What is a Commonplace Book?

I suppose I should explain the name of this blog. A commonplace book is, or was a sort of notebook or scrapbook kept by writers, scientists, and humanists around the time of the renaissance.  I was first introduced to the concept of a commonplace book while reading “A Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket, to my children. Several of the characters kept commonplace books in which they would write in clues to help solve the mysteries that surrounded them. According to the Wikipedia article I linked to above, some writers see blogs as a modern-day version of a commonplace book. So, this is my commonplace book.