use it as a catch all for to do lists, sketches, random memos.
You might prefer a Filofax Notebook. The pages can be moved from one cover to another, so you can carry one to write in and move the pages to other ones as you go along.
Or a walmart three ring binder.
I use a little box of notecards and often use the notecard as a bookmark.
@@alleeum interesting
@@latetodagame1892 amén to that. I started with a basic composition book. I still use them cut down to fit in a traveler’s notebook of a variety of sizes for a variety of different things. They actually take Fine- stub nib pens like a champ, depending on the ink I choose.
I started writhing in a commonplace book before I started writing in a journal. My mind is all over the place and this has kept me thinking straight for years. The key element: devote the first 5 pages or so for making an index if one isn’t already present, and number your pages as you use them. This allows you to note and easily find the specific things you know are important enough to search for at a later date, much easier.
Totally agree! I really enjoy John Locke's indexing method for commonplace journalling, it's structured yet flexible. Before I would resort to a simpler version of the Dewey Decimal System and I couldn't keep anything in order without tearing pages out and rearranging them.
I like to put my index on the last page going back, that way I never have to reserve any pages!
Also, you don't need to use numbers in order for every page. Or even numbers at all. You can use symbols or doodles and just track those in the index. Helps with ADD a ton.
I think you could also attach the index pages separately at the end of a journal by making a pocket for the back cover, similar to the ones that Moleskine journals have. Then you have your entire journal free to write!
Check out creating a 2nd Brain Tiago Forte , I like his method a lot
I have lost my ability to write due to a stroke. I only have my left hand and it is useless. So I use the notes app on my iPad and collect quotes, questions, lists, ideas, pictures, art essays, free journal articles, words and their definitions, etc. it helps keep me motivated and learning.
I am 62, and I am just now learning about this. Thanks!
I used a commonplace book for something like seven or eight years without realizing the concept existed already. Obviously I didn’t call it a commonplace book but it was a delightful and enriching tool and my constant companion. These days I keep that sort of stuff in Obsidian, but I still write and sketch in a journal just for fun.
Just recently discovered Obsidian and it's amazing.
@@starmorpheus Easily my favorite software of all time.
Love the obsidian shoutout. I’ve realized that I rather use it for storage and discovery as opposed to actual understanding though. So I’m going to try the commonplace book and using my own hand then add it to my obsidian after!
I think a 3-ring (5” by 8”)or disc (Circa system) notebook is more practical than a bound book. When making notes on a book you don’t know how many pages you will need. Movable pages keep book topics or categories together. If I need to carry some of the info for reference or to add additional points, I take out the pages and/or blank sheets and put them in a rigid plastic folder. Available in stationery stores/departments. Then, they go back in my notebook when I’m finished. I buy packets of colored paper and assign a different color for each book I have set up. So notes from several books can be in one section. I’ve used this method for decades.
I started doing the exact same thing 2020. Using a bound notebook seemed like more work than managing a couple of binders. Also got a small 6-ring as the common place and just move the pages to the big binders as needed.
I love that you specifically point out that 'vocation' does not always equate to 'profession'
And where it does - you're living the dream!
For a dual purpose notebook you can run the notes front to back and back to front, number in both directions, meet in the middle without an arbitrary middle start point. Fills without gaps.
Late but I just wanted to say thank you! That's a great tip
Thanks for the great introduction! Maybe you could show some of the old commonplace books you've used? That would be so cool.
I wanted to try this for a very long time, but never was actually able to keep it up. I have two main problems.
First, I don't like to be interrupted while reading, but constantly stop to write quotes/notes feels very distracting. I tried to first mark the paragraphs with pencil and come back to takes notes later when the book is done, but it is always a ginormous project and I always give up.
Second, I have taken some notes before, but never find myself going back to read it again. I feel that really undercuts the value of the practice. Maybe I am just lazy, but when do you think is a good time to review the old notes?
U can just take a pic, and write it down by the end of the day, and ig going back to your notes, just do it whenever you are in the mood to look through, no need to make it chore
For the first one, you could try taking notes at the end of every chapter. You could add a reflection or a review too.
The second one is much harder. I know I've struggled with it too. It is fun collecting for collecting's sake. LOL. What I would do is add some sort of catchy/captivating tag/label/trigger word highlighted at the top of an entry. For example: erotic, shocking, disgsting, infuriating, wtf?, scary, thoughtful, etc... It has to be strong and definitive. So the next time you read something and felt any strong emotion or trigger, it would be fun to scan/browse/look back on similar entries and see the pattern (of your thinking mostly and also emotional response too).
Also, try making your commonplace books more purposeful so that you would have an actual use for it. For example, if you were a writer, it is useful to have a collection of say, best plot twists. For someone who has constant mood swings like me, it is really helpful to have entries "that makes me smile no matter what" or "puts me in a good mood". Everytime I feel stressed or anxious and overwhelmed, I would find some hilarious entries to relax me a bit.
Excellent advice. I too have kept a commonplace book since adolescence; notes on reading, thoughts on writing, etc. As you have said, I felt " called" to it.
I’d love to see a video on how you take notes from books. What kind of things you write and how you do it in your commonplace book. I understand it is a personal thing and different for every individual. But I’m just getting started with getting back into reading and I’d love to know how to take notes from books and what sorts of things to write. You mentioned you draw sketched/diagrams sometimes? Thanks!
I agree and would like to see this as well. Could make for a good video.
I collect blank books of all types, but I suck at using them as sketchbooks or journals like I intend. Three years ago I began using them as commonplace books and now I go through them in about half a year, replete.
I actually use a commonplace notebook for daily life: whether I'm out, at work or at home, I carry a small one with me. Anything that I want to remember, whether that's details or a though that pops into my head as a result of what I'm doing, I'll write down in my notebook. Then I'll index it according to John Locke's method.
I admit to have gotten the idea from A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, when I read that way back before I turned 10. But I've been doing it every since and I assumed that it worked this way in general. I didn't know this was just for books, although i have a separate one for when I read.
Haha, ME TOO! 😊
Would you say it is a good book for a 4th grader? Thanks 😊
@@penpaperleather Yes. However, the series deals with some serious dark themes - loss of a parent, violence, injustice, deception, lies, conspiracies, abandonment, poor child care - that I only really analyzed after reading it as an adult. Perhaps warn your 4th grader about this, in case they are more on the emotionally sensible side? It's a great adventure story whose morbid and dark tone is cleverly subdued by humor and literary wit. The series also makes very insightful commentaries about morality, justice, corruption and how society should (or shouldn't) function. Exploring these at an early age would be so rewarding. In my humble opinion, the protagonists exhibit personalities that good for children to read about - academic inclination, a curious mind, humility, courage in the face of adversity, loyalty towards each other and their friends, and most importantly, love between siblings (there is no sibling rivalry, thank goodness). It greatly impacted me, a socially awkward bookworm, during my elementary years.
@@lenanana8 thank you very much for the detailed answer! It sounds like amazing books. I will probably read them with my daughter so can discuss various themes! Thanks again!
@@penpaperleather No worries, always happy to recommend my favorite books to others. I hope you and your daughter have meaningful discussions and make good memories reading these books!
A tip about inks bleeding through onto the next page: that's an easy fix. I learned it from doing mixed media altered book art. Keep a writing board, like a big bookmark, in your book. You can make beautiful decorative ones or just keep it simple. Two simple ones I use are a thin, cut to page size plastic from packaging or a piece of cardstock.
Excellent vid. I love your patient way of explaining, so it was extremely useful for newcomers and boiling the whole writing 'thing' as it became for me to" Just do it' . thanks, Jared!! 👏🏽
What an amazing idea!! I keep notebooks everywhere and I’ve been popping these thoughts in my journal and it gets a bit messy and confusing.
I’m definitely going to start pulling these out for a commonplace book. I’m very happy this randomly popped up on my feed ❤ Thankyou for sharing!
I find the best way for me to keep a commonplace book is honestly just to write notes on my phone's native note taking app. Writing quotes by hand as I read them is too distracting for me, and takes too long, while capturing them in my phone is much quicker and the small screen basically forces me, psychologically, not to start rambling on, which is quite a problem for me. I can then send everything to my computer, collect it in a pdf file, and print it in an A4 piece of paper, which I then put inside the book I read.
Ohhh wow dats pretty good idea, actually, for me whenever I write digitally it just sorta gets lost in the mess and I never come back to it again, or it gets deleted,
But getting it printed out is such an amazing idea ⭐⭐
Whatever process works for you is fine. I do think that a physical notebook is better as it forces you to slow down and digest words and ideas. You don't have to write things down all the time you can do a collection of quotes at the end of the week, or even after you've completed a book.
I use my notes app as a commonplace space as well and I’ve been wanting to compile and print them for a while since I like having physical notes, what method or format did you find was best to print them out? I’m kind of lost on how I should do it
@@clairev0yant write them out by hand?
When you take notes what kinds of things are you writing? Are you writing about the author or connecting ideas from what you’re learning in the current book to other things you’ve read?
Lovely video and nice notebook. Will have to look into getting a notebook like this for reading notes. Helpful video. Thanks!
As I got older it got really cumbersome keeping multiple notebooks but I've kept up the habit writing almost daily since 2005. My regular notebook (from a reg moleskin size) is a pocket sized notebook dot grid now. Not too thick, if I run out a get a new one out of my drawer and continue where I left off. After I date the notebook the start and end date (Oct 2022-nov 2022 for ex) and I organize all my notebooks chronologically
Wow! I didn't know there was a name for this. I started doing this in 2015-2016 just to remember important pieces I've read or anything that really stuck out to me.
Haha, I'm watching videos on commonplace books before I start my first one and you mention Gender Trouble. Such a funny coincidence because that's the first book I'm planning to start writing about.
I used to like dotted journals too but I find linear journals are better to really get a good lining. I'm still kinda confused with using just a commonplace book. So, for me, I use (1) journal, (2) quotes, (3) language, and (4) a book where I write finances so I can keep good track of it.
How do you organize your common place book if you're reading more than one book at a time?
Thanks.
You make great videos.
What is the downside of putting together a commonplace book and a journal together? Why do you prefer they’re separate?
I have a separate always-on-me pocket notebook where I sketch down everything and then transfer them to specific notebooks such as my Commonplace book. I use colored stickers to categorize notes on different topics/disciplines.
What did you mean by the more deeper and reflective reading and writing in addition to this commonplace book? What would that look like?
Gritty paper is the writer’s equivalent of a clicky mechanical keyboard
Thanks for the video. I am interested in the difference between the common place book and the note cards you create in your most recent video! Thanks
Great video!
Love this and how to read ❤
Great Video-- how do you manage your notes when you read multiple books at the same time.?
I clicked off because you started the video telling me what a common place book "isn't" and everything you listed is what I use my common place book for. 🤷♀️ it's my catch all whether it's shallow observances or deep introspectives. It's simply a book that's on hand to catch anything I'm mulling over.
I prefer to keep common place books in a perpetual 2 Page per day calendar. I do still index, but everything comes back through at least once a year.
Do you write out longer passages or do you just note what page they're on?
For me a commonplace book
is like a written scrapbook
Good information.
Fyi, trying a smaller appature will allow for a larger field of focus.
I get that you want as much light as possible, but not at the expense of being out of focus. Your camera was hunting for focus between your hand and the paper. It would not be noticed if the appature was adjusted.
Maybe compensate for the less light from a smaller appature with an additional light source?
The " in thing" for photography is a shallow depth of field but it is over used in photography and video.
Don't take this as a negative comment. It is just a suggestion that I learned the hard way. Your video is great and the content is both unique and interesting.
@@_jared You are on your way.
Epic Pippi Longstocking bookmark.
Hey, a Book People bookmark! Stopped by there on my first visit to Austin last year, what a cool spot--I envy that it's your local haunt. Picked up White Noise by Don DeLillo and Machines in the Head by Anna Kavan while I was there.
@@_jared Nice! I have a book of his short fiction on my shelf next to Dostoyevsky... we'll see who I get to first, though I have been itching for a reread of Notes From Underground
I keep a binder with loose leaf paper. Before bed go through the notes etc. Rewrite the important things in my planners.
you've inspired me to start a commonplace book, thank you. i realized i've been using my phone notes app for the same reason but it was getting clogged and clunky and it's a bit too ephemeral. if i eff up my phone all of my precious notes are gone!
Thank you very much☕✍️📑
The company “write notebooks” & Apica
Both are excellent journal companies!
Thank you
Just subbed. Love the channel.
Why not Obsidian? I do actually use it to work out my thoughts, but it also ends up being organized and tagged so it's easier to find stuff if I ever need to, unlike my old notebooks.
If someone came to you and said: I'm gonna give you the power of global text search over all your notebooks. For free. Would you not take it?
As a user of Obsidian for notes and zettlekasten, I was thinking the same thing. I am about to try a commonplace book, and think a physicial notebook will be superior for random thought and quote reflection for the following reasons: One, as studies have shown, writing is better for memory than typing. Two, a physical artifact is a combination reminder (when you look at it) and more enjoyable to go through (for me, but I think for many). Third, the intent is different: this is to catch random thoughts and quotes; Obsidian is more for ideas that I may want to develop into something more. Fourth and last, I prefer the sight of my handwritten ideas to those that I have typed. I have notebooks going back decades and occassionally look through them. It is just more personal.
Of course my thoughts won't necessarily resonate with you as we are different people shaped by different influences.
Obsidian does *exactly* this for those of us who use it; it just doesn't *only* do this.
You could think of it like Obsidian being a digital replacement for a *stack* of notebooks, which includes the commonplace book. Most notably, avid users if Obsidian and similar software, engage in the same *practices* of collecting this information, actively engaging with books read, etc.
(Obviously, there's still the established debate of analog vs digital.)
This is part of what obsidian does for me. Plus more. And usually graduates into more permanent. thoughts->notes->essays. I’ve done this common place book style for years. The problem is actually using it. Its really easy to write and forget in a book where things are so scattered and standalone. I do have a notebook to throw stuff in but it’s just a prelim to obsidian. Then things get linked and are trivial to pull into cohesive essays when I can fire in my brain “oh yeah I remember I wrote thing [[ bla blah ]] “ pops up and I immediately fill in all details.
Not trashing on notebooks, just that they’re terrible for making the stuff useful without quite a bit of effort stand-alone
Exactly. There's something to be said for the tactile nature of writing things down on paper, but it's easier to actually *find* it again with Obsidian.
This is one of the ways I use Obsidian. The Obsidian app on my phone opens directly to a file I named "idea dump" which I go back and sort later on desktop. I love physical notebooks, but for quickly capturing fleeting ideas, I've found mobile apps like Obsidian and Drafts to be more practical than pocket notebooks.
@@RachelRamey for me, I even don't look for it after. When you write it by hand becomes a thing you wrote it, you remember it. You use your visual memory, hand memory and listening memory reading it. You are going to remember it. If it is important, you need to write it down. And you will discover you being selective with what quotes you take the time to write it and you will know better what it is important to you.
@@Ssaidak having used paper for a long time before I went digital...for me, I don't. Whether it's on paper or digitized, if I've recorded it, I remember *that* I recorded it. If I need the word-for-word quote, the details of scientific study, etc., I will not just "remember" them -- in any format -- I have to be able to find them again.
Very interesting, and nice GBV tat! :)
Ooh is that a pilot custom 823?! They’re my favorite pens!!
Shout out to people who know the concept because of Series of Unfortunate events ❤
There's a lot of people saying "OK, so a commonplace book is just a notebook."
It's true to an extent.
It's a _type_ of notebook.
You may also have a notebook for specific purposes like writing poetry, doodling or whatever you choose to do when you put pen to paper.
The purpose of a commonplace book tends to be a "thinking" notebook.
You put down any unprocessed thoughts and you process them through the pages.
From there, you can leave the insights in the commonplace book or move them to a place where they are more easily searchable (e.g. a digital medium).
To say "it's just a notebook with a fancy name" is to miss the point.
That’s very helpful, thank you.
I have accidentally had several commonplace books over the years, lmao! Love to have them
Jared Henderson, Hail! well done. well done. well done. thank you.
Hi! I have a question. Do you recommend to elaborated on our thoughts while we are reading or after we finished?
Perhaps not the answer you were looking for but what I use is 5 see through highlight sticky notes from a thrift store. You give each a meaning, after 3 to 5 chapters you review your highlights and note down thoughts about what you’ve read. This is just because I can remember 5 colours and about 5 chapters, it doesn’t need to be that number. This way you don’t have to constantly stop, but you’re still kinda keeping a system for remembering key things of the book you’re reading.
Thanks. My problem has been that I’m usually reading several books at once and also listening to podcasts, but I only have one journal or commonplace book. Please advise. Thank you in advance.
Use a loose-leaf notebook, or some system where you can reposition the pages, like a small ring-binder.
@@JT1358And an index.
I have very bad performance anxiety so I'm having such a hard time writing stuff down and doing it consistently. Any tips? I'm the type that buys books and ends up not using them because I don't want to ruin them 🤣
My best advice: take a pen, scribble all over the first page, and then remind yourself that everything else you write in your notebook will be better than that.
@@_jared i love that idea thank you so much!!!
MOO also has good books and ones that lay flat.
what notebook is that?
Ive got a few i think. I didnt realize that id started one regarding religion/ spirituality and one i have thst keeps quotes and poems from around thr internet. I worry im doing it all wrong but i guess theres no wrong way to do a commonplace book as long as you're writing your ideas down. 😅
I quit writing (and the dream of being a writer) a month ago and my mental health has truly gone up.
I highly recommend squashing any dream that tramples on your sanity.
I'm a 60 year old child who's never outgrew her love of toys. As an early education major, I wrote several research papers about the importance of them to child development & by extension, their impact on society. So I had to just watch a 4 part documentary on the History Channel called 'The Toys that Built America'. 2 toys had inspiring stories (notes & sketches in my commonplace book): Tetris and Jenga blocks. Their inventors had enough difficulty to justify quitting more than once. But they didn't. Not only did it change their lives, but created legacies that millions pay good money just to play with them. That wouldn't have happened if they'd decided "too hard" and spent their spare time in more leisurely pursuits. Just sayin'
11:54 golden
It's important to stay focused.. if you know what I mean
oh my goodness I read gender trouble for while I was doing research for an essay... it was a pretty heavy read but that just meant that every sentence was so interesting. Great book! I remember the 1999 Preface being good too.
is that a GBV tattoo?
It doesn't have to be a collection of things you found elsewhere, or be about books or media.
Nice tats
I.. seem to understand u call book the notebook.. which is ok I just hear it like that before
your camera is not at all focusing on the notebook, great content otherwise, thanks for introducing me to this idea.
Life is too short to read judith butler.
I keep several journals, and I use fountain pens, mechanical pencils, and woodcase pencils, but even though I keep watching video after video about common place journals, I can't find a reason to keep one except as an aid that allows me to complete a particulat project. Think Einstein or Leonardo. It's more of a brainstorming book than anything else.
I don't have time to keep a journal about everything I read, or quotes I pick up here and there. If something is important, I'll remember it. If it isn't important enough to remember, it's better off out of my head. In an absolute worse case scenario, I'll remember enough to quickly look it up, which I'd have to do in a common place book, anyway.
I tend to think about ninety-eight percent of common place books out there, certainly of the ones I've seen, and just ways of marking time, or pretending you're being productive and accomplishing something worthwhile. Life goes too fast to spend any of it marking time.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I've read a blue million common place books, and all I see in ninety-eight percent of them is a way of wasting time while pretending to be using it.
my commonplace book is twitter lmao
Jared, your advice is not complete unless you address the problems of those who suffer from writer's cramp, and who find hand-writing anything longer than a shopping list very awkward and uncomfortable.
Advise, please?
I've been collecting information in .txt files..
Why do you spend so much time talking about the notebooks and the pens without mentioning what you're writing or why?
What is the purpose, as in, how is this helpful?
I'd certainly try to do a better job if I made a second version of this video.
@@_jared The video is great, but I just didn't quite understand what help it is to do this...just personally, how does it help you or is it mostly a kind of hobby?
Hey, I know this is late, but in case you wanted to know
I have two Notebooks that I use like this, I just didn't have a name for that.
The first one I use as a stream of consciousness /brain dump. Because I don't think linearly, so it helps me understand how things are connected, and focus.
The second is more creative I enjoy fiction and writing. Some writers say that ideas come from confluence, finding connections between random stuff you liked. So I do that. Collect quotes or thoughts and then play with words. I also know plastic artists that do this to develop concepts that they transform into pieces later
Anyway I hope this helps :)
wait, there are people who don't know A5?
So, a notebook then....
Your camera keeps going out of focus.
Haha
The camera going in and out of focus was giving me such a headache 💀
I get you are describing how you are formatting your common place book. However, the blurriness is a bit distracting. Maybe turn off autofocus on your camera, since it is focusing on your hands and not your writing.
I didn't know what a commonplace book is and I still don't because the preamble was about 7 years long.
The answer to that was at the very beginning.
Spoiler alert: it’s just a notebook with an a weird name that obscures that it’s just a notebook. For writing notes. In a book.
Dude, learn how to lock your focus on camera. Looks horrible shifting back and forth 😂
Meh.
I'm interested in the subject but the video is way too long and boring. I don't care about your pen or your bookmark, just tell me about the subject that your video is supposed to be about.
I think he knows the best what HIS video is supposed to be about... :o
This is a video of a voice over of a guy with a notebook. He talks about the notebook and the paper and writes some scribbles. He makes suggestions on how to divide the notebook. He refers to his common place book but we never see it. Weird. Maybe this guy is lying about having a cp notebook. Otherwise why won’t he show us?