• It was popularized in the Industrial Revolution.
  • Modern readers tend to follow a book from start to finish.
  • Earlier, people used to jump from book to book a lot.
  • They used to transcribe what they read into notebooks.
  • Reading and writing went hand in hand.

Instead of consuming ever-greater amounts of content, we could take on a more patient, thoughtful approach that favors rereading, reformulating, and working through the implications of ideas over time.

A digital equivalent of a commonplace book is a Second Brain.