A commonplace book is just a notebook where you copy the lines worth keeping. Writers have kept them for centuries. Here’s how to start one — no special talent required.
Step one: steal shamelessly
When a sentence stops you, copy it out by hand. The slowness is the point — it makes the words yours.
Step two: don’t organise too soon
Resist the urge to file everything neatly. Let poems sit next to recipes next to overheard arguments. The collisions are where the ideas come from.
A commonplace book is a record of a mind paying attention.
Theo, used & rare
What to keep one in
- A plain sewn-bound notebook (we stock a few)
- The back pages of a book you love
- Anything you’ll actually carry
Bring yours to the reading room any afternoon — comparing commonplace books is our favourite kind of small talk.