Review & Giveaway: VS. Journal by Knock-Knock

It’s funny, I’m not a big user of prompted journals nowadays, but I remember having a few of them as a kid that I diligently filled out with answers to questions and information about my life. They are fun to look back at now, though the questions were pretty basic and not really very creative or insightful. It would be interesting to see what I would have written if I’d had something like the VS. Journal, which is a lot more thought-provoking!

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The VS. Journal is a nice, chunky hardcover, with an attractive design in eye-catching colors. Inside there are funky endpapers with doodly drawings, and a ribbon marker.

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A few pages at the beginning have an essay introducing the concept of the journal, which is that each page presents you with a quick choice to make: this thing or that thing, with some space to write about your choice. In small, upside-down type at the bottom of the page, you’ll find their interpretation of what your choice says about your personality.

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I’m not sure how accurate or valuable these judgments may be, but the choice and its interpretation can make great writing exercises or prompts for self-exploration in the journal.

Here’s the detail from their website:

Life is full of decisions, and our choices make up so much of who we are. The Vs. journal features over 230 illustrated face-offs of psychological import, insightful interpretations, and plenty of writing room for contemplation to provide self-awareness that you could never achieve on your own.

  • Featuring options as diverse as reason vs. emotion, bath vs. shower, and zombie vs. cyborg
  • The perfect gift for people who like to choose
  • Hardcover; 5.25 x 7 inches; 256 pages; 230+ illustrations; ribbon page marker

The suggested retail price is $17.00.

You can find the VS. Journal, and lots of other fun products by Knock Knock, at Amazon, at various gift shops and bookstores, as well as at Knock Knock’s own online shop. And you can also enter to win one that I’m giving away to a randomly selected winner! Enter in any or all of these ways:

On Twitter, tweet something containing “@knockknock” and “@NotebookStories, and follow “@knockknock” and “@NotebookStories.”

On Facebook, “like” the  Notebook Stories page  and the Knock Knock page, and post something containing the words “VS. Journal” on the Notebook Stories wall.

On your blog, post something containing the words “Vs. Journal” and “Notebook Stories” and link back to this blog.

The deadline for entry is Friday Nov. 30 at 11:59PM, EST– extra time to enter because of the Thanksgiving holiday! Good luck everyone!
And please remember to check my posts on Facebook and Twitter for an announcement of the winner.

 

3 thoughts on “Review & Giveaway: VS. Journal by Knock-Knock”

  1. Hello. Really enjoy the site. I’ll have to send a pic of my notebooks, which are legion.

    I would be interested in seeing more articles on writer’s notebooks – how writers use these notebooks, what types they use, etc.,, etc. I own a copy of Modern Library’s Notebooks of Albert Camus, which are fascinating insofar as they appear to have whole sections of text that were almost lifted from the notebooks and placed into what would become finished works.

    How do other writers use their writer’s notebooks? I’d love to know.

    Thanks for the website and your shared obsession.

    Regards,
    S
    North Carolina, USA

  2. I saw a lot of guided notebooks like these in various stationary stores, but looking at those pages with the templates already in them makes me feel like it limits creativity. It’s kind of like writing essays for school, and being limited to a certain organizational style.
    I imagine these could be helpful for someone who is new to journaling in general, for someone who has difficulty facing a blank page and needs a little push to start.

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