Richard Katzev

In this book by psychologist Richard Katzev, he explores the history and types of commonplace book, which, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is "A book in which 'commonplaces' or passages important for reference were collected, usually under general heads; hence, a book in which one records passages or matters to be especially remembered or referred to, with or without arrangement." Because Katzev wanted to remember the great works of literature he has been reading, for the past twenty years or so he has been recording noteworthy literary passages that he came across in his reading.

As he points out, other than critics and others who actively value reader-response theory, "in most critical discussions of literature, the experience of the reader is virtually ignored, as literary scholars tend to dwell on the meaning of the text from various theoretical or cultural frameworks." In this book the author focuses on "the experience of readers, how literature enters their lives, and possibly changes them" and in the process examines his own literary experiences.

This book is notable, first of all, for the way it uses literary quotations to illustrate his points. Here are some examples:

Time was when readers kept commonplace books. Whenever they came across a pithy passage, they copied it into a notebook under an appropriate heading. . . . Reading and writing were therefore inseparable activities. They belonged to a continuous effort to make sense of things. —Robert Darnton

Advice is like snow; the softer it falls . . . the deeper it sinks into the mind.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Wisdom is learning what to overlook. —William James

To collect is to sympathize with art. To make one's own commonplace book is a good way to become a thinker—perhaps even a poet. —Gilbert Highet

At the breakfast table I always open the newspaper to the sports page first. The sports page records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but men's failures. —George Plimpton

He talks about powerful books and wonders whether their significance should be weighed by the number of quotations he records.

His reasons for keeping his commonplace book have evolved over the years.

Transcribing memorable passages from the books I read is how I become truly engaged with the book, engaged with the issues that are important to me at the time of my reading. . . .

Lately, I have begun to think of my commonplace book as a form of collecting; in my case, collecting ideas as well as clever or provocative expressions that stand apart from ordinary discourse and are, for that reason, worth preserving. . . .

Collecting ideas also has a number of distinct advantages compared to collecting most other objects—they cost next to nothing, they are easy to find, do not clutter up your closet, and don't require periodic repair or maintenance."

In deciding to write about his own commonplace book, his first thought was to analyze it for the purpose of gaining insights about himself. He is, after all, a psychologist. Upon looking into the matter further, he discovered that he was in good company in pursuing the tradition of commonplace books both historically and currently. He thus provides a survey of the literature, which includes examples of commonplace books published by Milton, Jefferson, E.M. Forster, W.H. Auden, among lesser luminary lights.

Of further interest is the fact that psychologist Katzev decided to conduct a survey of people who currently keep commonplace books by placing ads in the New York Review of Books and the Times Literary Supplement. His survey and its results are reported in the book.

Katzev's open self-analysis is fascinating because he reveals himself to be much like the rest of us. His investigations lead further to a recognition of the positive psychological effects of reading and writing about what we have read. He also shares with us his analysis of parts of his own commonplace book organized under topics like "Waiting for The New Yorker," "Journeying Through the Book," "Annotating Ian McEwan's Saturday," and perhaps most interesting of all, "Does Literature Change Lives?"

I would give this book 4 stars, and I should think it would be of interest to everyone who writes a literary blog or keeps a literary thread, notebook or journal—or even a commonplace book.… (more)