The Best Apps to Build a Digital Commonplace Book

In our information-filled world, the age-old practice of keeping a commonplace book (a personal collection of quotes, ideas, and insights) is more important than ever.

What Exactly is a Digital Commonplace Book?

Traditionally, a commonplace book was a simply a physical journal for recording thoughts, excerpts, and observations.

The problem is that those insights are usually left forgotten and collecting dust inside your notebooks.

Nowadays, digital versions serve the same fundamental purpose but enhance it with modern features like powerful search, auto imports, tagging, and easy access across devices.

These apps enable you to gather information from diverse sources and consolidate it into a personalized based, without the hassle of manually writing everything down.

A Practice Embraced by Notable Thinkers

The value of maintaining a commonplace book is evident in the habits of many influential figures throughout history:

• Marcus Aurelius: The Roman emperor’s Meditations essentially originated as his personal commonplace book, filled with reflections.
• Leonardo da Vinci: His famous notebooks functioned similarly, capturing a vast range of sketches, ideas, and observations.
• John Locke: The philosopher was a dedicated keeper of commonplace books and even published his method for organizing them in 1706.
• Virginia Woolf: The renowned author used her commonplace book to gather quotes and passages that fueled her creative work.
• Mark Twain: Known for his sharp insights, Twain kept a commonplace book to record ideas and observations.

Screvi

There are many apps that allow you to build a commonplace book, Screvi differentiates itself by concentrating on the core task of a commonplace book: capturing and revisiting meaningful content, particularly from reading.

Key Features of Screvi:

• Centralized Highlight Management: Import highlights from sources like Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Twitter, X Bookmarks, YouTube transcripts, and even scans of physical books into a single, searchable location.
• AI-Powered Semantic Search: Find saved highlights effectively, even if you don’t recall the exact wording, thanks to intelligent search technology.
• Daily Digest and Spaced Repetition: Receive daily email reminders featuring selected highlights, designed to reinforce memory and learning through spaced repetition principles.
• User-Friendly Interface: Review your highlights in a familiar, scrollable feed format, making the process of revisiting insights straightforward and engaging.

Screvi’s approach allows users to concentrate on the value of their collected content, instead of wasting time navigating complex software.

Comparing Screvi to Other Note-Taking Apps

Several popular applications can be adapted for use as digital commonplace books, but their broader scope might be more than needed for users focused primarily on collecting reading highlights:

• Notion: A highly versatile workspace that combines notes, databases, and project management. While adaptable for commonplacing, its extensive capabilities can be overwhelming if the main goal is simple highlight curation.
• Obsidian: A powerful markdown-based tool focused on linking notes and visualizing connections. Excellent for intricate knowledge management, but potentially excessive for basic commonplace book needs. Can become overwhelming for non-technical users.
• Evernote: A long-standing app for web clipping, document scanning, and note organization. Its robust feature set is valuable, but might offer more functionality than required for solely managing reading notes and quotes.

If you tried Notion or Obsidian before but felt like you spent more time organizing your database than taking advantage of it, Screvi might be for you.

Conclusion

Either your go digital or the old school route, having a commonplace book is a valuable asset for anyone looking to organize their thoughts, inspirations, and knowledge effectively.

Ready to start? Give Screvi a try!