Obsession
I have a somewhat unnatural, although not very surprising, obsession with notebooks. And while it is perfectly natural for a person who calls herself a writer to be interested in notebooks and their various properties, it isn’t natural for her to spend a great amount of time thinking about, and writing about, her notebooks. But I do. What can I say?
Currently, I am using notebooks by Clairefontaine. Clairefontaine is the only notebook maker that I know of that makes their own paper. In fact, they’re more of a paper manufacturer who has branched out into making notebooks. Lovely notebooks, to be sure. But the paper. Oh my god, the paper. I could sleep on this paper, it’s so soft. Which is a plus if you’re like me and you spend a lot of time writing in your notebook, and with inferior paper, the side of your hand that rubs along the paper as you write gets all red and shiny and annoyed. This does not happen with Clairefontaine paper. I’m using these notebooks for my journal right now:
I’m actually not a big fan of wire-bound notebooks, but these are too pretty. They have plastic covers in which real dried flowers are embedded. This is a bad picture, actually. I have them in many different colors and designs and I have a hard time picking which to use next. That’s because I’m a fucking whack-job.
I use these notebooks for working on my novel:
They’re very plain and have these black cardboard covers and cloth binding. They’re kinda like those composition notebooks you used to have to buy for English class in high school, only they cost six times as much. It’s the paper, though, I tell you! The paper! I can use any kind of ink, for god’s sake I could probably use a fucking Sharpie marker and the ink wouldn’t leak through to the other side. Which is the problem I had, and the ONLY problem I had with these:
I absolutely love the Moleskine notebook, and I’ve been using them for YEARS. They are, purportedly, the notebook of Hemingway and a bunch of other artsy-types. I bought my first one, a little pocket-sized one, at the Architecture Museum store in Chicago. They have these sturdy covers, so you can write on them anywhere and not have the notebook flopping around all over the place. They have a built-in bookmark ribbon to mark your place (because it seems to be oh-so-difficult to find the last place you wrote and the next blank page), and a handy pocket in the back for assorted scraps of crap. I had been using them for a while before I went back to grad school, and no one was using them then. I felt quite special. I have ten of the larger size on a table behind me, all completely filled with writing. But then the damn school bookstore started carrying them and now everyone has one. I can’t have that. And besides, the paper allows ink to leak through, which is a problem for me. So, with only one remaining of several that I’d ordered online, I’ve switched over to the Clairefontaine with the pretty flowers in the covers. The wire binding isn’t working for me, however, and something must be done.
The notebook I use for taking notes in class is this, also by Clairefontaine:
It has very hard covers, which makes it easier to take notes in the semi-circle, where we are not allowed to use the stupid flip-up desktop thing. And the multi-colored page edges make it easy for me to separate my classes, of which I only have two. I use the other two sections for writing nasty things about some of my classmates who annoy me.
If I could find a Moleskine notebook made with Clairefontaine paper, my life would be complete. I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s true.
For my daily to-do lists, I use this notebook, by Miquelrius:
Only, mine’s black and it is a 6, not a 4, meaning it has six sections of differently-colored edged paper instead of 4. I bought it on a whim and didn’t know what to do with it. It’s not as sturdily-bound as my big Clairefontaine notebook, so it’s useless for school notes, plus it’s smaller, maybe 4×6 or so. Maybe 5×8. I don’t know and I don’t feel like getting a ruler. The paper is nearly as nice as Clairefontaine paper, actually it really is equally soft and lovely. Each page has a block at the top in which I can write the date or a title or whatever, and along the side of the paper is the Miquelrius logo, and inexplicably, at the bottom of the page, is the words NOTE BOOK. Just in case I’d forgotten what the hell it was I was writing in. It’s also made in Spain, which means it’s cooler than other things not made in Spain. I use it for my daily to-do lists and my assignment lists because I didn’t know what the hell else to do with it. It has perforated pages, which rules out using it as a journal. I don’t want the option of removing an entry from my journal. I like, however, the option of removing a to-do list from a notebook once I’ve either completed or given up on ever completing all of the tasks in a list. If I find some other use for it, I can stop using it as a to-do list notebook and start using it for whatever the hell I’ve thought of.
Actually, I’m thinking that Miquelrius might make their own paper, too. But I don’t feel like checking into it.
Today, FedEx brought me this: (I told you, I have a problem)
It’s a Circa notebook by Levenger (www.levenger.com). My mother turned me on to these, and while I would never use it as a journal, because the pages are easily removable, it is very handy as a means of organizing my life. The paper is lovely, 60 lb. stuff, and it has a blank space on the left side for little scribbles or extra notes or what have you, two nice boxes at the top for a title and the date:
The nice thing about this notebook is that the paper is removable and put-back-in-able. Meaning, if you take some notes, and then you decide that note belongs in another section, or you go and try to organize your notes for some specific purpose I can’t think of right now, you can pull them out and then put them in another section. If the paper wears out, you spend a lot of money on some Levenger paper reinforcements. If you have a bunch of stuff, like, say, a syllabus or some handouts, that you would like to be part of your notebook, you spend $60+ on the Levenger Circa Notebook hole punch (which I’ll be requesting for Christmas). It’s customizable and reusable and I haven’t yet fully grasped how I’m going to use it. My current plan is to have different sections for the writing class I’ll be teaching on Saturdays to teenagers, the college kids I’ll be tutoring, the high school kid I’m going to tutor, the 5th grade class I’ll be teaching as part of my teaching class, and the writing classes I teach to 4th-8th graders on Saturdays and Sundays. Well, only Sundays this semester, as I’ve got this teenager thing going. (I’ll talk more about that in the coming weeks, it’s gonna be brutal and amazing all at the same time). I may keep a section of notes for the little mini-articles I’m going to write for the online college magazine. I don’t know yet. I think it would be perfect to keep track of research. I’ve got a book in the beginning phases concerning a hotel down in Florida that I love (or loved, it was torn down years ago), and have a lot of research to do for it. I guess I’ll just have to get another Levenger notebook for all that! Or, just use this one and use something else for all my teaching notes. I don’t know. It’s a quandary. One thing I like about the Levenger notebook is that it’s like a paper version of Microsoft OneNote, a program I have come to depend on, especially when doing research on the internet. Occasionally, my hand cramps from writing so much, and I feel like typing instead, so I journal in OneNote.
Ever on the hunt for perfection, I’ve decided to order some of these Miquelruis notebooks:
I’m not sure how it will go. I hesitate to order a notebook off the internet if I haven’t seen it with my own eyes and felt it with my hands. These have a leather-look plastic cover. I like the color options. I got bored with Moleskine’s black, and was always on the hunt for a colored Moleskine.
I may also order some of these, also Miquelrius:
They have a Moleskine look, but are called Flexible Notebooks. I can’t tell from the description if Flexible refers to the cover (which it does, I assume) or the fact that the notebook can be flexible in use. It also comes in red.
Now that I’ve ordered them, I realize it was a mistake. A mistake because I still have several pages left in my current journal, and two blank notebooks remaining, waiting to be filled.
And, I’m beginning to be concerned that this change in notebook choice is going to wreak havoc on my bookshelf. Whereas, at the moment, or at least until I pulled them all off the shelf to read through them, all of my filled Moleskine notebooks lined up neatly on the shelf and looked very, well, neat. Now I’m going to have all kinds of weird white wire bindings sticking out, and some strange red pleatherette stuff. I don’t know what I’m going to do.
Alright, I admit it. I need help.
At least I’ve posted! Finally!
UPDATE:
I ordered two of the Ciak notebooks recommended by Thomas in the comments of this post. They’re very pretty. I have a small, pocket-sized one that can, literally, fit in my pocket, that I’ve decided to use for quick thoughts and story/essay ideas. I also got a larger one I’m using for a journal. Thomas claims that they are cheaper than Moleskines, but he’s in Athens. These notebooks come from Italy, so of course they’re cheaper for him. They cost around $6-8 more than a comparably sized Moleskine here in the states. Which is fucking ridiculous, particularly considering how fast I usually race through a notebook. The cover is most definitely leather, and comes in many different colors. I was forced by virtue of having no other choice to order the versions that come with colored-paper sections. At first, I was annoyed by this, but, particularly in the case of the small one I’m using for quick thoughts and story/essay ideas, it will help me to organize. One colored section for quick thoughts or observations, one for essay ideas, one for fiction story ideas, one for phone numbers of the unbelievable number of random, almost pathetically attractive men who come up to me on the street begging me to allow them to be my love slaves (kidding, really!), one for, say, things I see that I want to investigate further later when I get home and can get to the internet, one section for drunken, illegible thoughts, whatever. There’s 8 sections in the pocket-sized. I’ll figure out something to use them for. The big one also has different colored paper sections, 9 of them, which is weird, because there’s the same number of pages per book-200. I think.
Anyway, I love the look and feel of the books. I love the elastic band that holds them closed horizontally rather than vertically, like the Moleskine. I don’t have a particular love for the paper, which is a bit stiff. Every color has a different feel to it, which may be due to processing and coloring. If I can get the cream-colored paper version in a realistic time-frame, I’ll probably order some. They do NOT open flat, however, which is my favorite thing about the Moleskine.
Okay, so, a challenge to notebook manufacturers out there: Create for me a leather-bound notebook available in a variety of colors, for around $14-16, with cream-colored paper lined with black lines, the paper being soft and pliable, yet durable and thick, through which NO PEN will leak. The notebook must open flat like a Moleskine, and have stiff covers so that I can write anywhere, i.e., sitting on a park bench or the floor, or a comfortable chair, or an uncomfortable chair in class, in which I’m not allowed to use the fold-away desktop but rather only my lap, bench in the lock-up of the local county jail, etc. Said notebook must also have, in the back and maybe also in the front, a pocket, in which I can keep scraps of paper and lists of ideas that can travel from notebook to next empty notebook, etc. What else do I want? I don’t know.
All this constant perusing and searching for notebooks has also led me on a new pen chase. I’m wondering if perhaps I need to give a fountain pen a try. I’m wondering if they have medication for this. I’m gratified to learn that I’m not the only wacko on the planet to devote such an inordinate amount of time to notebooks and pens. So much time, that if you measured the time I spend thinking and writing about notebooks and pens and compared it to the amount of time I spend writing about other things, working on my thesis/novel, writing essays, assignments for class, etc., you’d wonder just exactly how crazy I am.
Okay, enough already.
And thanks, Thomas, for coming back to update me on the fountain-pen-in-the-Ciak issue.
Dang, girl. When you decide to post, you POST!
Have you ever discussed your obsession with a professional? I understand (from a dear family member) the Prozac really does help.
And yes, the two times I’ve been in Chicago since I’ve been reading your blog I’ve thought it would be nice to make contact. Maybe I’m worried about being thought (by you) as a possible predator or something, so I haven’t brought it up. But next time (likely a year from now, but you never know) maybe we can get together with spouses or other family members for a lunch or something. We’ll see.
After all, you came to Austin and I never made any effort then, either. You don’t think laziness and inertia had any bearing on this, do you?
John
Maybe you’re just afraid that I’M the weird internet predator;)
I’d say you’re DEFINITELY weird, but I haven’t discerned any predatory indications… yet.
John
Actually, I think I can understand your obsession. For me, it was more of a frustrating search (for the journal that works best) than an obsession…I can’t tell you how many hours it took me to find one that works for me. I finally settled on a basic Cambridge wirebound…6″x8″, tear-out sheets, and only costs about $5. I bought a DayRunner leather journal cover, ripped out the calendar stuff that came with it, and can insert the Cambridge notebook just like slipping a new batch of checks into a checkbook register…has some pockets & stuff too. I add little post-it tabs to highlight stuff. When I use up a notebook I just insert a fresh one. Have about a dozen of the filled books neatly/boringly (select one or both) arranged on a bookshelf. I’d really like to just enter stuff once, like on a laptop or PDA, but there’s just something about the feel and convenience of writing longhand…and speaking of long…this comment is probably too long already.
I can totally understand your obsession.
I’m very picky about which writing utensils I use. I don’t like using regular pencils. They have to be the mechanical variety. Plus I only use Bic or Paper Mate pens. That is just who I am. I find a type of pen I like, I stick with it.
Maybe it is a writer thing. I don’t know.
Andrea
I wouldn’t say you had an obssesion, more like a quest to try different notebooks for different applications. Some people do this with shoes, hats, cars, pens, clothes. I have and still purchase several varieties of notebooks ( the latest being the Circa from Levenger) and are putting them to some good uses. I say if the disposable income embraces the desire to obtain something…….go for it.
Sorry I meant to address my previous post to Viki
Thanks, George, for trying to let me off the hook and not appear to be the crazy person that I am, but it is most definitely an obsession. I THINK about notebooks constantly, I am always, I mean ALWAYS on the hunt for a new one, and I seriously believe the right notebook will make me a better writer.
That’s because I’m insane.
Well, you know Viki, there’s not much you can do about the insanity…insanity is hereditary…we get it from our kids
I’m obsessed with a lot of things. It’s understandable. Not necessarily notebooks…but everyone has their quirks I guess?
Just loved reading about your obsession. From one similarly afflicted.
I’m pretty much in the same boat. I have countless notebooks and there is truth to the fact that better tools do give better results if only through motivation. In your quest to find the perfect notebook you will undoubtedly gain valueble insight on what good and bad, as well as produce some worthy writing in the process.
You have to feel good about and trust your tools to concentrate on the task at hand.
You’re good, George. I formally request that you continue to stop by and make me feel good about all of my various and sundry neuroses and obsessions.
You seem perfectly normal to me.
Of course, I currently have 32 unused notebooks and journal books on a shelf above the 134 filled ones I’ve kept my journal in since 1987. So I just might not be sane about it.
Clairefontaine paper is wonderful; if they made a narrow-ruled hardcover spiral, I would never use anything else. It’s fountain-pen-friendly, and the bright white paper makes colored inks show up beautifully.
Not that I want to lead you into temptation (much) but if there is a Kinokuniya or other Japanese department store near you, you can spend far too much time and money there, buying spiral notebooks, looseleaf binders, and then colored pens of all sorts.
many people have the same obsession, especially me. because I am not only buying notebooks, but also ‘real’ books. once in a month I have to reorder my books, because of having no space to breeze left.
not good for my money, but better than spending money für cigarettes or other drugs.
so don’t worry, we are not weird, we are special.
Yours,
Celia – (from Austria, Europe)
My God. I think you just made me wet with all the notebook talk.
Was that T.M.I.?
What a post! I am drooling over your notebook fetish and now don’t feel it necessary to stay in the closet any longer. I too love notebooks and am proud of it. Remember those old Big Chief “tablet” notebooks? Hey, I think John Boy Walton used those. Well, that’s probably when my love affair of notebooks really started… with those Big Chief tablets that I used to fill with all my stories and secret dreams. Glad to see you back in the blog saddle, Viki. Write ON!
Invitation accepted. I’m actually glad to have discovered a blog that shares one of my intrests. People should be able to enjoy their hobbies, obssesions, and life to the fullest as long as they are not hurting anyone else or themselves.
I like to think of us as notebook aficionados. We collect, revel in, enjoy, and know our notebooks.
Don’t be too surprised if one day someone out of the notebook “clique” goes into the business and brings to market a product rivaling Moleskine, Clairefontaine, or Rhodia. With all we are learning from the different manufacturers we patronize, it certainly is possible.
There may be a “Viki” Pad on the horizon just yet
Cheers
George
Uh, Celia (from Austria, Europe)? YOU may not be weird, but Viki DEFINITELY is.
John
Alright! I’m weird, bound-paper-obsessed, and I’m proud. Damnit!
From a fellow addict, thank you for the post! finally, someone who appreciates the art of a well-bound notebook. I must admit, probably every time I went to Barnes&Noble in college I bought a journal or notebook. That was the only section of the store in which I could be found. It was heaven. the best notebook finds, however, have been in offbeat gift shops and mega-stores like Meijer. I can never fill them up, but somewhere inside me I know I should at least try.
I’m so happy to find that I’m not alone in my obsession.
As soon as the two new notebooks that I ordered last week arrive, I will post an update about them!
I ordered a couple of the Miquelrius flexible notebooks and I was disappointed with them. The cover is like the flexible Moleskine notebooks, which is used for the 18-month planner, but a bit better. The notebook doesn’t stay open very well, and because it’s small, it’s hard to write in. (I bought the 100-page one.) And although the paper is good, my Pilot Capless skips a lot in it. I bought it so that I could use my fountain pen in it, so this was the biggest disappointment. My Parker 51, however, writes fine in it, so it may be the pen. However, the Capless writes fine in the Moleskine, with no feathering or bleeding through.
The binding doesn’t seem to be that good either. I’ve written in probably less than ten pages, and in one spot, the cover seems to be coming off the spine.
A couple of days ago I bought a Ciak notebook. It has a fake leather notebook, but made of thicker material, and it almost feels like real leather. It’s a tougher notebook, and the binding is much, much better, and it stays open better, though not as well as the Moleskine. (That’s the Moleskine’s greatest feature, I think.) And the paper is much better than the Miquelrius as well. I recommend it. The Ciak’s a good notebook. If it stayed open the way the Moleskines do, it would be my number one notebook.
I just read somewhere that the Ciak notebook is supposed to have a leather cover, but I doubt it. It’s nice and it feels like leather, but it’s cheaper than a Moleskine by one euro here where I am (Athens).
I’m intrigued by this Ciak notebook. It looks very nice on their website. I’m having trouble finding them here in the states, though. Amazon has them through a reseller, but it says “Usually ships in 1-2 months.”
I suppose I could order one and wait. Besides, I have a lot of blank notebooks waiting to be filled.
I’m not really liking the Miquelrius, unfortunately. The paper doesn’t seem as nice as the Miquelrius paper in the spiral bound notebook I’ve been using for my to-do lists. And it doesn’t open flat, which pisses me off, and makes me think about going back to Moleskine.
I’ve also discovered, in searching for the Ciak, that there are other people out there who are way crazier than me. They have whole blogs and websites completely focused on journals, notebooks, pens, etc. I just wrote one post.
wow. you’ve all opened up a whole new arena of human activity to me, the extensiveness of which i was completely unaware until now!
really quite amazing!
i like notebooks, too, but usually just use any cheap old one that’s lyin’ around.
Viki, you are a woman after my own heart. I’ve been using Moleskine notebooks for years and love them to death. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a few kind words. Much appreciated.
Congratulations! I think this is the most responses you have ever received, and it’s about notebooks! Fantastic. You are correct about one thing, you are a whack-job.
I think, KJ, that it’s time for you to get your very own blog, so I can come to it and read what you say, and respond with things like “I hate it,” and “You’re a whack job.”
An update. When I tried to use my Capless/Vanishing Point in the Ciak, I was disappointed, but it may be the pen itself, although I’d hate to say anything bad about the pen. It skipped a lot. I know that if you dip a toothpick into some dish detergent and then dip the toothpick into your bottle of ink, the ink flow will improve, and I can always do that. (Be careful if you have an old fountain pen with a gold nib: soap with lemon can tarnish it.) So, moleskines are still best for my pen.
I forgot to mention that Paperblanks are a fine notebook. Really nice paper, even if it’s not really suited to fountain pens. I recommend them to anyone who uses ballpoints or most rollerballs. (When fountain pens are giving me problems, Jotters seem to be the best things in the world.)
The second Miquelrius that you show might be an excellent choice for you. It’s the same paper and “fake” leather look flexible cover as the first Miquelrius you show, but adds the pocket and elastic strap of the Moleskine.
Hi! I found your website on Google while doing a search on where I could order Miquelrius notebooks. Glad to know I’m not the only one obsessing about notebooks. I never figured why I was so obsessed with notebooks. I’m not even a writer but I like to take notes and make lists cause I tend to forget. :p I have plenty of notebooks that need to be filled but I still keep buying new ones and I can’t help it! Like you said, it may be “somewhat unnatural”.
I remembered this post and came back to update. I have found an excellent moleskine alternative, although it’s no better for fountain pens, unfortunately.
I’ve blogged about it here: http://tiny.cc/8IKfY
[...] Viki Babbles about her obsession with notebooks at Viki Babbles [...]
The images aren’t showing up as I read your post, which is very disappointing! I’m also obsessed, to the point of starting a blog about it:
http://www.notebookstories.com