commonplace book

Definition

A personal notebook or journal in which memorabilia, quotations, etc., are written.

Example Sentences

• "I did this in thirty pages of closely written matter, of which a pressed copy remains in my commonplace-book."
• "The compiler of a commonplace book is on his own; he can put in anything that appeals to him: aphorisms, poems, parts of poems, newspaper clippings, song lyrics, bits of humor, overheard conversations—anything that has struck him as exciting, that he has found stimulating, odd or amusing."
• "But the other kind of commonplace book was different. Its goal was to gather a collection of the wisest statements, usually of the ancients, for future meditation."