Lovely exploration (and my condolences on the loss of your first Commonplace 😢). I hate losing anything, especially something so personal. A while ago, I "lost" an inexpensive but sentimental ring my husband bought me over 20 yrs ago. I was bereft for weeks...it turned up after I'd give up hope in the sleeve of a jacket in my closet! All to say: now that you have started a new Commonplace, don't be surprised if the original turns up in some random way!💜
I know! It’s so awful. I think because I am an immigrant and spent the first 7 years of my life here in the states living out of a suitcase, I generally do not feel attached to objects at all. But this one felt really personal to me, it truly shocked me.
Petya, oh my gosh, YES on indexing. I just went through a program called “The 100 Day Reckoning” with the playwright Karen Hartman and we indexed our own writing with cards using a smart notes method. I started discovering all these patterns in my writing. Your reflection here is making me want to do this with my reading using the commonplace method you describe. Thank you, thank you for these reflections and ideas (and sorry you lost your notebook and am grateful it led to this reflection).
Thank you for your note, Ashley. And.... OK... now you got me thinking, what else could I index... I believe that Henrik Karlsson who writes Escaping Flatland has mentioned that he indexes his personal diaries!
Gorgeous poem. I recently misplaced a new notebook and turned each of the many purses I own inside out, before upending the house. I understand completely.
Thank you for this lovely article. The older I get, the more amazed I am at how we can live in our bodies and not understand ourselves very well. To me, what this commonplace practice points to is a sort of permission to allow our reading to act as a kind of witness to our lives. Why are we pulled to themes/characters/turns of phrase? How does our reading teach us, guide us? What do we learn about ourselves through the things we read? In short, who are we? What do we love and what do we need to know? I love my journals, too. Thanks for sharing your process, and I hope you find your old journal. I bet it turns up and what fun it will be to read it again!
That's 100% my experience and I love that reading is such a rich and multi-layered territory of exploration. Not everyone agrees that this is how one SHOULD read but discovering the work of Louise Rosenblatt has been transformative for me.
This really resonates with me. I’m suffering from using multiple notebooks to commonplace in! I just love them all, in varying sizes, so rather than fight it I just grab and use the one I want each time I write! I’m following along with the Commonplace club too! Enjoy your new notebook! I bet the lost one surfaces soon after you settle into the new one! Serendipity!
I keep fluctuating between being a single notebook person so that I have all my things in one place and having dedicated notebooks for different things .... and then simply having notebooks in different places so that I am never tempted to reach for my phone unless I have to.... Such is the life of a notebook lover.
Petya, thank you for the discount :) And I must send you an email with my MIDORI set up. Soon, promise. If you formally ask me in the comments about your notebook placement, I'll do a horary astro for you. But you have to ask! Adore < 3
Omg, I love this, Petya, and everything else you‘re sharing here (minus the loss of your cherished notebook of course). I have also found that following the line of words in my reading practice that resonate the most ultimately lead me to…myself.
And what a joy it is to be exchanging notes and quotes with you this month 💕
If you haven't done the Commonplace Book Club challenge with Jillian, I highly recommend that you give it a try. It's been life-changing for me.
This is such a lovely idea and I really hope you find your original book!
I keep hoping it will turn up, too. I am starting in the same place essentially but it’s not the same.
STÁLOGY notebooks work well with fountain pens, just sayin'!
If we can get organized, we should do a LIVE about pens and notebooks!!!
Now you're talking! I would love that!
Such a great idea! Would absolutely love to hear your thoughts.
Lovely exploration (and my condolences on the loss of your first Commonplace 😢). I hate losing anything, especially something so personal. A while ago, I "lost" an inexpensive but sentimental ring my husband bought me over 20 yrs ago. I was bereft for weeks...it turned up after I'd give up hope in the sleeve of a jacket in my closet! All to say: now that you have started a new Commonplace, don't be surprised if the original turns up in some random way!💜
Also...that poem! I loved it the first time you shared it ❤️
I know! It’s so awful. I think because I am an immigrant and spent the first 7 years of my life here in the states living out of a suitcase, I generally do not feel attached to objects at all. But this one felt really personal to me, it truly shocked me.
😞 💔
Petya, oh my gosh, YES on indexing. I just went through a program called “The 100 Day Reckoning” with the playwright Karen Hartman and we indexed our own writing with cards using a smart notes method. I started discovering all these patterns in my writing. Your reflection here is making me want to do this with my reading using the commonplace method you describe. Thank you, thank you for these reflections and ideas (and sorry you lost your notebook and am grateful it led to this reflection).
Thank you for your note, Ashley. And.... OK... now you got me thinking, what else could I index... I believe that Henrik Karlsson who writes Escaping Flatland has mentioned that he indexes his personal diaries!
This is his newsletter:
https://www.henrikkarlsson.xyz/
I'm sad that you misplaced (not willing to concede "lost" yet) your commonplace book. I would be devastated if I lost mine.
I truly hope it turns up!
Gorgeous poem. I recently misplaced a new notebook and turned each of the many purses I own inside out, before upending the house. I understand completely.
Thank you! I love it so much!
For objects that get handled a lot, notebooks have a way of disappearing. How?!
Thank you for this lovely article. The older I get, the more amazed I am at how we can live in our bodies and not understand ourselves very well. To me, what this commonplace practice points to is a sort of permission to allow our reading to act as a kind of witness to our lives. Why are we pulled to themes/characters/turns of phrase? How does our reading teach us, guide us? What do we learn about ourselves through the things we read? In short, who are we? What do we love and what do we need to know? I love my journals, too. Thanks for sharing your process, and I hope you find your old journal. I bet it turns up and what fun it will be to read it again!
That's 100% my experience and I love that reading is such a rich and multi-layered territory of exploration. Not everyone agrees that this is how one SHOULD read but discovering the work of Louise Rosenblatt has been transformative for me.
This really resonates with me. I’m suffering from using multiple notebooks to commonplace in! I just love them all, in varying sizes, so rather than fight it I just grab and use the one I want each time I write! I’m following along with the Commonplace club too! Enjoy your new notebook! I bet the lost one surfaces soon after you settle into the new one! Serendipity!
I keep fluctuating between being a single notebook person so that I have all my things in one place and having dedicated notebooks for different things .... and then simply having notebooks in different places so that I am never tempted to reach for my phone unless I have to.... Such is the life of a notebook lover.
Petya, thank you for the discount :) And I must send you an email with my MIDORI set up. Soon, promise. If you formally ask me in the comments about your notebook placement, I'll do a horary astro for you. But you have to ask! Adore < 3
I AM FORMALLY ASKING FOR IT!!!
Please send me those MIDORI pics!
Will do!:) But I meant: ask me formally for Horary Astro reading so I can see if I can find your notebook.
My son puts hides things away and it takes me forever to find them. I hope you find it soon - probably in the least expected place. Love this essay!
I know. So sweet… and infuriating.
"Through the gate, the noses touch."
Omg, I love this, Petya, and everything else you‘re sharing here (minus the loss of your cherished notebook of course). I have also found that following the line of words in my reading practice that resonate the most ultimately lead me to…myself.
And what a joy it is to be exchanging notes and quotes with you this month 💕
So wonderful to have found so many other people who love commonplacing as much as I do! What a lovely post❤️
I wonder when you find your original common place notebook how would your relationship to it have changed over the time it would have been missing.
I wonder when you find your original common place notebook how would your relationship to it have changed over the time it would have been missing.
I wonder when you find your original common place notebook how would your relationship to it have changed over the time it would have been missing.