One of the structural elements of an early printed book is the gathering, the folded sheet of paper that makes up the text block, wherein several of them are bundled and sewn together. Books are created and marked by other acts of gathering. These include gathering pieces of information, such as personal recipe books, or excerpts from the works of classical authors organized by different subject headings, such as a commonplace book. All kinds of books offer a means for channeling the impulse to bring previously disparate things together to form a whole, both through their construction and their textual content.