I Keep A Book of Commonplace

I was showing my husband some beautiful blank books recently, available from a UK publisher and explaining to him what was meant by a 'commonplace book.' 

A commonplace book is a blank book that you use to jot down thoughts, quotes, notes from the day, reminders, newspaper clippings, recipes, souvenirs, anything you can think of really. It is not a journal. It is not a place for introspective thoughts and minds. It is really, a personal reference book. Things you want to remember. Things that impacted your life. Things that mattered. It is a tradition that apparently goes back as far as the Middle Ages.

"I would love to have one of these and do this," when he turned to me and said, 'but you already do."

It took me a few seconds to realise that it is a habit that I've had since childhood and blank books being one of my favourite things, I have lots of them stored away or scattered about the house in bookshelves or cupboards. It's not anything I am really intentional about, it just happens. I do love the idea of being intentional with it, as my Grandmother was, which I will show you.

My latest common-purpose book is filled with study notes, recipes, Christmas shopping lists, a knitting pattern, quotes I loved and doodles and lots of other little, random things.

This red book was my first commonplace book that I had when I got married. I bought it on my honeymoon in a bookmaker's shop in Oamaru, New Zealand. It has notes from our honeymoon and the birth of our first baby.  My latest commonplace book is not so pretty to look at and it is full, so it is time to buy a new one and I might treat myself to one of the beautiful English books linked above.

My grandmother kept a commonplace book. This is one that she gave to my cousin, covered in the wallpaper of one of their bedrooms. It's full of poems, quotes, hymns, newspaper clippings and other little things. A real family treasure. It doesn't have to be a fancy book, it can be any kind of blank notebook.

A newspaper cutting taken from the local paper when my grandparents had their 65th wedding anniversary and words of advice, my mother, 'nurse Spencer' mentioned in a tiny newspaper clipping and lots of notes in my grandmother's own handwriting.

When my grandfather got awarded by the Queen, Nana has kept the instructions for those attending the Investiture in 1967 at Government House in Wellington. 

A commonplace book could be a real glimpse into someone's life from another era and insight into the personality who kept it.

Here are some entries from my commonplace books that I've kept over the years.

Death notice of a beloved work colleague from my teenage years.

Notes and doodlings from a university lecture by the late, much-esteemed Moana Jackson.

Charting a knitting pattern.

I leave you with some words from my Grandmother's commonplace book. I would love to know if this is something you do also, and if so, what do you write in?

"We do not exist to be counted. We count."

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