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vgriff
book-related blog

One of my many creative obsessions is commonplace books. A commonplace book is a collection of knowledge. It's a journal filled with everything from quotations, observations, and citations to formulas, facts, and figures–anything that’s worth remembering from anything one has read, heard, or seen. In a way it is a scrapbook, commemorating and keeping track of the things we have learned and the places we have been, figuratively or literally, via the media that passes through our lives: books, articles, poems, movies, songs, blogs, and so on. Commonplace books are kept by readers, writers, scholars, and students of schools and of life. 

I keep a blog about commonplace books, reading, and writing with my good friend Elise Vaz over at thecommonplace.net.

most recently read books

Dept. of Speculation
Single, Carefree, Mellow: Stories
Dept. of Speculation
Single, Carefree, Mellow: Stories
Crow Fair: Stories
Gorge: My Journey Up Kilimanjaro at 300 Pounds
What Comes Next and How to Like It: A Memoir
Lonely Planet Banff, Jasper and Glacier National Parks
British Columbia & the Canadian Rockies
Black River
The Folded Clock: A Diary
Crow Fair: Stories
Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment
Migratory Animals: A Novel
Still Alice
enLIGHTened: How I Lost 40 Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle Pointer
Life is a Wheel: Love, Death, Etc., and a Bike Ride Across America
The Nightingale
The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing
Not My Father's Son


Vicky Griffith's favorite books »

I turned 40 years old in 2013. To celebrate, I counted down my 40 favorite books, outright stealing a brilliant idea from my good friend Daphne Durham. As I drafted them I realized that more than examples of beautiful writing (although there is much of that, too) the books I love tend to be catalysts for memories of the particular place, time, or best of all, the person or people I was with when I first read them. I'd love to hear about your top books, too, especially if we share any favorites.

My top 40 @ 40

Emergency Sex (And Other Desperate Measures): True Stories from a War Zone
The Gold Cell
Carrie
A Map of the World
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
Your Blues Ain't Like Mine
Caught Stealing
The Night Circus
Angela's Ashes
On Writing
This Is How You Lose Her
Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen
A Million Little Pieces
The Fault in Our Stars
Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends
Selected Poems
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Steve Jobs
Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time
East of the Mountains


Vicky Griffith's favorite books »

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