Full details on what all these notebooks are at Unused notebook collection.

Thanks for sharing, Millie!

Below is a corner of my office where I was going through boxes of notebooks and had stashed some used ones that needed to be put away. There are a few months of daily notebooks, notebooks already reviewed, notebooks to be reviewed, and some childhood notebooks. (All of these have now been put back in a closet– I try to keep the notebook clutter under control!)

A close-up of some of the daily notebooks. I write the dates they cover on the bottom.

On top of my file cabinet: some stray samples to be given away someday, and some stuff already reviewed, and a small looseleaf binder I used many years ago that I’ll do a post on at some point.

Here’s the shelves in one of my closets: shoeboxes full of small notebooks, and stacks of larger journals and sketchbooks.

Here on a bookshelf are my Moleskine City Notebooks (though I’ve since bought more). Amsterdam is the only one in this stack that I haven’t used yet. The others are New York, London, Paris, Istanbul and Lisbon.

And finally, this is the stack of notebooks-in-waiting I keep in my desk. These are all notebooks that have made the cut as ones I like enough to use as daily notebooks or sketchbooks at some point (mostly Moleskines, HandBook Journals, Piccadillies, and a couple of others). I’m not worried about running out at the moment… but only because I have an additional stack of spares elsewhere!

There are close to 100 notebooks visible in these photos, not counting the ones in the unopened shoeboxes and additional notebooks I have stored elsewhere. Welcome to my world!

First off, here’s the new large Webnotebook with dot-grid paper. I love dot-grid paper, it’s such a nice alternative to having lines– you can use the page in all directions, so it’s great for writing, drawing and doodling. And of course, the yummy Rhodia paper works well with pretty much any pen and is heavenly to write on.

Then we have two handy pocket-size notebooks. The Clairefontaine Life Unplugged notebook has been around for a while, but the Rhodia Unlimited notebook is new. Both are slender and flexible, combining some of the lightweight portability of the Moleskine Volants with added features such as an elastic closure and more pages. They’re shown below with a pocket Moleskine for size comparison. Because the notebooks are softcover, the elastic can flex them slightly if it’s a bit tight. The binding does not lie very flat, particularly in the Rhodia version. As you can see, all the pages in the Rhodia notebook are perforated, and have a nice layout with a grid plus a separate header, which reminds me of one of the Book Factory lab notebooks I reviewed.

Next, there’s the Clairefontaine Graf-It sketchpad. This does not have the usual super-smooth Clairefontaine paper, but a slightly toothier paper that is nice for drawing on. It’s still fairly smooth, and the paper feels fairly lightweight, but had less show-through than I would have expected. A nice feature is the micro-perforated edge so you can tear sheets out neatly.

Finally, here’s a bonus item that’s not really a notebook: a Rhodia paper mousepad! What a great idea– it’s such a handy way to have a nice piece of doodle paper handy on your desk at all times. They designed this very cleverly, gluing two edges of the pad so it won’t slide around while you’re using your mouse. (The staples shown on the cover are fake, just a little touch to make it look more like the traditional Rhodia blocs.)

You can look for these items at your local stationery shop, or take a shot at winning a couple of items I’m giving away! Two lucky winners will be selected, one to receive the Clairefontaine Life Unplugged notebook, and one to receive the Rhodia dot-grid notebook. As usual, you can enter in any of the following ways:

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

On Facebook, “like” the  Notebook Stories page and the Rhodia Drive page, and post something containing the words “Rhodia” or “Clairefontaine” on my wall.

On your blog, post something containing the words “Rhodia” or “Clairefontaine” and “NotebookStories” and link back to this post.

The deadline for entry is Friday October 14 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!

From Zack:

I really like taking notes when learning. It helps me map out math in my head a lot better than just thinking about it. I’ve been looking for a good large-sized notebook to write in, maybe around A4 sized paper. Can you suggest some? Cost might be an issue, due to being a student.

There are certainly lots of good options for a notebook this size–Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Doane Paper’s large Idea Journal, Whitelines– but they might be a little pricey for a student budget. What’s your favorite lower-priced notebook?

From Park, a similar question:

Hi do you know of any notebooks that WILL NOT BLEED?  I am an excessive notetaker for school and it is extremely vexing when the paper I am using bleeds… Do you have any recommendations of standard sized notebooks that will not bleed? Thanks!

I’m guessing this means an A4 or 8.5×11″ size notebook since this is for school use. Again, Rhodia or Clairefontaine would be good bets, though a bit more expensive than what most students probably want to pay. If you can use something smaller and aren’t worried about price, I’m sure the Hitlist notebook I reviewed recently wouldn’t disappoint!

From Rowland:

I read something a while ago about a ‘notebook’ which opened out sort of Japanese fashion – but into an A3 size – I think they were made and distributed in Singapore.
Any ideas?

I can’t think of any Japanese (accordion fold-out) notebooks other than Moleskine’s, so I’m stumped… below are some more tough ones!

From Rick:

I use a leather-refillable journal for notes, etc, and I tear out used pages, so I am looking for one that has perforated pages to make a clean tear. Do you know of any that are like that?

From Paige:

Hello! I am a high school science teachers, and I want to recommend a notebook for my students for the upcoming year. I would ideally like something like a composition book (where pages aren’t easily removable) that has lined AND blank pages- maybe lined on the front, blank on the back. I will be teaching Astronomy and Earth science, and the notes will be heavy on drawings and sketches, so I want my students to not feel limited by the lines on the page.
Help!

TeNeues CoolNotes and Grandluxe Dialogue notebooks have pages that are lined on only one side, but I doubt these are easy enough to find or cheap enough for most high school students, and they’re smaller than a composition book.

Thanks to all my lovely readers for any help or advice you can provide!

Whether it’s a pile of food-splotched printouts or a cluttered digital desktop, many cooking enthusiasts are swimming in recipes, with no good system for storing them. Is there a better way to collect and store recipes so they can be easily retrieved later on?

Even the pros struggle. Most chefs rely on some combination of digital readers, apps and email—so much the better if the device fits in the back pocket of chef’s pants—plus traditional paper notebooks or index cards….
Some chefs refuse to give up old-school methods. For many chefs these involve a pocketsize notebook made by Moleskine, with plastic-coated covers and an elastic bookmark. Robb White, the dean at the Culinary Institute of Michigan, has filled more than 300 with recipes, each one with a sketch of the dish or a plating idea on the back. Notebooks are designated by entrée or appetizer type, and he stores them by year. His system helps him spot and keep track of food trends, he says. “I get made fun of a lot—all my chef buddies think I’m nuts,” Mr. White says.

300 pocket size Moleskines full of recipes and sketches… be still, my heart!

Cool new QuoVadis notebooks with famous artworks on the covers:

QuoVadis planners:

J.Herbin inks and G. Lalo notecards:

Clairefontaine notebooks, including the Life.Unplugged series:

One whole table was covered in black and orange Rhodia goodness:

I’m excited about these neat notebooks, which fit a nice niche: a bit more substantial than the usual staple-bound cahier, with an elastic but not as bulky as a hardcover notebook:

My favorite size, 9 x 14 cm.

Here’s a peek at the paper in the new dot-grid Webbie:

And finally, I asked Karen if I could take a picture of the notebook she was using herself for her notes about the show. It’s the smallest size Clairefontaine, and looks like it’s taken a beating!

BookExpo is still going on today, make sure you stop by the Exaclair booth if you happen to be there… and if not, there’s always next year!

Here’s what Carmen has to say about that gorgeous tower:

Here is my collection as of [August 2010]. Last count 156, from the biggest- a Whiteline- to the smallest, a Rhodia. and no, they are not used at all. they are a collection… Every now and then someone asks for a notebook for a specific task, and I look and give it to them if I have it. The plan is for my niece to start inheriting them one by one when she learns to write this year… I have from your basic Composition notebook, to Exaclairs, Clairefontaines, Moleskines, Field Notes, Doane Paper, Miquelrius, Picadilly, etc, the latest addition are the notebooks that my sister recently brought me from her trip to China, that are absolutely gorgeous.

The variety! The colors! The perfectly graduated tower! And even I don’t have 156 unused notebooks!! (At least I’m pretty sure I don’t…) But I feel that this photo has given me permission to feel less guilty about the stockpile I do have!

Big thanks again to Carmen for sharing her love of notebooks– with me, with her niece, with other recipients of her notebook (and pen) gifts, and with everyone who reads this website!

But as for her own notebooks, here’s what she has to say:

What does one write in? There are so many possibilities. I use two sizes of Moleskines for my Solleone Books (my numbered volumes of thoughts); Filofax personal size ring binders for travel notes, prayer, and bible study; Franklin Covey and Daytimer classic size ring binders for meeting notes and ideas; along with Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Piccadilly, Levenger Circa Notebooks (a large one holds my Tarot notes), and many more different ones for notes on my readings and studies.
I just received a copy of Strathmore’s “Visual Journal” a delightful wirebound journal with 90lb. watercolor paper. Great for doing special watercolor drawings along with using colored pens for writing.

An impressive collection… love the variety of colors, styles and uses!

Read more at ALB Creativity: What is Your Journalng Style?.

Don’t forget that notebooks make great holiday gifts! Check out the Notebook Stories Store for lots of great brands.

From Bobby:
I’m trying to find a notebook that is “normal” sized ~8.5×11 and is cream/light green colored like the computation pads, and have a grid that is very faint to the point where if you photocopied it, it probably wouldn’t show up. (not a deal breaker, but that’s the type of faint I’m looking for). I’d like it with either spiral bound or some other type of binding that allows for laying flat. I’d love some sort of classic retro-y looking cover, but really it’s the guts that count. I’m not really interested in the engineering computation notebooks that are available mainly due to the heaviness of the grids on those notebooks. I guess they figured since its a notebook and you can’t use the grid-through-the-back-of-the-sheet trick, they’d just make them normal darker grid.
This is a stumper! Whitelines notebooks shouldn’t show their grid lines when photocopied, but the greyish paper might not be pleasing compared to a cream/light green. I’ve also seen legder notebooks with greenish pages and fairly faint lines, but not spiral bound. Does anyone else have any ideas for Bobby?

From Howard:

Do you know if there are Moleskine like notepads with legal pad yellow colored pages?  It seems weird, but I find jotting my notes down on yellow tinted pages quite pleasing.

I’ve seen small notepads that have yellow legal paper, but never anything in a Moleskine-like notebook.

From Nena:

I am looking for a really thick notebook – i.e. it has many many pages that is lined. Do you have any suggestions?

I’ve seen very thick notebooks with unlined pages, such as this one, but the thickest lined notebooks I’ve seen are probably these ones from Miquelrius, which have up to 300 pages and are available in squared and lined pages.

From Jeffrey:
I am wondering if you know what the best best book for me would be. I mostly like to draw with technical pens or pretty much put the ink straight on the page. I have one of the Handbook notebooks, I like it, buts its just not quite there. If it had smoother paper, it would probably be it. I like the thickness of the paper in them. What other notebook would you recommend other than the Handbook ones?

If you want something with smooth but thick paper, I would try one of the Moleskine Sketchbooks, or the Pen & Ink Heavy-Weight Sketch Book. Either of those should work well with that kind of pen, I think. I like the Hand Book Sketchbooks best for watercolor, pencil, or magic markers, but with fine-point pens, I love the creamy texture of the Moleskine, and the heavier paper used in the sketchbooks bleeds through much less than the lighter paper used in their other notebooks.

From Claudia:
I am trying to find a softcover notebook with “wide rule” lines and can’t seem to find anything besides the old marble-composition books, and I have a ton of those. Any ideas?

Have you tried Clairefontaine notebooks? I think the lines are usually wide rule and they have various cover and binding options.

Whew! That’s a lot of questions, and I have more on hand that I’ll feature in future posts. Thanks for writing, everyone, and thanks to all the readers out there who may also have suggestions!

These include Moleskine, Clairefontaine, and SemiKolon, as well as a new one to me, the “Pearl Pinstripe.” (I guess he must mean these Carolina Pad Pearl Stripe notebooks? He does say they’re “kind of girly!”)

He notes:

In this digital age, where everything is stored on a computer’s hard drive or in an iPhone or Blackberry, I still cling to an obsession I’ve had from a young age: notebooks. Slabs of paper bound between two covers. Sure, my address book is on my computer now, and I do keep a journal as a Microsoft Word document. I don’t write any of my fiction in long hand. But despite these modern flourishes, I refuse to surrender my love for good old-fashioned old-school notebooks.

I probably have over 30 notebooks that I haven’t even written in. New York, in particular, is a notebook lover’s paradise, because there are stationery shops on countless blocks. I often can’t resists stepping inside to peruse the goods. If I see one that I like, for whatever reason, I snap it up even if I don’t know what I will use it for. I’ll have a use for it one day, right?

Read more at Martin Wilson Writes » Blog Archive » My Obsession with Notebooks.