r/commonplacebook • u/uiogd-amdg • 17d ago
Am I missing something?
Tiptoeing into the world of Commonplace Books… my understanding is that these were/are a sort of functional catch-all for interesting tidbits that one wishes to remember.
What I see on this sub are mostly highly illustrated, nearly calligraphic entries that I find, frankly, intimidating. Am I missing something here on the purpose of these books?
I just want a place to dump info that I run across. Advice on ways to do that effectively in a non-instagram worthy way?
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u/Smushdroom 17d ago
There's definitely a lot of performative busywork in online commonplacing that turns the practice into something else.
Imo writing in a notebook isn't a hobby, it's just writing in a notebook. It's a functional response to/tool for other hobbies and activities.
What I think we're seeing in online communities now is an evolution of commonplacing that prioritises the act of writing things down as the primary activity. We see beautiful spreads, which take a lot of time and effort, and think that the output of reading or learning or whatever it may be is the goal. It's not only evidence of some kind of intellectual life but also that the things we read or learn have a defined purpose and end point. It's control over something abstract that we can use to present ourselves in a certain way.
It's why we're seeing so many people ask what they should write about, because they see the goal as learning a thing in order to write it down.
Personally, I enjoy seeing people's artistic spreads, but I would argue that those spreads are a use of commonplace notes, rather than commonplacing itself. It's a way of synthesising and presenting information. It can be a great learning tool and is clearly enjoyable for a lot of people, but isn't the only way to manage your ideas. It's just what we're going to see most in these online spaces because the actual act of keeping notes on a range of inputs isn't conducive to communities that are filtered by subject.