How I Use My Commonplace Book to Read Efficiently

Reading in itself is wonderful. Remembering what we read takes that experience to the next level. While it sounds silly, remembering what we read is tougher than it sounds.

[cjcidaho]

It refreshingly occurred to me that as an 80 year old, I can still learn from the younger.

[jonrutherford]

At approx 4:00 "Keep reading!" is a splendid piece of advice, and points out a trap I've often fallen into. I tend to get sidetracked by note-taking, or simply by a brilliant passage that suggests another avenue -- you're spot-on correct in urging readers to note such, but keep progressing.

[futoijosei]

I don't mind if other people want to write in their books but I don't do it in mine. Likewise, when I purchase a book, if I see annotations or highlighted portions I will buy that book. I try to purchase the copies that aren't as pretty or are more used (annotated) because often times they are the copies that are not preferred when other people buy books. I love that they looked lived in and loved.

[maidofcornwall]

Thank you for your lovely video Collin.

I commonplace on index cards so that I can put everything into alphabetical order. This makes it easier to find things later. Instead of going through books looking for something, you simply go to the place in the cards.

I use metal book darts to keep the place of the passage I want to note. Leaving some time between 'marking' it and then coming back to it helps me to decide if I really want to keep that passage or not. It might mean something at the time I read it, but when coming back to it later it might mean nothing, and so I leave it.

As for writing in books; I'm all for it too, although I don't actually do it very often. When I look at second hand books, if I have a choice between annotated or not, I'll go with the one that's been written in every time. Not only are you getting educated by the book itself, but by someone else's opinion on it too. I've heard it said that by commonplacing you're having a conversation with the author of the book. If you get one that's been written in, it's like having that conversation with another person too 😀

[hollandmin]

Great video Collin! Great advice, I really appreciate it!

[suhandatanker]

Keep it up! I want you to do more of these!

[SillyNessGaming]

4:18 this is such a good idea!!! i’m so excited to try this method of annotating instead! i’ve always wanted to annotate my books, and i’ve tried.. but the frequent stopping while i was reading took all the fun out of reading(like you said, it stops the flow & ends up feeling like a chore🥲)

[CaptainQueue]

"It's a screenshot of everything you want to remember." Excellent. Liked and subscribed :)

[skaus]

4:25 I'd disagree with this approach. I waited until I finished the chapter before jotting down my ideas when I first started, until I read 'Think and Grow Rich', and realised I had so many thoughts, I forgot many of them when I came to write them out. So now I stop and jot down my thoughts as they pop up, then get myself back into my reading rhythm.

[thekoyakoyakoya]

thanks for sharing! i like that this was short but still very helpful~

[colbyboucher]

This is part of why I love Obsidian, personally. I can shove thoughts in my phone as MD files, stored in the cloud, and link them up if I'm reminded of something else I'd thought of earlier. (I get that writing by hand has a lot of benefits, but personally I suck at it to the point where it just discourages me from actually writing anything down...)

[Yesica]

It makes me happy that people still write things by hand!
I never heard of commonplace books until just a few years ago when I learned it from Booktube.
I used to journal all the time. Once computers came along, I got to the point where writing by hand could no longer keep up with my thoughts. I "think" through typing now, which... is not he best thing in the world. I do need to get back to writing by hand. Unfortunately, I also do a ton of typing for work, which leaves my hands too tired for writing. We'll see how it goes. I do miss writing!

[ssoykoke]

Hi!
I stumbled upon your channel while looking for a coherent explanation on how to process the information we get from reading a book, watching a YouTube video, listening to a podcast... Your way of explaining things is clear and straightforward. You've clarified some recurring thoughts I've had about this topic for years. However, the internet is full of "oracles" that make us believe in a too complex standard of organization.

I wanted to congratulate you on this first video. Of course, I’ve already subscribed to your channel. I’ve been writing a personal diary for a while now, and I like the idea of adding any relevant information for me, including my drawings (I’m an illustrator), and most importantly, having moments to reread what I’ve written.

Cheers
👍

[romeoaranjon]

Great video. I’m trying to start a commonplace book myself but find them too complicated to keep up with. I like your approach at keeping it simple.

[cecilereyna]

I've watched a lot of videos about commonplacing and they're too much, the same with journaling videos. I appreciate your system, simplicity is always better.

[bergere]

I love this concept. How do you come up with the passage title? Thanks!

[josephcannaday]

What book were you reading in Spanish in the B-roll?

[cadestuart]

When you say passage title, what are you referring to? Is that a one sentence summary to remind you of what the main idea is at a glance?

[ivana_dicarlo_]

It seems to me that with this method I need to remember things already to make it work. How do you look for something you've noted before?

[JohnDcatholic]

Really old-school to handwrite. Better to use a notebook computer by your side so you can retrieve, revise, expand, and use your notes elsewhere.