Review: Soundless Soliloquy Notebook

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I bought this notebook from Soundless Solilquy’s shop on Etsy over a year ago. It just looked like a nice simple notebook with some attractive colors available, so I decided to give one a try. It’s a very cute and handy size that manages to be very pocketable, more substantial than a Moleskine Cahier or Field Notes, yet slimmer than a softcover Moleskine or most of the other pocket notebooks out there. Shown below with a hardcover pocket Moleskine for size comparison:

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I picked a 3.5 x 5.5″ pocket notebook with a gray faux leather cover. It’s very understated and plain– no branding on the outside, and even inside, the logo is in a sort of textured clear gel (I’m sure there’s a name for this, but I don’t know what to call it!) so you might miss it if you’re not paying attention.

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The corners are neatly rounded, and there is a black ribbon marker. The sewn binding opens nice and flat.

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Inside, the paper is a cool bright white. It feels fine to write on, but show-through and bleed-through were a bit worse than average. The paper didn’t feel particularly special– it could have been regular office printer paper. If you’re used to Moleskine paper, Leuchtturm paper, Clairefontaine/Rhodia paper, or anything else a bit more upscale, you might find this paper a little underwhelming.

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What I do love about this notebook is the size and feel of it, and that it seems very carefully made. I seem to remember paying $20 for it, but the price on Etsy now is $25– either way, it’s high for what it is, especially since the cover isn’t real leather. I do believe in paying a bit more to support small scale craftspeople, but in this case, I think something more like $12-15 might be reasonable. I don’t think I’ll buy another one, but I like this one enough that it will be in my “to be used someday” pile. It’s also worth mentioning that Soundless Soliloquy offers to work with you to make a customized perfect journal– if you could specify upgraded materials with this level of skilled and careful binding, that would be worth paying some extra money for!

One thought on “Review: Soundless Soliloquy Notebook”

  1. Hi N,

    I’ve visted your blog before and was surprised to see traffic directed from your page, so I came to check it out. Thanks so much for your candid review. The paper I use is regular bond paper. Underwhelming, perhaps, but suitable enough for the masses. And while I wish I could offer my books for cheaper, a living wage is defeinitely something I appreciate! :) Should you ever find the perfect paper, I’d be happy to bind it into a book for you.

    Either way, I hope you get around to using this notebook some day!

    Best,
    Sharon

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