A commonplace book is a personal notebook for collecting quotes, ideas, facts, recipes and passages you want to keep, usually organized under topic headings with an index so you can find them again. Unlike a diary, it records what you read and learn rather than what happened to you. Writers and scholars have kept them for centuries.
Key Takeaways
- A commonplace book is organized by topic, not by date, which makes it a reference you can reuse rather than a record you only reread.
- The practice runs from ancient rhetoric through medieval collections and Renaissance schooling to John Locke's 1685 indexing method.
- Setup takes an evening: number the pages, reserve index pages, choose a few starting headings and always note the source.
- Pick a durable notebook with numbered or easily numbered pages; a refillable binder lets you add pages to busy topics.
Commonplacing fits neatly alongside a regular journal. If you are just getting started with writing by hand, our guide to how to start journaling covers the habit itself. This article explains where commonplace books came from, how they differ from reading journals and diaries, and a practical indexing system you can set up tonight.
What does "commonplace" mean?
"Commonplace" here does not mean ordinary. It is a translation of the Latin locus communis, "a general or common place," which in turn comes from the Greek topos koinos. In classical rhetoric, a commonplace was a standard theme or argument a speaker could draw on, and a commonplace book became the place to store them.
The Wikipedia article on commonplace books traces this origin and describes the books as personal notebooks for collecting any information the owner finds interesting or useful, such as proverbs, quotations and recipes, usually sorted under subject headings.
A short history of the commonplace book
Commonplace books grew out of ancient rhetoric, became structured collections in medieval monasteries, were taught as a study method in Renaissance and early modern schools, and stayed popular into the early twentieth century. Their defining feature through all of it was organization by topic.
- Antiquity. Aristotle and Cicero used commonplaces as topics for building arguments, and Seneca compared gathering useful ideas to a bee collecting pollen, according to the Wikipedia history.
- Medieval collections. By the 8th century, clergy were compiling excerpts from the Bible and the Church Fathers into collections called florilegia, and by the 13th century these were usually arranged under thematic headings.
- The Renaissance. Italian zibaldone books appeared in the 15th century, and the scholar Erasmus, in his book De Copia, proposed a scheme of topics with example passages filed under each heading.
- The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Commonplacing was formally taught to students, including at Oxford, and households used commonplace books for ethical texts and recipes. The poet John Milton's mid-century commonplace book is one well-known example, as noted by The Public Domain Review.
- John Locke's method. The philosopher John Locke published an indexing method in French in 1685, and it appeared in English in 1706, after his death. The Public Domain Review explains that he developed it over about 25 years of his own note-taking. After it appeared, publishers sold blank commonplace books with space for headings and an index.
- Later keepers. Wikipedia lists Isaac Newton, who worked on calculus in a notebook he called his "waste book," Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf, and Ronald Reagan, who kept his on index cards. The practice remained a common study technique until the early twentieth century.
The writer Jonathan Swift described commonplace books as a "supplemental memory," a phrase quoted by The Public Domain Review. It is still the best one-line description of what a commonplace book does.
Commonplace book vs reading journal vs diary
A commonplace book collects ideas from many sources by topic, a reading journal records your experience of specific books in the order you read them, and a diary records your own days and feelings by date. A digital notes app can do the commonplace job with search, but loses the slower, memorable act of copying by hand.
| Feature | Commonplace book | Reading journal | Diary | Digital notes app |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main content | Quotes, facts, ideas and passages from anywhere | Books read, ratings, quotes and reactions | Events, feelings and reflections | Anything, often clipped or pasted |
| Organized by | Topic, with an index | Book, in reading order | Date | Tags, folders and search |
| Main question it answers | "What do I know about this topic?" | "What did I think of that book?" | "What happened, and how did I feel?" | "Where did I save that?" |
| Strengths | Builds a reusable store of ideas; copying aids memory | Easy to keep; great for readers | Personal record; emotional processing | Fast capture; full-text search; links |
| Weaknesses | Needs an indexing habit | Ideas stay tied to single books | Hard to find ideas later | Easy to hoard without rereading |
| Best notebook | Numbered pages or refillable binder | Any bound notebook | Any notebook you enjoy | No notebook needed |
You do not have to choose only one. Many readers keep a reading journal for each book and move the best lines into a commonplace book by topic later. If you want to start with books first, read how to keep a reading journal.
How to set up and index a commonplace book
Set up a commonplace book by numbering every page, reserving the first few pages for an index, choosing a handful of starting topic headings, and writing each entry with its source. As topics grow, add cross-references so related ideas link to each other. The whole setup takes about an evening.
- Number the pages. If your notebook does not have printed page numbers, number the top outer corner of every page before you begin. The index depends on it.
- Reserve index pages. Leave the first two to six pages blank for the index. Locke's method needs only two; a simple alphabetical topic list needs a few more.
- Choose starting headings. Pick five to ten topics you already care about, such as work, writing, health, history, faith, cooking or parenting. You will add more as you go.
- Write entries under headings. When you find a passage worth keeping, write the heading at the top of the next free page (or the page already used for that topic) and copy the passage below it.
- Always record the source. Note the author, title and page, or the person and date for something you heard. Future you will want to check the context.
- Add the heading to the index. Write the topic and the page number in the index the first time you use a heading, and add new page numbers each time the topic continues elsewhere.
- Cross-reference related topics. At the bottom of an entry, add "see also p. 42" when an idea connects to another heading. These links are where new ideas tend to appear.
- Review monthly. Reread one topic a month and add a short note in your own words about what the collected passages have in common.
Using Locke's index method
Locke's method is a compact way to index a commonplace book with only two pages. As described by The Public Domain Review, the index lists each letter of the alphabet with the vowels that can follow it. To file a heading, you find its first letter and the first vowel after it, then write the page number in that slot.
For example, a heading like "Epistola" files under E and I. "Gardening" files under G and A. When you start a new page for a heading, you record that page number in its letter-and-vowel box, and every heading sharing that combination continues on the same run of pages. It saves paper and still gives you a reliable lookup. If that feels too mechanical, an ordinary alphabetical list of topics with page numbers works perfectly well.
What to put in a commonplace book
Put anything in a commonplace book that you might want to find, reuse or think about again: memorable quotes, passages from books, surprising facts, recipes, lyrics, lines from talks or podcasts, and your own short responses. The test is simple: would you be glad to find this again in five years?
- Quotes and passages that change how you see something.
- Facts and figures you want to remember, always with the source.
- Advice and rules of thumb from mentors, books or experience.
- Recipes and techniques, a traditional use noted in the history above.
- Poems and lyrics worth copying by hand.
- Overheard lines and good phrases for your own writing.
- Your responses. A sentence or two under a quote about why it matters to you turns collection into thinking.
If you want ideas for personal entries rather than collected ones, our guide to what to write in a journal covers that side.
Choosing a durable notebook for a commonplace book
A good commonplace notebook is durable enough to last years, opens comfortably for copying long passages, and has pages you can number. A refillable binder is ideal if you want to add pages to busy topics; a thick bound journal suits people who like one finished volume. Cover material is a matter of taste and care.
- Refillable leather binder. The refillable A5 genuine leather binder uses loose-leaf binding, so you can rearrange pages by topic and add more as a section grows. Its listing gives 100 gsm kraft paper, 100 sheets.
- Thick cowhide journal. The thick cowhide leather journal has a first-layer cowhide cover and, per its listing, 120 gsm wood-free or kraft paper in a compact page size, which suits a pocket commonplace book.
- A5 notebook with a vintage look. The embossed knight A5 journal has a faux leather (PU) cover with a deep relief design, a good fit for a literary commonplace book on the shelf.
For help weighing genuine leather against PU, paper weight and refillable designs, see how to choose a leather journal.
Frequently asked questions
What is a commonplace book used for?
A commonplace book is used to collect and organize quotes, ideas, facts, recipes and passages you want to remember, usually under topic headings with an index. It works as a personal reference and memory aid, which is why Jonathan Swift called it a "supplemental memory."
How do you organize a commonplace book?
Organize a commonplace book by numbering the pages, reserving the first few for an index, writing entries under topic headings, and recording each heading's page numbers in the index. Add "see also" cross-references between related topics. John Locke's two-page letter-and-vowel index is a classic compact alternative.
Is a commonplace book the same as a journal?
Not quite. A journal or diary records your own days and feelings by date, while a commonplace book collects ideas from outside sources by topic. Many people keep both, or keep a commonplace section at the back of their regular journal for quotes and ideas.
What are good things to put in a journal?
Good things to put in a journal include daily highlights, gratitude lists, goals, reflections, memories, sketches and quotes. If you keep a commonplace book, add passages from books, useful facts with sources, recipes, lyrics and your own short responses to what you read.
Start your commonplace book
Choose one notebook, number its pages, and copy in the first passage you want to keep this week. A refillable binder from our leather journals lets your topics grow, while our notebooks and planners include lighter A5 notebooks if you would rather start simple. US shipping is a flat $6.99, free on orders of $79 or more. For a cover that will age with your collection, browse the full leather journals collection.
