Jump to content

Fancy Or Cheap Notebooks For Journalling?


Pussinboots

Recommended Posts

Happy New Year all! Which do you prefer? I love fancy notebooks like Paperblanks but they seem too precious to write on when I want to rant and get it all out of my system, I find cheap pads OK for that but then they are not the same to keep and look back on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 35
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Pussinboots

    5

  • Studio97

    4

  • Ghost Plane

    3

  • Yaakova

    3

How about something in between? Red n black have fountain pen friendly paper but are relatively inexpensive.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How about something in between? Red n black have fountain pen friendly paper but are relatively inexpensive.

+1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've heard the Midori Traveler's Notebook refills make great "catch-all" journals. The refills without the cover come pretty inexpensive and are said to handle fountain pens well.

Sometimes I'll pull out a notebook and write down total nonsense just because I love to feel a pen move across a page.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your replies. I have looked at Black and Red but there doesn't seem to be a lot of pages in them. I also like somewhere to store mementos so like a back pocket if possible. Just out of interest how do you store mementos? I like them in my journal but to paste them onto the pages would take up too much space I feel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, you have hit on one of the three considerations for me, durability. I have been dong this since the early 1970's and those soft bound newsprint,. (bleep) paper units have not weathered the years (and moves) well and they are a pain to store. For that reason alone I gravitate to bound books. Another significant consideration for me is paper quality, here's how that plays into the decision: Your writing can be a series of wooden words strung together with dots at the end to signify the end of a complete thought. at other times they words can flutter up off the page and into your brain to form striking images (beautiful, horrific, inspiring). What makes the difference? For me it is all about the muse, and I have found that even or perhaps especially on those days when my muse has a hangover, or run off with a dashing gypsy guitarist for a weekend fling, it helps for me to have as much in place as possible to make writing more pleasurable. A pen that skips,a desk or chair that contributes a crook in my back, or headache lighting all conspire to effect my mood, and consciously or otherwise I think these things influence what it left on the page at the end of the session. Enter the paper consideration. I choose paper which takes the ink well, allows the pen to glide effortlessly across the page, does not bleed or feather, in short paper which contributes to a pleasant writing experience. Because I tend to be hard on loose pages, I like a sturdy portable form, something I can write on in a coffee shop or on a park bench.

 

My current favorite paper is Tomoe River and my favorite form is the Design Y journal by Hiroshi Yoshino. Yoshino-san is a master craftsman and his journals are equal parts functional product and works of art. Enter the third consideration (one you have already referenced) cost: After I finished my first Design Y journal I was torn between two concerns, cost and aesthetic. I decided after some time that I cold not afford to continue to write in Design Y journals exclusively, they are just a little too expensive for my budget. I may live to regret that decision, What's that old expression?: life is too short to write on (bleep) paper? Anyway, looking for an alternative I came upon The Writer by Nanami Paper. This journal hits all the high spots for me, and though it leans more toward function than art, it does serve my needs very well. I hope these things will be around for a long time because I would be pleased to use them for the rest of my life. This is not a cheap, or 'economy' option but for me it is a good value. Consider or intentions, with an eye to the long game;If like me your writing needs all the support you can provide, and if you think yo0ur choice of journal might have some subtle but positive effect on your writing, and if you think you may be thumbing through your old journals in 30 or 40 years, I suspect that you will not regret the fact that you chose to write in a more expensive journal way back in the 'teens', because, you know, life is too short to write on (bleep) paper.

 

Regardless, keep writing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've started using an ARC notebook from Staples. It's a (much) cheaper system than the Levenger Circa notebooks, and the paper takes fountain pen ink better than Circa.

 

http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr37/yaakovashoshana/FPN/IMAG0411.jpg

 

http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr37/yaakovashoshana/FPN/IMAG0410.jpg

"Don't be humble, you're not that great." Golda Meir

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, you have hit on one of the three considerations for me, durability. I have been dong this since the early 1970's and those soft bound newsprint,. (bleep) paper units have not weathered the years (and moves) well and they are a pain to store. For that reason alone I gravitate to bound books. Another significant consideration for me is paper quality, here's how that plays into the decision: Your writing can be a series of wooden words strung together with dots at the end to signify the end of a complete thought. at other times they words can flutter up off the page and into your brain to form striking images (beautiful, horrific, inspiring). What makes the difference? For me it is all about the muse, and I have found that even or perhaps especially on those days when my muse has a hangover, or run off with a dashing gypsy guitarist for a weekend fling, it helps for me to have as much in place as possible to make writing more pleasurable. A pen that skips,a desk or chair that contributes a crook in my back, or headache lighting all conspire to effect my mood, and consciously or otherwise I think these things influence what it left on the page at the end of the session. Enter the paper consideration. I choose paper which takes the ink well, allows the pen to glide effortlessly across the page, does not bleed or feather, in short paper which contributes to a pleasant writing experience. Because I tend to be hard on loose pages, I like a sturdy portable form, something I can write on in a coffee shop or on a park bench.

 

My current favorite paper is Tomoe River and my favorite form is the Design Y journal by Hiroshi Yoshino. Yoshino-san is a master craftsman and his journals are equal parts functional product and works of art. Enter the third consideration (one you have already referenced) cost: After I finished my first Design Y journal I was torn between two concerns, cost and aesthetic. I decided after some time that I cold not afford to continue to write in Design Y journals exclusively, they are just a little too expensive for my budget. I may live to regret that decision, What's that old expression?: life is too short to write on (bleep) paper? Anyway, looking for an alternative I came upon The Writer by Nanami Paper. This journal hits all the high spots for me, and though it leans more toward function than art, it does serve my needs very well. I hope these things will be around for a long time because I would be pleased to use them for the rest of my life. This is not a cheap, or 'economy' option but for me it is a good value. Consider or intentions, with an eye to the long game;If like me your writing needs all the support you can provide, and if you think yo0ur choice of journal might have some subtle but positive effect on your writing, and if you think you may be thumbing through your old journals in 30 or 40 years, I suspect that you will not regret the fact that you chose to write in a more expensive journal way back in the 'teens', because, you know, life is too short to write on (bleep) paper.

 

Regardless, keep writing.

 

This hits the nail on the head, thank you. I do want notebooks that I can keep for years and look back on. The cheaper ones are fine for writing rants on but they are not sturdy as time goes on and easily get dog eared, especially when carried around (like spiral notebooks coming apart).

 

I am currently writing in a Paperblanks Midi (Amy Winehouse), I have a Marilyn Monroe notebook lined up for when that is full. I have two more notebooks I have been bought as present, one with cats on, the other with butterflies. All these books reflect my personality. The butterfly one I might exchange if I can as my friend bought me an A4 size and I like A5 or a bit smaller, she said I can swap if I like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try the Clairefontaine Basic Large Clothbound Notebook. A5ish in size (a bit wider). About $8.50 on amazon. Feels a lot like writing in a Rhoda webbie without the cost. Use the savings to buy/make a nice custom cover.

 

I use it for my rants.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're in England (at least that's what your flag says), so have a look at Nu:Elite notebooks. Solid, rugged, lots of pages and very FP friendly.

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started out with "pretty" journals. The paper wasn't always so good. And after a while when they started to pile up (which happens when you're writing 3 pages every day), they didn't pack well -- particularly the ones that had clasps or were spiral bound. I had some hardbound ones that were nice, but then I couldn't get them after a while. Now I use the medium size Miquelrius leather look journals with 300 pages, which are very plain, but the paper is pretty FP friendly.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have and still use Red n Black, Moleskine, Midori, paper blanks, Arc, Clairfontaine and Leuchtturm and others. Years ago I used cheap paper and comp books. The paper is deteriorating. Never again. So for the last 15+ years I use better quality notebooks. Acid free is preferred. One with a skull on the cover touted lasting 500 years with proper storage. Most of these brands I have stockpiled. I do prefer notebooks under 250 pages or even around 150 as I like to complete a note book sooner so I can move on to another different notebook and not become tired of one if I feel like I've been working in it for several months. Fountain pen friendly is preferred but I use all kinds of pens. Currently using Midori. Strangely TUL pens do not write well in it. In general pay the higher price or look for sales on quality notebooks as I do. Just keep writing.

Edited by Studio97
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've started using an ARC notebook from Staples. It's a (much) cheaper system than the Levenger Circa notebooks, and the paper takes fountain pen ink better than Circa.

 

http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr37/yaakovashoshana/FPN/IMAG0411.jpg

 

http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr37/yaakovashoshana/FPN/IMAG0410.jpg

 

I second the ARC notebooks. I have a few of them now, each for a different application, and I love them. I've even bought the paper punch. Working as I do, in a print shop, I have access to all kinds of paper and was able to purchase a few reams of 28 lb. copy bond. It's very fp friendly and I've printed some of it up with lines to use in my ARC notebooks. I've also made small, carry along notebooks with it.

Your life is the result of the choices you make. If you don’t like your life, it’s time to start making better choices.


- unknown -


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Arc: I'm all about sale prices. I bought 13 of those with the leather cover and paper in them for $5.00 a piece. I really like the paper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just want it to be:

 

1) Fountain pen friendly

2) Lay flat or be bound at the top. I hate writing into a gutter that has wirebinding or the pages from the opposite side keep trying to close up on me.

3) Not too many pages that makes writing on the edge of the paper difficult

4) Lined

5) small enough to be able to fit into a bag to take along while traveling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I buy cheap A4 wire bound notebooks for £0.75 for 80 sheets(160 pages). Although it''s not quite as good as Rhodia it doesn't bleed through or feather and it's going to be thrown out anyway, so it doesn't matter much.

Edited by Bluey
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the ARC calendars/notebooks, but they're too bulky to stack for journals. I use them for conferences and courses.

 

I'm curious why people don't go ahead and rant in their regular journal?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do my ranting and everything else in my regular journal, though I am ranting less than I used to. I suppose a kind of serenity comes with age.

"Don't be humble, you're not that great." Golda Meir

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...