Commonplace book booklet to print and fold, with a theme index and refill

This commonplace book booklet is printed at home and folded into a 20 page quote journal with an index by theme and 16 numbered places for quotes, along with a small 8 page refill. The sheets come ready in saddle stitch order, laid out in landscape, so you print two-sided, fold the pile down the middle and staple it. The 17 page PDF comes in US Letter, with Half Letter booklet pages of 5.5 x 8.5 in, and in A4, with A5 booklet pages of 148 x 210 mm. Instant download, nothing is shipped.

Read slowly, copy by hand, and watch your own collection of wisdom take shape.

How the commonplace book booklet turns quotes into conversations

A commonplace book is where you gather the lines worth keeping, and folded this way it stays thin enough to tuck inside whatever you are reading. Each entry has room for the passage itself, its author or speaker, where you read it and on which page, a theme or two and a few lines of reply, so every quote turns into a small exchange with the writer rather than a plain copy.

Entries carry numbers from 01 to 16, and the theme key and index help you find every line on courage, grief or wonder again in moments. Pages for ideas, favorite words, two pages of book notes, a longer passage and threads that link entries complete it. Once it is full, print the refill mini booklet or start a fresh copy.

Who this quote journal is for

• Readers who mark up their books and fold down corners and want one spot for the lines that stuck
• Writers and students who gather words, phrases and passages to learn from
• Anyone who already keeps a full size commonplace book and wants a slim folded version for a bag or bedside table
• People who enjoy slow, handwritten journaling with a clear structure and an index by theme

Design and printing

• Calm, minimal pages in white with soft blush pink touches that need very little ink
• Wide margins, so nothing is lost on a home printer
• On US Letter, the booklet pages are Half Letter size (5.5 by 8.5 inches), two on each side of a landscape sheet. On A4, they are A5 (148 by 210 mm), two on each side. The order is already set for saddle stitching and there is no cutting
• Undated, so you can begin at any point in the year
• Pink marks show where to fold, inside pages are numbered and the center spread shows where staples go
• A numbered map, sheet by sheet, shows which booklet pages print back to back
• Print at 100% or Actual size in landscape. Send each booklet as one two-sided job flipping on the short edge, keep the sheets in order, fold the pile on the pink marks and add two staples along the fold. Plain paper of 80 to 90 gsm folds most neatly. Page 3 holds the sheet map and steps

Inside the commonplace book booklet: 17 pages

1. 1Cover with contents and a short introduction to both booklets
2. 2Printing help: a table of both booklets with their PDF pages and sheets, how the sheets fit together, two-sided settings, a tip to test one sheet, manual duplex steps and a box to note your printer settings
3. 3A guide to imposition and two-sided printing: a front and back map of the main booklet's 5 sheets, the order of the refill pages, five steps (print, stack, fold, staple, check), and advice for stapling with an ordinary stapler and for heavier paper
4. 4 to 13The main journal, 20 pages across 5 sheets. A cover (kept from, belongs to) leads to a getting started page with four habits: write it out by hand, say where it came from, give it a theme and respond to it. A key lists 12 themes (wisdom, love, courage, nature, work, creativity, joy, grief, home, time, kindness, wonder), each with a circle for your own mark, plus a spot for the places you find quotes. The index has 20 rows linking each theme to entry numbers and pages. Eight pages carry two numbered entries apiece, sixteen altogether, each with 5 lines for the words, then the author, the book or source, the page, themes and 3 lines for your reflection. After that: four idea boxes asking what sparked each one and where it might lead; a list of 15 favorite words or phrases with meaning and source, plus lines that are lovely spoken aloud; a two page book review (title, author, finish date, which entries came from it, 6 key ideas, 7 passages with page numbers, what to hold on to, links to other ideas, where you disagree and one change you will make); a page for a long excerpt (author, source, 21 lines and your reason for copying it); a threads page tying entries together over 13 rows, with 4 questions they raise; one lined page, one dot grid page and a closing page with 13 lines of things to research or read and a checklist before beginning the next booklet
5. 14 to 17The small refill, 8 pages over 2 sheets: a cover for the season and owner, an index of 10 rows (entry number, the opening words, theme, and where you came across it), 5 pages with two entries each, ten in total, laid out like the main journal with a blank number line so your count continues, and a final page for words and notes

What you download

• Folded Commonplace Booklet, US Letter PDF, 17 pages
• Folded Commonplace Booklet, A4 PDF, 17 pages
• Read Me First, a short guide to printing (PDF)

How to download and print

• Check out with PayPal, a debit or credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Your download page opens as soon as the payment goes through.
• We email the same private download links to you, so you can download your files again later.
• Open the PDF in a free reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader and print at 100% or Actual size.
• Print only the pages you need, as often as you like, for your own personal use.

Good to know

• This is a PDF to print on both sides and fold into booklets, not a hyperlinked digital journal. Paper, a cover and a stapler are not included, and no quotes are printed inside, so every entry is yours to write.
• This is a digital download. Nothing physical will be shipped.
• Colors on paper may look slightly different from your screen.
• For your own use only. Please keep the files private and do not resell or pass them on.
• Digital files cannot be returned. If a file does not open or print correctly, email us and we will help right away.
• Each printer aligns the back of a sheet slightly differently, so test the first sheet on plain paper before printing a whole booklet.
• The handwriting shown in the photos uses public domain quotes and made-up lines.

How this was made

Designed and written by PetiteDiary. AI tools helped draft parts of the text, and some background scenes in the preview images were created with AI. Every page was designed, reviewed and checked before release.

Questions about the commonplace book booklet

Related searches