The Winter Commonplace Book Club Begins January 1st

“Something magical happens when we choose a quote, deciding to keep it, to return to it, to inscribe it in our notebooks."

Something magical happens when we choose a quote, deciding to keep it, to return to it, to inscribe it in our notebooks. But what happens when we decide to keep quotes in community? The magic multiplies.

I wrote this at the end of our first Commonplace Book Club in September. It was so much fun, we have to do it again! So, I’m inviting you to join our January commonplace book club.¹

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What is a Commonplace Book?

Do you write out quotes or facts that you want to remember? Then you keep a commonplace book!

The commonplace book is a time-worn tradition for copying out quotations. Brilliant thinkers throughout history have kept commonplace books including John Milton, Lewis Carroll, Virginia Woolf, and Octavia Butler.

Commonplace books of John Milton, Lewis Carroll, Octavia Butler, and Virginia Woolf (clockwise)

As many of you know, almost all of my academic writing has focused on commonplace books. I published an academic book on the subject in 2022: How Romantics and Victorians Organized Information.

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Why Keep a Commonplace Book?

When I dreamed up the Commonplace Book Club (CBC), I wrote out the following reasons why I love keeping a commonplace book:

1. Developing a personal relationship with literature.

2. Keeping track of my reading.

3. Revisiting (& remembering) favorite lines.

4. Being able to think through lines slowly as I rewrite them.

5. Sharing my collection of quotes with other people.

But don’t take my word for it! Here is what great thinkers have written about their collections of quotes:

Virginia Woolf describes keeping a commonplace book as a way to heighten her reading experience. She reads as though she were on a hunt:

That’s the real point of my little brown book…that it makes me read —with a pen—following the scent…²

And then of course, here is Seneca’s fantastic metaphor for commonplacing:

We also, I say, ought to copy these bees, and sift whatever we have gathered from a varied course of reading, for such things are better preserved if they are kept separate; then, by applying the supervising care with which our nature has endowed us, – in other words, our natural gifts, – we should so blend those several flavours into one delicious compound that, even though it betrays its origin, yet it nevertheless is clearly a different thing from that whence it came.³

If you have the habit of keeping a collection of quotes, you already know its value. If you don’t, this is a great opportunity to start. In just 5-10 minutes a day, you can start a commonplacing habit!

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Some Inspiration:

This is the perfect opportunity to work on our note-taking practice in community! And, to be honest, I’d also love some companionship as I continue my own commonplacing journey.

Here are some of my entries for our last commonplace book club:

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In September, I craved more time with poetry, so I dedicated my practice to writing out a few lines of verse each day. This time around, I’m craving more philosophy. Over the past week, I’ve been reading one of Seneca’s letters first thing in the morning (before picking up my phone); it’s been lovely!⁴ Seneca is, after all, Noted’s patron saint. I also wanted to reconnect with Latin, which I studied in college, so I’ve been reading Seneca in the Loeb Classical Library edition that includes the Latin text. I hope to continue this habit through the new year, and I’m leaning on the CBC to make it happen.

My commonplace book filled with quotes by Seneca, Noted’s patron saint.

You don’t need a theme for your quotes. You might decide to share excerpts from old notebooks, or you could share whatever you’re currently reading and thinking about. Typed quotes are also welcome!

*Remember this: There is no wrong way to keep a commonplace book!*

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Comments From September’s CBC:

Here’s what participants had to say about our last club:

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Let’s Form a Note-Taking Habit!

Part of my goal for the CBC is to foster a daily commonplace book habit (for myself and for you). We’ll start small with just one quote a day—typed or handwritten.

Of course, you don’t have to post your quotes—this is totally optional—but, I hope you’ll post at least once. I never tire of looking at other people’s notes!

As an added incentive, if you post a picture of a quote everyday for all 31 days, I’ll enter you in a raffle to win one of the following prizes🏆:

1. A personalized notebook (handmade by me)

2. A signed copy of my book

3. A complimentary 1 year subscription to Noted (this will extend your subscription for an extra year at no cost to you)

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How to Join

The Commonplace Book Club (CBC) is a perk for paid subscribers. Now is a great time to join as I’m offering a 20% discount for our Winter sale!⁵

• The discount applies to gift memberships too, so invite a friend along! Add a notebook, print out this gift certificate, and you’ve got a great last-minute gift.

  

  Noted Gift Certificate

  44.3KB ∙ PDF file

  Download

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• The CBC will take place on our private chat. I’ll post my quote and you’ll add yours via the “reply” button. It will look like this:

• Every evening (starting December 31st) I will open a new thread with my own image of a quote (at around 8pm Eastern Standard Time). That way, the thread will be available for early birds and international participants.

• For now, you can hop over to our chat to say “hi” and add a quote if you’d like. This pre-club thread will be open to all subscribers. That way, you can figure out if you’d like to join us in January.

Will you join? I hope so! Let me know, and post any questions you have in the comments.

I’m so excited to start the new year together,

1. Many of you do not live in the Northern Hemisphere, so I apologize for the Northern-Hemisphere-centric title. I love the seasonality of our club, so feel free to substitute whatever season you’re in! (If you’re in the middle of summer right now, I’m very jealous.)

2. Woolf, Virginia. A Writer’s Diary, Harcourt, 1982, p. 301.

3. Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. Epistle LXXXIV, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1971.

4. I was inspired by Austin Kleon’s “Bookends” approach to a day: beginning and ending each day with a book.

5. I believe that education and community are for everyone. As always, if you can’t swing the subscription fee right now, send me a message via email (notedbee@gmail.com) with the subject “Subscription Comp” or through the Substack chat and I’ll comp you for the next few months so you can join in the fun. In return, I ask that you post to our chat at least once.