Comments on: Commonplaces http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/ "Hitch your wagon to a star." —Ralph Waldo Emerson Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:53:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0 by: Ben http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/#comment-75806 Tue, 27 May 2008 04:06:46 +0000 http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/#comment-75806 Thanks for sharing. Thanks for sharing.

]]> by: Donna Goff http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/#comment-75010 Tue, 20 May 2008 20:27:07 +0000 http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/#comment-75010 I have over 35 MEADS of Annotations on Books I have read and Lectures attended. I got the idea of a commonplace book from my 6th great grandmother, Margaret Lewis she kept one. I like the computer, but my laptop is more portable. I like my laptop, but this old woman has a Dell Inspiron 9300 a 17 inch screen, easier to see the screen without my glasses. This is portable to take my grad work to the library or when I speak at conferences. I have a car jack and can use it on long trips, if I have another driver. The Dell is not light, and I prefer to take the MEAD on local jaunts, as I do not have to worry about my long life battery not lasting and having to find an outlet. I also have a portable tri-fold book mark that I can slip into a book and keep notes on when I do not want to carry the MEAD. The tri-fold can be slipped into the book and the book into my purse. I can hole punch the tri-fold and put it into a binder later. I use all of the above for different purposes. I have a log of where my notes are: * in the book (yes I argue in the pages and make annotations in the book). * on a trifold * in a MEAD * on the computer (this I use when i read online as I can cut and paste the quote instead of writing it out. I have over 35 MEADS of Annotations on Books I have read and Lectures attended.

I got the idea of a commonplace book from my 6th great grandmother, Margaret Lewis she kept one.

I like the computer, but my laptop is more portable.

I like my laptop, but this old woman has a Dell Inspiron 9300 a 17 inch screen, easier to see the screen without my glasses. This is portable to take my grad work to the library or when I speak at conferences. I have a car jack and can use it on long trips, if I have another driver.

The Dell is not light, and I prefer to take the MEAD on local jaunts, as I do not have to worry about my long life battery not lasting and having to find an outlet.

I also have a portable tri-fold book mark that I can slip into a book and keep notes on when I do not want to carry the MEAD. The tri-fold can be slipped into the book and the book into my purse. I can hole punch the tri-fold and put it into a binder later.

I use all of the above for different purposes. I have a log of where my notes are:
* in the book (yes I argue in the pages and make annotations in the book).
* on a trifold
* in a MEAD
* on the computer (this I use when i read online as I can cut and paste the quote instead of writing it out.

]]> by: Donna Goff http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/#comment-75005 Tue, 20 May 2008 20:05:14 +0000 http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/#comment-75005 I have kept commonplace books for a long time. I prefer to use classic MEAD black and white composition books. I use it as I read to write down things I want to remember and comment on what I read, argue or agree with the author. I by them in August when they are cheap! They are sewn and hold together and they are lined. I also keep a nature notebook or nature journal ( as promoted by Charlotte Mason and Edith Holden), as I am an artist. There are two convenient margins in MEAD books and they serve me well. On the inside margin near the stitching I write the page number from the work I am read from which, the quote has been extracted. On the outside margin I put my code: Cross for Religion Flag for Government Lightbulb for an AHA House for Home, Family, and Parenting $ for Finance Schoolhouse for education You get the idea. I can, at a glance find what I need. A friend also taught me to take a color felt tip down the edge of the first page of each of notes and annotations of the work I am annotating. I can quickly extract and compile everything that I recorded on any main topic. I have kept commonplace books for a long time. I prefer to use classic MEAD black and white composition books. I use it as I read to write down things I want to remember and comment on what I read, argue or agree with the author. I by them in August when they are cheap! They are sewn and hold together and they are lined. I also keep a nature notebook or nature journal ( as promoted by Charlotte Mason and Edith Holden), as I am an artist.

There are two convenient margins in MEAD books and they serve me well. On the inside margin near the stitching I write the page number from the work I am read from which, the quote has been extracted. On the outside margin I put my code:
Cross for Religion
Flag for Government
Lightbulb for an AHA
House for Home, Family, and Parenting
$ for Finance
Schoolhouse for education
You get the idea.

I can, at a glance find what I need. A friend also taught me to take a color felt tip down the edge of the first page of each of notes and annotations of the work I am annotating. I can quickly extract and compile everything that I recorded on any main topic.

]]> by: Ben http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/#comment-74703 Fri, 16 May 2008 19:20:41 +0000 http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/#comment-74703 Good point. Personally, I think I'll still use a paper notebook, primarily because I'm a Romantic and all :), but also because I'm not quite so interested in immediately finding the quote I'm looking for. I don't mind getting lost in my notebook. :) (Besides, you can mark things to help you find them.) But of course that's all easier on the computer. :) Good point. Personally, I think I’ll still use a paper notebook, primarily because I’m a Romantic and all :), but also because I’m not quite so interested in immediately finding the quote I’m looking for. I don’t mind getting lost in my notebook. :) (Besides, you can mark things to help you find them.) But of course that’s all easier on the computer. :)

]]> by: George http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/#comment-73683 Thu, 08 May 2008 20:51:26 +0000 http://www.topofthemountains.net/2008/05/08/commonplaces/#comment-73683 Great post. I actually do this myself- take down thoughts I have and quotes etc. I have filled 2 moleskins before and on my third one I got to thinking. Even though it's fun and convenient (kept it in my backpack), it took great pains to search through each page for a quote I wanted and by the time you get to your second or third commonplace book you forget what you wrote down in your first one! That's why I've copied my thoughts to a COMPUTER page- won't get lost (backup files), always legible, able to go back and add more after the fact, and very searchable (I use OneNote2007 and it's fantastic). Great post. I actually do this myself- take down thoughts I have and quotes etc. I have filled 2 moleskins before and on my third one I got to thinking. Even though it’s fun and convenient (kept it in my backpack), it took great pains to search through each page for a quote I wanted and by the time you get to your second or third commonplace book you forget what you wrote down in your first one! That’s why I’ve copied my thoughts to a COMPUTER page- won’t get lost (backup files), always legible, able to go back and add more after the fact, and very searchable (I use OneNote2007 and it’s fantastic).

]]>