Here’s another interesting antique notebook from my collection. I love the concept of a diary mixed with a foreign language dictionary. This would have been intended for a soldier who was being sent to fight in France during World War 1, so in a lightweight, compact package, the soldier (or other service member) could both … Continue reading WW1 Soldier-Sailor’s Diary
I shared this article on Instagram recently, but wanted to write more about it here. Don’t Keep a Diary. Embrace the Fragments of Real Life Instead. The author Daniel Poppick talks about how diaries are often kept in a way that can sound a bit stilted or self-conscious: I’ve never consistently kept a diary. On … Continue reading Keeping a Notebook vs. Keeping a Diary
Be prepared to work hard for years, sign lots of non-disclosure agreements, and secure a key to a secret bank vault if you want to join the select few get to see this notebook, which contains… an ancient alchemical recipe? A spell for a witch’s brew? Instructions for making an elixir of eternal youth? No, … Continue reading This Notebook Contains a Secret Formula
Happy 2026! I can’t claim to have any major new notebook plans to report for this year: I’ll be sticking with the tried and true. But sometimes, even the tried and true changes a bit. This will be my 9th year of using a Nolty Efficiency Notebook. I’ve really gotten into a groove with Nolty’s … Continue reading 2026 Nolty Gold Planner Differences
I don’t think I’ve ever written about this notebook, which is a surprise. I fell hard for the Nava Memoria 1992 diary the minute I saw it. It was sold in a store I was working at then, and since I had just been promoted, I made the case that I needed this diary to … Continue reading New Year, Old Planner: Nava Memoria 1992
Orhan Pamuk’s Memories of Distant Mountains was published last year. I bought a copy right away but it’s taken me a while to review it! I wrote about Pamuk once before, quoting a passage from one of his books where he talks about his grandmother keeping notebooks that she wrote in every day. He must … Continue reading Orhan Pamuk’s Notebooks
I recently read the book The Catcher Was a Spy, a fascinating account of the life of Morris “Moe” Berg. Berg was a catcher for several major league baseball teams from the late 1920s to the early 1940s. While his record as a player wasn’t that great, he was one of the most quirky and … Continue reading Moe Berg’s Notebooks
Here’s a question from a reader: “I just took a job managing several employees. I’d like to keep a notebook that will have a section for each employee (roughly about 10). I have a travelers notebook and thought about several inserts for them but as much as I was addicted to travelers notebooks, I am … Continue reading Reader Question: A Notebook to Track Several Employees
In Roland Allen’s The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, there’s a mention of how Socrates disapproved of writing things down because he thought it would ruin people’s ability to memorize things. At least I think there something about it in that book… but I can’t find either “Socrates” or “memory” in the index, … Continue reading Do Notebooks Destroy Memorization Skills?
A few months ago, I wrote about my latest work notebook, a vintage Filofax. It’s working so well for me that I wish I had bought a Filofax in this size years ago to use for this purpose. I can’t help regretting all those wasted decades of using random office supply closet notebooks (as well … Continue reading How to Use a Notebook When Your Life Isn’t Busy
