My Commonplace Book: June 2026

A selection of quotes and pictures to represent June’s reading: commonplace book noun a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use. ~ ‘When you think about it, everyone’s life’s a prison – of days, sort of. The trick is to get comfortable in it, I reckon. Find your freedom inside whatever your prison is.’ A Far-flung Life by ML Stedman (2026) ~ ‘It wasn’t only a little she-cat I bought. It was the nobility of all cats, their infinite disinterestedness, their knowledge of how to live, their affinities with the highest type of humans.’ Gigi and The Cat by Colette (1933/1944) ~ “The Unicorn Purifies Water”, part of The Unicorn Tapestries c.1495–1505 (public domain) Anne said, “Common sense is an unkind master.” The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden (2026) ~ Just as a novel must contain ideas, so must a painting. A novel devoid of thought was mere entertainment and a painting bereft of ideas no better than caricature. She Walks at Night by Seishi…