Commonplace Books

Here is a summary of what Wikipedia has to say about commonplace books:
 
Commonplace books were a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into blank books. They became significant in Europe around the 17^th century.

Such books were essentially handwritten scrapbooks filled with items of every kind: medical recipes, quotes, poems, tables of weights and measures, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas. Commonplaces were used by readers, writers, students, and scholars as an aid for remembering useful concepts or facts they had learned. Each commonplace book was unique to its creator's particular interests.

I learned about commonplace books quite a few years ago and started filling a small tablet with any quote or saying that I came across and especially liked. I still have it and I still like it. More recently I’ve started doing the same thing digitally – I have a “commonplace book” document on my computer and copy into it snippets of writing that interest me.

It wasn’t too much of a leap, then, to decide to keep a commonplace book on my blog.

In fact, I think everyone should keep a commonplace book just for the pleasure of it. It’s not like journalling, which can be accompanied by a sense of guilt (at least for me), but it’s still reflective of your personality and personal interests.

Easy to access, easy to update, easy to share.

A lot like Pinterest, come to think of it.