First of all, I know some people are bothered that anyone would tear apart an old book to turn it into something else, but I’d like to think that these perhaps weren’t in good enough shape to still be read. As the insert in each journal tells you, the people who make these are “artists and book lovers who believe in sustainable business practices.”

Each journal is made from the front and back cover of a book, with a few pages of the interiors scattered inside as dividers. This leads to some amusing serendipitous discoveries such as the pages below.

I also loved a section in the Boston School Kitchen Text-Book which explains why all young women should learn to cook:

“No matter how high her social position may be, no girl is sure of retaining it through life. Though in her youthful conceit she may boast of never scrubbing a floor, or washing a dish, and may think it commendable to be ignorant of the mysteries of the kitchen, the time may come when she will have harder work than this to do, and will be thankful if tehre is one thing she can do well, even if it be but the washing of dishes or the cooking of wholesome food. And if her position should chance to be that of a director of such work, rather than a doer of it, this practical knowledge will be even more valuable.”

Needless to say, in 1887 there was no need to mention that any male might also want such knowledge!

The book cover edges are sawed off in a sharp, straight edge, but there is nothing finishing off the edge to prevent it from fraying. The spiral binding is plastic.

The interior pages are quite a bit smaller than the cover, leading to a large cover overhang, which always gets on my nerves, though I know other people prefer it that way.

The paper inside is smooth and bright white, and is acid-free. All my usual pens performed nicely on it, with a soft pencil giving a nice opaque black very easily. Show-through was about average, and only the Super Sharpie and Accu-Liner bled through, which is pretty typical.

These journals would make a nice gift for any book lover. The variety of covers they use guarantees there’s something for pretty much anyone, and the hard covers will be quite durable, as some of the books are old textbooks or library editions designed to be mauled by children. Each journal is unique, so the sizes and designs vary. The prices are around $13-14 for most styles I looked at on the website.

Thanks to the very generous assortment of samples I received, we’re going to have a mother of a giveaway this time!

I’ll select three random winners from entries submitted as follows, and each winner will receive two journals:

On Twitter, tweet something containing “Book Journals” and follow “@exlibrisanon” and “@NotebookStories.”

On Facebook, “like” the  Notebook Stories page and the Ex Libris Anonymous page, and post something containing the words “Book Journals” on my wall.

On your blog, post something containing the words “Ex Libris Anonymous Book Journals” and “NotebookStories” and link back to this post.

The deadline for entry is Friday Feb. 3 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!

These 3 notebooks are give a first impression of sleekness, somehow. The covers are smooth, and they are relatively thin and flexible. They range in size from about 5 13/16″ x 8 1/4″ to 7 1/8″ x 10″. For Japanese notebooks, these actually have less odd English verbiage on them than usual! One of them says it contains “MIO Paper,” and that this stands for “Mobile Ideal Original writing paper,” but that’s about as weird as it gets. The notebooks all have a very clean, minimal design.

First we have a Maruman notebook, with a wire-o binding and plastic front and back covers. The plastic has a slight ridged texture to it. Inside, you have smooth lined paper with a micro-perforated edge for easy removal.

Next, a Kikuyo Campus notebook, again with wire-o binding and a plastic front cover. This one has a very unusual page design– it’s lined, but there are dots along the lines, so it’s kind of a hybrid between lined and dot grid and squared. You can use it for writing or as you’d use graph paper, and the cover has a sticker on it that suggests a sort of geometrical figure being drawn using the dots. The pages also feature a space for numbering and a date at the top. They are not perforated. The back cover is a light, smooth cardboard.

And here’s another Kokuyo Campus notebook, this time with a metallic silver taped binding. The pages seem to be glued in. This one also has the number and date space at the top of each page, with regular, un-dotted lines below. The notebook has a wonderfully supple feel– the pages are smooth, the notebook opens very flat, and it’s very flexible, easily bending almost into a tube, and returning to perfect flatness afterwards. But the price you pay for this kind of flexibility is that the paper is quite thin. I tested a variety of pens and found that it’s wonderful to write on, with a very smooth, “hard” surface. I turned the page and at first was shocked that there was no show-through– but then I realized I’d actually turned more than one page because they’re so thin! When you’re actually looking at the back of the page, there’s quite a bit of show-through, and really penetrating markers like my Sharpies even bled through and made spots on the next facing page.

So if you like the aesthetic and tactile qualities of a basic yet refined notebook, you’ll love these– the paper feels just heavenly with a fine rollerball pen. But they may not be a top choice if show-through really bothers you. Check out these and a variety of other journals and notebooks offered at JetPens… or you can try your luck at winning the two samples I’m giving away!

I’ll select two random winners from entries submitted as follows:

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

On Facebook, “like” the  Notebook Stories page and the JetPens page, and post something containing the words “JetPens” on my wall.

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

The deadline for entry is Friday Jan. 27 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!

The Qwerty Journal looks at first like your standard moleskine-type notebook– black hardcover, 3.5 x 5.5″ size, elastic closure, ribbon marker. But you have only to look at it the right way to see what makes it unique. The cover material is smoother than a Moleskine, and it’s etched with a typewriter keyboard design that wraps around the front and back covers and spine. I love the black-on-black design.

When you open the notebook, it gets even better: colorful endpapers with retro typewriter images!

The ribbon marker is red and reads “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Other than these features, the notebook is very similar to others out there. It feels slightly larger and chunkier than a pocket Moleskine (shown for comparison below)– it’s more similar to the heft of a Rhodia Webnotebook.

The binding opens nice and flat. The lined paper feels good with all my usual pens, but my Pilot Varsity fountain pen bled and feathered a bit. In general, bleed-through and show-through were slightly worse than average.

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So this notebook isn’t for the fountain pen stickler, but it would make a great gift, especially if paired with some of the matching accessories, which include bags and pencil cases (at least I’ve seen these in stores– they don’t seem to be available on the company’s website as of this writing).

The other notebook I got was the Rob Ryan “I Am The Notebook Of…” journal. Again, I love the design– no black on black this time, instead it’s a light-hearted whimsical look in turquoise, white and yellow.

The art is based on intricately cut paper– charming and technically impressive! I didn’t test the paper in this one but it’s unlined, with a nice creamy tone to it. The cover is cardboard boards with the colored artwork pasted over it. And there are beautiful endpapers too! The size is a bit larger than a pocket Moleskine.

It’s very lovely and I’m tempted to keep it, but instead I’m going to give it away to some lucky, randomly selected winner who enters in one of the ways below:

On Twitter, tweet something containing “Wild & Wolf” and follow and “@NotebookStories.”

On Facebook, “like” the  Notebook Stories page and post something containing the words “Wild & Wolf” on my wall.

On your blog, post something containing the words “Wild & Wolf” and “NotebookStories” and link back to this post.

The deadline for entry is Friday Jan. 6 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!

I love the nice clean design, with all its sharp lines and angles. The cover is very cool– it’s sort of a two-layer design with the blue outer cover and flaps folding around a red inner cover.

Inside, you see that it’s technically called a calendar “plus sketchbook.” Lots of diaries have extra notes space, but I’ve never seen one that had such a high ratio of drawing pages. But before you get there, it’s pretty standard diary stuff: an international holiday list, which also includes major design industry events, a 2-year calendar, then weekly spreads which start with Monday. There are 4 days to each page, leaving room for a notes space at the end of the week. Holidays are in orange, and moon phases are noted in grey.

After the calendar pages, you get the blue sketchbook pages with various patterns in fine white lines– dots, grid, overlapping circles and triangles, etc. Very cool for drawing and doodling.
There’s also a red ribbon marker.

The whole thing measures 4 x 6″, and about 1/2 inch think. It’s nicely flexible and opens flat. The pages are lighter weight and a bit thin, so I’d expect some show-through with some pens.
You can purchase one at the Typotheque online store. It’s not super cheap at 15 Euros/$19.80 USD (plus shipping, which is 7.70 Euros to the US for 6-9 day international priority mail). But it’s a beautiful and unique way to keep track of your year and inspire your creativity!

15 euro/ 19.80 USD

Pocket Dept is a line of handy notebooks inspired by vintage stationary and designed to suit every pocket. Each Pocket Dept book is made from the finest writing papers and perfect bound for strength and durability. Designed and manufactured with recycled materials by Art House Co-op in Brooklyn, NY – from our workshop to your pocket.

I first spotted Pocket Dept notebooks at the BookExpo convention back in May, and I was immediately smitten. The colors and design are lovely, with the feel of a vintage notebook that might have faded a bit with age. But is their beauty more than skin-deep? (or cover-deep) Let’s take a look at some samples the company sent me to find out…

Here’s the 3 samples I got:

Aren’t those colors fantastic? The sizes shown above are their “Messenger Bag Pocket” size, which is 5.5 x 8.5″, and the 3.5 x 5.5″ “Shirt Pocket” model. They also offer a 6×6″ “Backpack Pocket,” a 4 x 4″ “Back Pocket,” and a 3.5 x 6″ “Front Pocket.” This last, to me, seemed a curious choice– why offer two sizes that differ by only a half inch in height? As far as I can tell, there is no other difference. I guess the 3.5 x 6″ size is becoming more popular– it’s used by Leuchtturm and other brands, particularly German ones, it seems. Perhaps some people are just as passionately in favor of the taller page size as I am passionately against it!

But back to my samples…

The covers have a letterpress printed box with the brand name and a space for your name, the date, and a place. The typography also has a vintage look to it. I do tend to prefer notebooks that proclaim their branding more subtly, but the design is attractive. You’ll also notice that one of the notebooks is in French, which I love. On the back cover, there’s another box with information about the brand and the slogan “a notebook for your pocket.”

The edges are nicely trimmed, with square corners. Everything was nice and square and lined up properly– good attention to quality and detail. The spine is also squared off as they are perfect bound, with the pages glued in rather than sewn in signatures. I’ve pictured the Pocket Dept notebook with a pocket hardcover Moleskine for size comparison, but the Moleskine Volant would be a closer equivalent.

But the binding ended up being my main beef with this notebook. The cover is glued in beyond the edge of the notebook, so to open it, you have to crease the front cover, thereby spoiling its appearance a bit. The spine is pretty tightly glued, so the notebook doesn’t open flat.

The paper inside is slightly greyish– it reminded me of the paper in the Leonardo notebook I reviewed. I wasn’t expecting it to be especially smooth, but it actually feels great to write on and performed well with all my usual pens. Showthrough and bleed-through were less than average. Unlined paper seems to be the only option. None of the pages are perforated.

Each of the notebooks has 35 sheets/ 70 pages, so they are slim and certainly live up to their name of being easy to slide into a pocket. But at prices of $8-12 each depending on size, they’re pretty expensive– you won’t have to worry about your money competing for space in those pockets if you buy a lot of these! I am willing to pay a little more for a well-made notebook, especially one like this where I know I’m supporting a small local business, but that price makes me say ouch. It’s a shame, because I’d buy one as a gift for a notebook lover, but I wouldn’t buy dozens for myself to go through as the kind of everyday jotter notebook that they seem to want them to be.

So, bottom line, the pros are the beautiful design, variety of colors and sizes, and the paper. The cons are the binding that doesn’t allow the notebook to lie flat, and the price. I wish I could give these more of a whole-hearted rave, but I hope the company will come out with other products. I’d personally love to see a hardcover notebook with the same paper and the exterior in these great colors. (In 3.5 x 5.5″, please!)

You can buy Pocket Dept notebooks in a few stores around the US, as well as online from their website. But you can also try your hand at winning one. I’ll be selecting 2 lucky winners to receive some of my samples, from entries received as follows:

On Twitter, tweet something containing “Pocket Dept” and follow “@pocketdept” and “@NotebookStories.”

On Facebook, “like” the  Notebook Stories page and the Pocket Dept page, and post something containing the words “Pocket Dept” on my wall.

On your blog, post something containing the words “Pocket Dept” and “NotebookStories” and link back to this post.

The deadline for entry is Friday Dec. 9 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!

Uniball Signo RT 0.38

This is my #1 pen for daily use, and you’ll usually see it as the first thing I try in a notebook I’m reviewing. I love the fine, smooth, opaque line and I have found these pens extremely reliable– they don’t get blobby or scratchy, they don’t skip, and though the bodies and mechanism are lightweight plastic, I’ve never had one break. The body color matches the ink, and it has a rubbery part toward the tip so it’s comfortable to hold. You can even buy refills in a few colors in order not to have to throw out the bodies when the ink is gone. They come in a great range of colors– my favorites are black, blue-black, and lavender-black. (The black and blue-black are available in refills, but for lavender-black, you have to buy a whole pen.) The refills are $1.35 and whole pens are $1.65. There’s also an 8-color set available for $13.00. There’s nothing fancy or flashy about these pens– they just do their job quietly, simply and beautifully.

Uniball Signo MF3 Multi-pen

I definitely have a soft spot for multi-pens. I love the idea of being able to keep multiple ink colors and a pencil with me at all times without having lots of extra pens floating around in my bag. This is probably the best all-around multi-pen I’ve used. This pen includes black and red ink in a 0.5 width, plus a pencil. The thing that really distinguishes it from other multi-pens is the mechanism– you twist the barrel to rotate between the inks. When the pencil is selected, you push down on the cap to advance the lead. There’s an eraser under the cap. I like the twist mechanism because you never have to worry about accidentally retracting the ink you’re writing with if you bump the button that selects another color– some multi-pens can have a hair trigger in this regard. The body is comfortable to write with, with a non-slip rubbery surface at the tip. Though I often prefer the 0.38 width to 0.5, the line this pen gives is also a nice weight, and I always find it writes very smoothly and evenly, with a clean, dark line. The body comes in various colors. The pens are $6.75, and refills are $1.00.

Uniball Style-Fit Multi-pen

Yes, I like the minimalism of carrying one pen, but I also like to maximize my color and line weight choices, which is why I love this pen. This is the Build-a-Bear of multi-pens: you pick the empty pen body , which comes in a variety of colors, and then pick 5 refills to insert, including various ink colors and widths, and a mechanical pencil option. (A slimmer 3-color version is also available.) The first one I bought was a silver body and when I opened the package, I couldn’t help saying “OOOH!” because it looked like a sleek little rocket! About 2/3 of the body length is silver, and then the tip is a clear plastic so you can see the ink colors. (This makes it a wee bit less comfortable to use than the MF3, as you don’t have the softer rubbery surface.) The pen inserts give the same smooth, fine writing experience as the other Uni-ball pens mentioned above, with .28, .38, .5, and .7 weights available. The mechanism for this pen is 5 separate buttons to select the different inks, the clip being one of the 5. If you use the pencil insert, it has to be inserted corresponding to the clip, as an extra push a bit further is what advances the lead. The buttons are sensitive– if you hit one without pushing it down all the way, you’ll retract the ink you’re using. The body is light-weight, and the only concern I’ve had about durability is that with one of these pens, I must have tightened it a bit too much after replacing an ink, and a crack developed. (I have two– the other pen has been opened and screwed closed quite a few times with no cracks.) The empty body is $4.25, ink refills are $1.35-$1.65, the pencil component is $3.00. (There’s also a “Mystar” body for $8.25 which looks a little different, but I haven’t tried one of those… yet!)

Zebra Sarasa 3+S Multi-pen

Most of my pen faves have been Uni-ball, but I also like the Zebra Sarasa pens I’ve tried. This is another multi-pen, this time with black, blue and red inks in a .5 weight, plus a mechanical pencil. It’s very sturdy, and the inks are nice and smooth. One distinguishing feature is that the clip opens wider than most other pens. Again, the buttons are a bit sensitive, perhaps a little more so than on the Style-Fit. But it’s nice that the buttons are the color of the ink within, so it’s easier to see what you’re selecting, and the body has the comfortable soft rubber coating around the tip. The filled body is $10.00 and refills are $1.10. Various body colors are available.

I bought all of these at JetPens, where they have lots of other delectable goodies for pen and notebook lovers. For full disclosure, I have to say JetPens have given me some free pen and notebook samples to review, but I am also a frequent paying customer. Their $25 minimum for free shipping makes it pretty hard to stay away!

How about you? What are your favorite pens?

So here it is:

I really do love the design of these notebooks. It’s such a great idea to take Penguin’s iconic look and classic novels and make them the covers of notebooks. Unfortunately, to truly replicate the proportions of the original books, the notebooks have to be a bit taller than my favorite height to width ratio. That’s my own personal preference and others may not have a problem with it… but unfortunately, there’s a few other issues with this notebook that will keep it from being something I ever actually use.

First of all, the binding is quite stiff– it does not easily lie flat. Then there’s the paper, which feels great with the usual gel ink rollerball pens I use, but some other pens behaved very strangely. My Pigma Brush pen seemed to somehow resist the paper– it goes on looking greyish instead of the opaque black it shows on other papers. My Pilot Varsity fountain pen also seemed to bead up. Otherwise, showthrough and bleed-through were about average, or maybe a little worse than average.

Otherwise, the notebook didn’t have too many surprises– the cardboard cover is sturdy, with sharply squared-off corners. There’s a ribbon marker and back pocket. The ribbon marker is sealed at the end so it won’t fray, which is a nice touch, but in my sample, it must have been tucked in before the end had completely dried and it was a bit stuck to the pages. I also wondered why they chose to use a red ribbon on a notebook that is otherwise all orange and black. Another nice touch is that the space on the inside front cover where you write your contact info is headed “Ex Libris.”

Bottom line: this is a great looking notebook that would make a nice gift for any booklover. But if you’re really picky about how it actually performs, it might not be your best choice.

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!

• The paper wrapper is a translucent vellum.
• The cover material is a little smoother than Moleskine.
• It has black endpapers.
• The brand name is on the ribbon marker-, which is a bit longer than usual
• In addition to black, white and brown covers are available.
• It has 200 pages, a bit more than the usual 192 for notebooks this size.

Though the specs say it is 3.5 x 5.5″, it feels a little smaller than a Moleskine, and the cover overhangs slightly more, so the inside pages are smaller.

It has nice smooth paper that feels good with all pens, and my fountain pen worked nicely on it– but it’s a bit thin– not great for showthrough.

Pentalic is based in Oregon, US, but the notebook says it is “hand made in China”, and notes that the cover material is manufactured in the Netherlands. They also note “book design by Maurits,” so I guess that’s who gets credit for those little touches mentioned above!

There’s something very pleasing about this notebook– I love the black endpapers, and it just feels good in the hand. Given the showthrough and light paper, I’m not sure a lot of artists would really use it as a sketchbook, but I think I’ll work it into my rotation for daily jottings and quick sketches.

$9.95
70 gsm/ 45 lb paper
200 sheets, 3.5″ x 5.5″

Stillman & Birn’s slogan is “paper matters.” While one artist may want a smooth paper for fine pen & ink drawings, another will want a rough surface for charcoal, or a thick paper that will stand up to watercolors. Stillman & Birn’s sketchbooks offer a variety of options to suit all preferences:

Paper weight: heavy, or extra heavy

Paper color: natural white or ivory

Binding: hardcover or wirebound

Paper surface: rough, vellum, or plate

They have boiled down various combinations of these options into 5 series of sketchbooks–Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon– each of which is available in several sizes, from 4×6″ up to 11×14″.

Let’s take a look at the samples they sent me to test out:

First impressions: the covers are nice and sturdy, with squared corners. The material is a bit smoother than other similar sketchbooks. Each has a paper band outlining the characteristics of the paper within. Otherwise, the only branding is a stamped logo on the back cover. The wirebound sketchbooks are a nice option for when you want to completely fold back the cover. The hardcover sketchbooks don’t open as totally flat as some other brands I’ve tried, particularly in the smaller sizes, but this may be due to the thicker paper.

All the papers performed beautifully– the extra heavy paper did not buckle at all with the watercolors, and even the dreaded Super Sharpie was 99.9% undetectable in terms of show-through unless you’re holding the paper up to the light. Even the heavy weight paper was better for show-through than almost anything else I’ve tried. The regular heavy weight paper only buckled a little with watercolor. All the papers held up to erasing.  The rougher surfaces work nicely with charcoal, and yet still feel good to write on with a fine point pen. The surface didn’t deteriorate with multiple layers of watercolor or markers.

My only concern is that my pH test pen showed a couple of the sketchbooks not to be acid-free– if it turns purple, the paper is acid-free, if it stays yellowish, it’s not. I was surprised by this, as I’ve rarely had notebooks fail this test. The Beta sketchbook (extra heavy weight, natural white, rough surface) and Epsilon sketchbook (heavy weight, natural white, plate surface) were the ones that failed, and the only thing those papers have in common is the color. But Stillman & Birn say all their sketchbooks are “archival quality” and “pH neutral” so I hope they’ll address this with tighter quality control on their paper. [UPDATE 9/7: the owner of the company immediately contacted me upon seeing this review. They test their batches of paper when they arrive and are addressing the pH issue with the manufacturer in Europe to understand how this may have happened.]

I really enjoyed testing these, as I had to break out some art supplies I hadn’t used in a while, and the way they performed on these papers inspired me to want to use them more! I hope some of you will also feel similarly inspired by this giveaway: the folks at Stillman & Birn have generously offered to send an 8.5×11″ hardbound sketchbook from the Alpha series to 5 randomly selected winners who enter in any of the following ways:

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

On Facebook, “like” the  Notebook Stories page and the Stillman and Birn page, and post something containing the words “Stillman & Birn” on my wall.

On your blog, post something containing the words “Stillman & Birn” and “NotebookStories” and link back to this post.

And for those who don’t have these other options available to them, you can also enter by leaving a comment on this post.

Since we can have 5 winners, I will pick at least one winner from each entry method above.

The deadline for entry is Friday September 9 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!

And if you don’t win, here’s the list of retailers currently stocking Stillman & Birn sketchbooks. (You might want to snap some up fast, as the company is based in New Jersey and their warehouse and offices were heavily damaged by Hurricane Irene. I hope this won’t interrupt their supply too much!)