I think I've found *my* notebook: Piccadilly, large, plain.

[Marko Kloos]

After spending a hojillion bucks on a variety of nice paper to find one that really fits, I think I've finally found The One.

 

<drum roll>

 

It's the Piccadilly large plain notebook, available at Borders for the stunningly low price of $5.99. I bought one yesterday, tried it with my favorite fountain pens, and immediately heard that angelic choir in the background. Today I went back to my local Borders and scooped up three more of the same. I think I'll have them order a case for me next, just to make sure I have a good supply.

 

Now, over the last few weeks, I've ordered and tried out all the heavy hitters: Clairefontaine (bought sixteen lined 5 3/4x 8 1/4 notebooks off eBay), Rhodia (bought a half dozen lined 5.8" x 8.3" No. 16 pads), and Moleskine (bought one of the large lined journals a few months ago before they started carrying the Piccadilly brand.) They're all lovely and nice to write on, but the Piccadilly has them all beat, at least for my purposes.

 

The Piccadilly is just about the size of a composition book, which I find to be the perfect size for writing. The Clairefontaines have lovely paper and a very sturdy binding, but they're just a bit too small for me. The Rhodias share the same size, and they have a margin line that's too generous. (At five cents a sheet, I don't want to see a margin that takes up 1/3 of the page.) The Moleskines are okay, but they're probably the priciest notebooks per sheet.

 

The Piccadilly is reasonably priced, and takes fountain pen ink well without feathering or bleed-through. The paper is a creamy sort of eggshell color, and the texture is a bit on the toothy side, but pleasantly so. It kind of feels like scratching sentences onto parchment, and it makes me want to write just to hear that scritchity-scritch on the page. The size is perfect, the elastic to hold the notebook closed is very handy, and the whole thing has enough pages for 120,000 words. (My handwriting comes out to 250 words per page, and the lack of show-through and bleed-through means I can use both sides of the page without worries.)

 

All in all, consider me sold. These are great notebooks, offering most of the Moleskine features in a much cheaper package (and in a bigger form factor). I think I'll buy a ton of these before they either discontinue them, or jack up the price.

 

Now I need to figure out what to do with all those Clairefontaines I bought...

Edited February 2, 2009 by Marko Kloos

[Beardy]

Send them to me?

 

Beggary aside, glad to hear you've found the *right* notebook for you! I still haven't tried a Piccadilly, I'll have to check my Borders again.

Edited February 2, 2009 by Beardy

[Ghost Plane]

Or send them to me. The size is perfect for my needs.

[rcannonp]

I like the paper in the Piccadilly notebooks, but the construction is pretty shoddy. In the two that I have bought, there are bubbles in the cover and holes punched in the wrong places. The bookmark came out of my large one on the first day that I had it, and the block has started to separate from the cover, which was only lightly glued along the edges.

[blackranger63]

Very good find, great buy. I am also fond of the brand. They work for me in plain and the 5x8 lined. Nice indeed!

[Newtown]

Actually, I bought a medium Piccadilly at Borders in Allen, Texas yesterday for 5 bucks...only one they had...but it works like a dream.

Edited February 5, 2009 by Newtown

[Arobow]

I know Borders is SUPER cheap (especially if you catch the Picadilly wave when they issue coupons) but if you buy in bulk online, they have discounts and actually just sent out an extra 15% off with the code: hokusai

 

I'm not sure if the blackcover discount still works or not but in case it doesn't and you KNOW you like their notebooks (I doubt the shipping will be worth it if you just want to try it) it's worth considering.

[Ghost Plane]

Wanders off to check the latest Borders coupon

[tlaine]

I was looking at the Piccadilly website and ran across these: http://www.piccadillyinc.com/products_notebooks.php

 

Are these the ones you are refering to? Wow, their pictures of them and the art images depicting them look exactly like Moleskines, I'm more than a little surprised. I'm going to have to see about getting one to try.

[Ghost Plane]

Hmmm. Discounts for orders of 10 or more. This could be addictive! :hmm1:

[Marko Kloos]

Yeah, they do try hard to make them look just like Moleskines, right down to the colored paper strip wrapped around the waist--they have the same colors as their Moleskine counterparts.

 

But hey, they work, and they're much more affordable on my writing budget. I just picked up two more large unlined ones and one small lined, for a grand total of $13 after the coupon. A single Moleskine in the large size (which only has a soft cover, and 192 pages to the Piccadilly's 240) costs $19.99 at the same Borders. That's a no-brainer for me.

 

I now have a half dozen large Piccadillys for writing projects. I get 250 words onto a page on average in those, and with 240 pages, that's 120k words per notebook, enough for a whole novel. These are exactly what I needed, at a price I can justify to myself.

[vermillionpart4]

First let me say i love my piccadilly notebook but I am surprised that people think the paper is better than moleskine. In my experience it's about the same as moleskine. Oh well, enjoy!

[David III]

Yet another wandering off to check the coupon.....

[inkypete]

Mods - please close this thread now and delete as it disciminates against us Aussies as Piccadilly won't ship to Australia. They have appointed an agent but they don't answer their emails and I believe stock is months away. Only fair thing to do is to remove this agonising teasing now!

 

Might have to ask a US FPN friend to post me a stash...............

Edited February 6, 2009 by inkypete

[fierdog]

I too found the super cheap Picadilly's at borders. Great little moleskin knockoffs. About the same quality, much lower price

[tlaine]

Gah, I went to two Borders, one in Plano and one in Allen TX. Walked all over the stores... Found nothing! Haha I guess others beat me to them. Any idea when they might restock? =)

[jesse]

My local Borders are also out of stock, so I emailed Piccadilly directly. Here's Elizabeth's reply:

 

Hi Jesse,

 

"They have reordered, and are stocked in some stores and out in others at this point. I suggest calling Borders locations first to save the trouble of driving from store to store. You may wish to let the store know that these are categorized as Bargain books (due top the low price) and to check clearance or bargain journal section.

...

Best regards,

 

Elizabeth"

 

Many Borders stores went out-of-stock a few weeks ago, and they are just now reordering. I think stores in the New England area still have stock today, but Midwest and maybe West Coast are out of luck for now. Just have to wait for them to restock.

[tlaine]

Thank you so much Jesse for checking with Piccadilly =D

[Ghost Plane]

[kookychick]

Thanks for the update, jesse! Now I don't have to hoard them (as much )!