When I was about 8 years old, my grandmother took me to visit the office where she had formerly worked. One of her friends there took a liking to me, and for several years afterwards, we kept in touch through short cards and letters. A few years ago, the friend, whose name was Lucy, returned … Continue reading A Chinese Diary, 1980
Here’s a gem from the late ’70s/early ’80s. I love the simple cover design with the 25 cent price at the bottom. I wonder what ever happened to the Eastern Tablet company of Albany, NY. When you google it, not much comes up other than the obituaries of people who worked there at one time. … Continue reading Paper King Memo Book, late 1970s or early 1980s
I’ve been thinking a lot about how people use notebooks at work. Yesterday’s post showed a few of Obama’s staff with notebooks among the tools of their trade. Certain professions use notebooks as a matter of course: reporters, for one. If you look at the Alwych website, they describe their notebooks as being used by … Continue reading Notebooks at Work
In yesterday’s New York Times Magazine, there was a photo essay called “Obama’s People,” with portraits of the President-elect’s various cabinet members and staff. I couldn’t help noticing that a few of them were photographed with their notebooks! Here’s Eugene Kang, 24, Special Assistant to the President. His notebook is the highlight of the photo! … Continue reading Obama’s People’s Notebooks
I did my own comparison of a few sketchbooks including the HandBook and Moleskine. I use both brands regularly and like them both very much, for different reasons. But here’s a review from someone who HATES the HandBook! I’d had some issues with coloring the pages, since they don’t lie as flat as the Moleskine … Continue reading HandBook vs. Moleskine
I love finding articles where people from all walks of life talk about using notebooks. It’s way too easy to find writers talking about using notebooks– that gets really boring after a while, so I was happy to come across this article, an interview with Lowell Cohn of the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, CA, … Continue reading Mike Singletary On Using Notebooks
The Recording Thoughts blog asks “Are Fountain Pens Green?” This made me think about whether or not notebooks are green. There are plenty of notebooks out there made of recycled paper, which helps, but otherwise, those of us who consume a lot of notebooks are also killing a few trees. A Filofax-type notebook might be … Continue reading Are Notebooks Green?
I love this image from a recent issue of the New Yorker, which appears to have been drawn in a squared Moleskine notebook: I checked out the illustrator’s website, and though I didn’t spot any other Moleskine images, I really like his work!
A WikiHow page on “How to Keep a Notebook:” Step 1: Decide the purpose for your notebook. Will you write down your inventions? Will you write ideas for the screenplay, novel, poems you will someday write? Will you write down thoughts and ideas related to a particular project? Or do you simply want to have … Continue reading How To Keep a Notebook
I’m a little more than half done with my current notebook and I’m already starting to wonder what I’ll use next. Partly this is because I have such a large stack of unused notebooks to choose from… but it’s also due to a bit of restlessness. Since I’ve started using Moleskines, I’ve been quite good … Continue reading Thick or Thin?