Category Archives: Diary

18th Century Diaries Written Like Twitter

This is interesting: In reviewing volumes of diaries, mostly written by women, [a researcher] found many terse records about what was happening in daily life in the same style demanded by Twitter’s 140-character limit. Many diary entries ranged, for example, from what was for dinner to reports of deaths, births, marriages and travel, such as … Continue reading 18th Century Diaries Written Like Twitter

Notebook Addict of the Week: Sean

This week’s Notebook Addict has been intensively documenting his life in daily journals, kept over many years. The photo below shows 5 years’ worth of notebooks, from 1985 to 1990. I love how beat-up they are, totally covered with writing and doodles. Here’s 15 more journals covering 1994-2005: Here’s what Sean has to say about … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: Sean

Virginia Heffernan Mourns the Filofax

I enjoyed this article in yesterday’s New York Times Magazine: The Demise of Datebooks, by Virginia Heffernan. I miss my Filofax datebook, with its six rings and dark red leather binder. I had a green one first, with a calendar that cast each week across two cream-colored pages. Back then, at age 30, I was … Continue reading Virginia Heffernan Mourns the Filofax

Fictional Journals

I stumbled upon a blogger who lists her 6 favorite books that feature journals or are told in journal form. Here’s her top pick: 1. I Capture the Castle/ Dodie Smith A delightful English book, set in the 30’s, telling the story of Cassandra Mortmain and her eccentric family. Begins with the classic line “I … Continue reading Fictional Journals

What I’m Using Now

I haven’t updated my “using now” photo in a while– the photo that’s been there was of a Piccadilly graph notebook. After that, I went through a Moleskine graph notebook within a couple of months– this was one of the ones I got for 50 cents and it definitely had some quality issues– some of … Continue reading What I’m Using Now

A Stash of Journals Discovered, from “A History of Ghosts”

The story below is the kind of thing I wish would happen to me… it’s from a book called A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Seances, Mediums, Ghosts, and Ghostbusters, which, amusingly enough, turns out to be written by the father of Dan Ackroyd: Judy and I pried open the rusted metal clasp … Continue reading A Stash of Journals Discovered, from “A History of Ghosts”