If you’ve been reading this site for a while, you know I’m pretty committed to using a certain size of notebook… so much so that a notebook can be almost perfect, but if it’s a few millimeters away from my preferred size and proportions, it’s going to be a reject. But it wasn’t always this … Continue reading Larger Notebooks from My Collection
In my last post on the topic of picking a sketchbook, I was struggling to figure out what to use next, after starting and then abandoning a Bindewerk Linen journal. I eliminated quite a few candidates, and had narrowed my choices down to these: Hahnemuhle Travel Journal HandBook Journal Stillman & Birn Alpha or Epsilon … Continue reading Sketchbook Switch: Here’s What I Chose
As longtime readers of this site will know, I’ve been pretty committed to using Moleskine sketchbooks. For years, I’ve been keeping one going at almost all times, for drawing and sketching whenever the mood strikes– sometimes even sticking to a habit of daily drawing for a year or more. I built up a stash of … Continue reading Sketchbook Switch: SO Many to Choose From!
I’ve been sharing notebook images from this blog on Pinterest for quite a while (as well as re-posting lots of other people’s notebook images). Over time, I’ve built up a surprisingly large following there, but in recent months I’ve noticed that a particular image of mine seems to have gone viral! The photo in question … Continue reading My Notebooks Have Become a Meme
Back in December 2008, I wrote a post called Finishing a Notebook. At the time, this still felt rather significant as an accomplishment. My notebook usage before the early 2000s was often very fickle– I’d start one, decide I wanted to try something else, then maybe go back to something I’d tried before, then move … Continue reading Unfinished Notebooks
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
Several years ago I posted about some of Turner’s sketchbooks that were available in book form: J. M. W. Turner Sketchbooks. I recently went to another exhibition of Turner’s work, this time at the Yale Center for British Art. In the exhibition, there was an actual sketchbook displayed in a plexiglass case, opened to a … Continue reading J. M. W. Turner Facsimile Sketchbooks
There’s a fabulous retrospective of the artist Ruth Asawa on view now at MoMA in NYC, through February 7, 2026. Asawa is best known for her hanging sculptures made of woven wire (the header photo of this post is the shadow of one of them), but this exhibition really opened my eyes to the breadth … Continue reading Ruth Asawa’s Sketchbooks
It’s been ages since I updated my “using now” photo, and while some things have stayed the same, there have been some changes along the way. I’m still using my Nolty Gold diary/planner to log exercise, meals, to-do lists, and grocery lists, as well as noting appointments and keeping track of habits. More details here: … Continue reading Notebooks I’m Using Now: Summer 2025
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
