Centuries ago, when books were rare, those who owned them would lend them to friends, who in turn would copy out passages they especially liked before returning the precious Book to its owner.
The result is as much the self-portrait of a sensibility as it is a collection of m.
Auden and Alec Guinness have kept them as well, recording phrases or passages that struck them as wise or witty or quirky.
H.
These anthologies came to be known as Commonplace Books, and modern writers as different as W.
Centuries ago, when books were rare, those who owned them would lend them to friends, who in turn would copy out passages they especially liked before returning the precious Book to its owner