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Read more at Daily Desired: A Lego-Compatible Moleskine Journal to Devise Secret, Brick-Based Schemes.

Read more about his experience using fountain pens in these notebooks at seize the dave: paper review: moleskine cahier.

One Notebook or Many? Part 1: The case for one notebook

One book is cooler. A volume covering all of ones life, being read by descendants long after my death, like the journals of Leonardo da Vinci, makes a nice day dream.

It’s fun to read through a diverse journal with sketches and notes on all kinds of things. Paging through an old journal and coming across doodles my daughter made is a treat. Sketches of things I was planning to build or of other things reminds me of the diversity of my life, which is often handy when I’ve become too focused on one narrow aspect….

One Notebook or Many? Part 2: The case for many notebooks.

A single subject notebook increases focus. When I’m writing in a single subject notebook, I feel a discipline to focus on that subject. It’s a reminder of what I’m doing, and there’s no risk that while I’m paging through old entries I’ll end up on some trip down memory lane. Instead, paging through the book reminds me of other aspects of the subject, helps the focus, and can even help with writer’s block…

One Notebook or Many? Part 3: The case for loose sheets

Blank sheets are versatile and adaptable. Since it’s not part of a book, it doesn’t have a dedicated purpose. The paper can be used for anything – I can write a letter, leave a note, give it to my daughters to draw on, or fold it into an airplane. This is especially useful when traveling, because it means I carry less…

One Notebook or Many? Part 4: What’s been working for me

Separate book vs. in the journal. I’ve found that unless the new book has a very strong purpose (like the NumberQuotes notebook) or has a specific place in my life and routine (weekly planner), it’s at risk of being abandoned. The food journal hasn’t quite become a reliable partner yet, but the birds book has. The weekly planner has become very important, and I record some things there that could be in my journal. Despite many attempts to find an electronic replacement for my weight records, pen and paper have proven to be the best and most reliable.

If the work has a lot of structure, and clear boundaries, a separate book seems to work best. If the work is somewhat amorphous, a separate book just doesn’t feel right. For example, I just used the large Leuchtturm1917 Jottbook I received to start a web-focused notebook, only ideas and thoughts related to my various websites that don’t have books of their own, or for ideas (like selling ad space) that are common to all sites. That lasted a short while before the book become refocused on this blog. So far, it’s been earning its keep.

So many things in these posts resonated for me. I’ve tried various approaches, and like Steve have ended up with a hybrid solution: one main notebook for most things, plus a few satellite notebooks for specific topics or uses that require a different format. But the other solution that I was surprised Steve didn’t mention was to use a Filofax or similar binder– you can incorporate different page formats, devote a few pages in a section to different topics, and carry over pages you want to keep for reference while filing away others. I used small looseleaf notebooks for years and loved them… but then electronic devices replaced the calendar and address book sections of those notebooks… and for what was left, a stack of bound journals did just seem cooler than a box full of rubber-banded looseleaf pages. But I keep feeling like I should give it a try again.

How about you? One or many? Join in the discussion here or at Recording Thoughts.

Do you know of any companies that produce notebooks for keeping track of books read? I remember seeing one at some point, but I didn’t need one then As I am now working in a library and reading more, I would like to keep track of what I am reading and whether I liked it or not.

I can think of two: Moleskine Passions Book Journal, and the Knock Knock Life Log Leisure Notebook I received from Lost Crates, which has a section for logging books, in addition to other topics. And I’m sure there are others. But I’d caution you to think about what kinds of things you want to write about the books you’ve read– on Amazon, many of the customer reviews of the Moleskine journal mentioned finding the page layout too constraining, or not having enough pages in each alphabetical section. The best book journal may just be a blank book you customize for that purpose.

Sabrina writes “I want to do a fun little journal project with my sister who lives 10 hours away. I’m thinking something like ‘Wreck This Journal‘, but have been searching online for something that is uniquely designed for exchanging between two people with fun prompts for writing/silliness. Any suggestions?”

This is an interesting idea. I have never seen anything designed specifically for this purpose, but I hope someone decides to make one! If you’re going to be mailing it back and forth, you’d probably want something sturdy but lightweight, and not too oversized, and without a spiral or wire-o binding, since that could get crushed or bent. The Moleskine Cahiers or Japanese Albums, FieldNotes, some of the Whitelines journals or Rhodia staple-bound pads– there are lots of possibilities. Then just add your own writing prompts from books like these.

One other thing that might or might not generate some ideas for how to set up a two-person journal: journals designed for couples to write in together, such as these:

Kathy asks “I’m taking biology classes next semester and I’m wondering if I should choose Moleskine XLarge Soft Cover Notebooks or Whitelines Saddlestitched. Which is a better fit? I need something that can withhold throught the whole semester, because I know I’ll be opening the notebook(s) 100000x to reread my notes…It doesn’t matter if it’s ruled or squared.”

The softcover Moleskines have gotten a bad rap in the past for bindings that tear loose at the spine, but they might be worth a try again if you haven’t used one for a while, as they seem to be making more recent ones with a reinforced spine. I used one not long ago and had no problems whatsoever although previous ones had torn. The tape that reinforces the spine adds a slight thickness so you’ll see the edge of it under the cover material if it’s there. I haven’t fully tested a Whitelines notebook for durability, but perhaps other readers can chime in?

Thanks for your questions and answers, everyone! If you use Facebook, the Notebook Stories page there is also a great chance to interact with other notebook fans, since it takes me a forever to catch up on my emails!

My name is Casey and I TOO am a lover of notebooks. Mole skin, spiral, sketchbooks, oh my! I probably have too many but there is something so lovely about having blank notebooks around JUST in case.

I have so much love for notebooks that I decided to design a necklace that doubles as a notebook so I could always have one close. My notebook necklaces contain blank pages so they have a wide variety of uses.

Simply love notebooks
-make it a part of your daily fashion statement.

Need to remember something?
-Grab a piece of paper and jot it down.

Meet someone cute and want digits?
-Forget about writing on your hand, washing it off, and possibly losing the “one.”

Never again!

You can buy these necklaces (and other cool items) at www.fartsyarts.etsy.com