Talking to Strangers About Notebooks

I was on the train the other night and took out my notebook to jot something down. The woman sitting next to me, with whom I had not exchanged a word up til then, said “Oh wow, that’s so nice to see that you are using a paper notebook! You never see anyone writing in an actual notebook any more!”

I thought that was a bit overstated– I don’t see that many people writing notes on public transportation, but I do see some, and I see people using paper notebooks all the time at my job. My seatmate and I continued to chat a bit about writing and reading on paper vs. on screens, and at one point she took out her own planner to jot down a book I’d recommended. It was a pleasant conversation.

Does this ever happen to you? Do you get into conversations with strangers over the fact that one or both of you are using notebooks? Please share your stories in the comments!

8 thoughts on “Talking to Strangers About Notebooks”

  1. This happens to me quite often, actually, yet I find it refreshing every time. These I yet actions most often occur in the grocery store — we have a lot of kids, so I’m at the store a lot, always with a list clipped into my travelers-style notebook. It also happens at school events; the boys’ teachers usually refer to me as The Planner Girl. :) Some people ask why I write things on paper when I have an iPhone that could serve the same purpose. My response to that is always the same: the physical act of writing something down activates an area of the brain that the act of typing it does not.

  2. I have yet to talk to anyone about notebooks, but whenever I see someone writing in one in public I’m curious to find out what kind of notebook it is and wonder what they are writing. There have been times when I saw people writing in the train or bus and have tried to see their notebook, moving to sit closer or stand nearer, but that made me feel like I am being “creepy” and too embarassed to start a conversation.

  3. This happens to me occassionally… but usually I pull out a notebook and my friends wonder why I don’t just use my phone. I work at a museum, and sometimes people come in with cool notebooks or sketchbooks and I will strike up a conversation, but for the most part none of my friends or people I know will talk to me about notebooks!

  4. I got into a random conversation about cursive when I signed my name the other day (because ‘kids these days just put down a squiggly line!”) It was kind of interesting.

  5. The Midori Traveler’s Notebook does the job!

    As a mother of two I am very engaged in their school activities, helping to organize stuff, charity etc., so I use my planner/notebook a lot.

    I have converted a MTN passport size into my wallet. For that I use the zipper pocket case/inlay they offer, the zipper pocket holds my ID and bus ticket, the card holders all my plastic (cash) cards, so I get my MTN out a lot.

    The leather has become worn, beautifully, it is soft to the touch and looks great.

    Mostly it is the women who get excited and ask me where I got this beautiful book / wallet / planner.

    I looooove to explain how it works (a leather cover with inlets, held by an elastic band), that the intimidating price is less ridiculous when you consider that the leather will hold up for many years, the available inlays and the fun factor of making your own in case the real MTN is too expensive or does not have the right size.

    I have made several “faux-dori” for friends, by just covering cardstock/chipboard with fabric or waxy tissue, using the elastic bands from the “MTN Repair Kit” and making the inlays myself, and yet everyone seemed really happy.

    Many people I know use paper notebooks or planners still, because even though many use(d to use) their phones for notetaking, writing is a pleasant physical act and a paper notebook will not run out of energy.

  6. I was at a museum once in a busy exhibit. I was writing in my notebook, and a lady said, “Oh, look you’re a journalist!” At the time I was confused, “No, I’m just writing in my sketchbook.” I am pretty sure she did not mean I was a professional writer, but at the time I had no idea that journaling was a “thing”. I guess I do now.

  7. I don’t get into many notebook conversations with strangers, actually none that I remember. Occasionally I’ll get into a notebook chat with friends or friends of friends who say they want to journal or ask if I do (little do they know, LOL).

  8. I often accost strangers or colleagues if I see them using an interesting notebook. There are a lot of people in my experience who like notebooks but don’t identify themselves as a notebook geek. They just know they like good paper, without really thinking about why.

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