A reader tipped me off to what looks like a really interesting book: In this richly illustrated book, readers will for the first time experience the diaries David Sedaris has kept for nearly 40 years in the elaborate, three-dimensional, collaged style of the originals. A celebration of the unexpected in the everyday, the beautiful and … Continue reading David Sedaris’s Diaries
An interesting item from the New York Times: (Some of) the Many Ways Times Journalists Take Notes If news reports make up the first draft of history, a reporter’s notebook is where that draft begins. Whether it’s an iconic quote scribbled in a notepad or a detailed scene describing a moment in time, the notes that … Continue reading How Reporters Take Notes
I loved these images of Octavia Butler’s notebook, with her affirmations about becoming a successful writer. (She eventually did.) The post at Black Cardigan Edit where I found these also shows off some notebook pages by Sylvia Plath and Frida Kahlo! Other posts about writers’ notebooks Other posts about artists notebooks and sketchbooks
A very powerful article from the September 16, 2019 New Yorker magazine: My Terezin Diary, by Zuzana Justman. It’s a miracle that the diary and its author both survived the atrocities of the Nazi concentration camps. I kept the diary from December 8, 1943, until March 4, 1944—the first winter of the two years I … Continue reading Zuzana Justman’s TerezÃn Diary
The National Library in Jerusalem, Israel has just revealed to the public for the first time a collection of Franz Kafka’s papers, including some notebooks. The writings themselves have been published before, but without access to the original papers, people couldn’t see how he wrote, and doodled and sketched, as in the example below! Trove … Continue reading Franz Kafka’s Notebook
Many people have the problem of loving notebooks but not knowing how to fill them, as described in this article by Claire Swinarski: As a writer, I’m often gifted journals. I’m also a total sucker for beautiful notebooks and can spend way too long perusing the paper section at Target. That means I’m the owner … Continue reading What if You Love Journals but Hate Journaling?
I’m enjoying a week at the beach, and thought I’d share what notebooks and pens and art supplies I brought with me. Since I traveled by car, I didn’t have to worry about packing light! First, here’s what is in my bag every day, which of course I didn’t change for my vacation: There is … Continue reading Vacation Notebooks and Art Supplies
I always love seeing articles about writers’ archives. I’d love to go through some of those boxes and see all the notebooks within, even if I haven’t read that writer’s work! Saul Bellow is an example… I haven’t read his books, but he left an extensive archive including lots of notebooks, one of which is … Continue reading Saul Bellow’s Notebook
Sometimes I see a notebook and just think, “Ugh. Why??” Here is an example: A notebook dedicated to composing Twitter tweets in 3 drafts? I guess it could be a good gag gift for someone but otherwise it seems like a waste of paper to me! If you disagree, you can buy one here!
I came across an article from The Economist about a new exhibition at the British Library, which sounds great: it’s all about the history of writing and note-taking. The article is behind a paywall, unfortunately, but here’s a taste: NEATLY HANDWRITTEN, with a simple diagram below a numbered list, the sheet looks like any fussy … Continue reading Writing Exhibition at the British Library