r/commonplacebook

Does anyone else plan ahead and find pictures and research topics ahead of putting them in their book? Or does this defeat the purpose of a Commonplace book?

I am going into hospital soon for surgery and will be stuck in there for about a week. I wont have access to a printer but will have internet access so was thinking about some future topics I'd like to research and perhaps pictures to go along with them, that I can print at home and bring to hospital. I know I won't feel like doing anything the day of and day after surgery but I need something to occupy myself while stuck in bed.

While looking for images to go with a topic about Lizzie Borden it has taken me down a rabbit hole that has bought me to Victorian Mourning Dress lol Just thought I'd add this little bit because I'm sure everyone can relate to falling down the rabbit hole that is the internet.

I have recently become a big fan of Discbound notebooks and have made my regular planner from one. Levanter sent me a Discbound extra that I didn’t need so I thought about making it into a commonplace as it has lined pages and I can add or delete. Ae there any tips for using a commonplace Discbound? Any pros or cons?

An interesting article at the intersection of journaling, identity, and science.

UPDATE: THANK you to everyone who responded! The answers weee really helpful.

In case someone else has a similar question and sees this, here’s what I’ve learned about the options currently available - at least in the US. (I’m looking at A5-sized books, but some of these - Sterling Ink and Odyssey brands, specifically- come in other sizes.)

1.) Clairefontaine Age Bag Notebook - only the thread bound “essential” version, not the cloth bound, has numbered pages, comes with 192 pages, 7 mm ruled or dot grid (not sure what size grid.)

2.) Leuchtturm1917 Notebook - aim for the 120 gsm version if you want to use broader nibs/wetter inks, comes with 203 pages, ruled, blank, or dot grid (not sure of the grid sizing or ruled spacing.)

3.) Sterling Ink Notebook (52 gsm Koji paper) - comes with 272 or 520 pages, but only in a grid version, and the grid size is pretty small (3.7 x 3.9 mm.)

4.) Odyssey Notebooks (68 gsm Tomoe River Paper) - comes with 48, 200, 300, 400, or 500 pages and 7 mm ruled, 5 mm graph, or 5 mm dot grid.

The least expensive in terms of initial cost are the 48-page Odyssey booklets ($8) and the Clairefontaine notebooks ($22.) Sterling Ink is probably the best value in terms of price per page, though, with Odyssey coming in second.

I’m likely going with Odyssey, since it meets all the criteria I had and will be long-lasting.

Hi commonplace friends,

After several months of feeling too intimidated to get started, I’ve made the decision to set aside my fears of getting it wrong and tiptoe into the world of messy commonplacing.

One thing that would really help me get going is a notebook with pre-numbered pages that’s fountain pen friendly - and, ideally, lined instead of gridded. (I’m post traumatic brain injury and have dysgraphia that makes my numbers, specifically, somewhat hard to read.)

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I’d be super grateful for them. Either way, thanks for reading this and look forward to getting to know this sub better :)

APPOLGIZES if this post is not allowed here!!

I have been searching for a journaling creator who posted on youtube regularly. She is one of my comfort watchs and gave me so much inspiration!!!! but I cannot find her content anymore, and its been awhile and I forgot her channel name.

She's a young woman with a british accent who popularized, or at least brough attention to the color dot sticker coding system of commonplace entries. She had a slightly gothic and high contract aesthetic. She loved BOGS and halloween/spooky stuff.

EDIT: SOLVED

I have a habit of jotting ideas, quotes, and passages onto index cards and dropping them in a box… that I then basically never reopen. A graveyard for stuff I actually cared about.

So I'm wondering: has anyone here used Anki as a commonplace book instead of letting these notes rot in a box?

The appeal is that Anki would resurface these ideas over time instead of burying them. But maybe I'd just be bending the tool into something it's bad at.

Does this make sense, or am I overthinking it?

I have a few ideas of what I can do with it:

1. I can write on the cardboard and then stick it in my common place book.

2. I can cut it into rectangles and use it as a headings for my lists or entries.

3. I can write a quote on it then stick it in my common place book.

4. I can use it as decoration by tearing it and then sticking it at the top and the bottom of my page.

5. I can draw on them then cut the drawing out and add it to my common place book.

6. I can cut it into shapes eg Stars and stick it in my common place book.

7. I can cut it into small blocks and then write on them and then stick it in my common place book like how textbooks have a side note in the corner of their pages in a different colour box next to the main note.

I'm not sure what else to do with it.

Hi everyone. Would love to hear your thoughts/tips on how to help the following 'problem'.

How does everyone remember to go back to the things you put in your journal? For example, I use mine to note Stardew Tips, movies I want to watch, things I want to research....but I also have object permanence problems so out of sight, and it's gone from my memory