Things I got wrong about keeping a commonplace book

June 4, 2026 · 2 min read

Most problems with libraries turn out to be problems with time. Every reading list says as much about the reader as the books. A good library card is the cheapest luxury there is. If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you.

Closing thoughts

Short books are not lesser books; frequently they are the opposite. Thanks for reading, and for the generous notes that keep arriving. Every autumn I revisit the same questions about reading lists.

Translations are a conversation between two writers and a reader. Good essays is chiefly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. Between rereading and reading aloud, the second one taught me more.

A note on tools

I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. I altered my mind about libraries twice while writing this. A friend once described letters as quiet work, and the phrase stuck. Nothing here requires a library card, though it does make things easier.

I read it once fast and once gradually, and they were different books. The difference showed up gradually, then all at once. Half of the work is deciding what to leave out.

I tried the quiet version first. It did not last. I wrote most of this on a quiet Friday morning. I would rather do one thing carefully than five things fast. It is not glamorous, but it holds up. There is no single right way to approach reading gradually, but some ways are kinder than others.

Before and after

What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed. Modest, repeatable steps beat big plans almost every time. There is no single right way to approach keeping a commonplace book, but some ways are kinder than others. Here is what altered, and what stayed exactly the same.

I altered my mind about long books twice while writing this. Between keeping a commonplace book and rereading, the second one taught me more.