Definition. From The New Oxford American Dictionary:

com•mon•place book

Noun. a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

Motivation. From Paolo Pellegrin, in Ben Taub, “Paolo Pellegrin’s Photographic Quest for the Sublime”:

[I]f you’re not good enough, then you’re not reading enough.

Explanation. From Walter Benjamin, “What Is Epic Theater?”, in Illuminations: Essays and Reflections, translated by Harry Zohn:

[R]emember that interruption is one of the fundamental devices of all structuring. It goes far beyond the sphere of art. To give only one example, it is the basis of quotation. To quote a text involves the interruption of its context.

Disclaimer. Selections here do not necessarily reflect my own opinions.