Diary, Journal, Links, Writing Notebooks

“Burning the Evidence”

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Oh, how this pains me!!!

I just burned 40 years’ worth of diaries. I didn’t plan to — or rather, I had always planned to, once I knew I was dying, or so old that I would soon lack the energy to gather wood. But I woke one morning and knew it was time to let it all go.

I yanked open the flue, started a small log fire and began laying on the books. They burned slowly, at first, reluctant. A few pages caught, charred edges smoldered across my handwriting, plumes of thick smoke funneled lazily into the chimney. Small hard-covered volumes, bound with thread and taped up the side, most of them from an old French stationer, their plasticized glossy lapis blue or turquoise covers shrank and shriveled. I had thought that color would keep away the evil eye. The eye that would pry. The eye that would judge.

I didn’t want anyone else reading my diaries, ever…

Read more at Burning Your Diaries – First Person – NYTimes.com.

Clairefontaine, Giveaway, My Collection, new products, Notebook Reviews, Rhodia, Sketchbook

Review and Giveaway: Some Rhodia and Clairefontaine Goodies

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A few months ago, I met Karen from Exaclair at her BookExpo booth and got a sneak peek at some new items from Rhodia and Clairefontaine. A few weeks later, some lovely samples showed up in my mailbox! Let’s take a look.

First off, here’s the new large Webnotebook with dot-grid paper. I love dot-grid paper, it’s such a nice alternative to having lines– you can use the page in all directions, so it’s great for writing, drawing and doodling. And of course, the yummy Rhodia paper works well with pretty much any pen and is heavenly to write on.

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Then we have two handy pocket-size notebooks. The Clairefontaine Life Unplugged notebook has been around for a while, but the Rhodia Unlimited notebook is new. Both are slender and flexible, combining some of the lightweight portability of the Moleskine Volants with added features such as an elastic closure and more pages. They’re shown below with a pocket Moleskine for size comparison. Because the notebooks are softcover, the elastic can flex them slightly if it’s a bit tight. The binding does not lie very flat, particularly in the Rhodia version. As you can see, all the pages in the Rhodia notebook are perforated, and have a nice layout with a grid plus a separate header, which reminds me of one of the Book Factory lab notebooks I reviewed.

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Next, there’s the Clairefontaine Graf-It sketchpad. This does not have the usual super-smooth Clairefontaine paper, but a slightly toothier paper that is nice for drawing on. It’s still fairly smooth, and the paper feels fairly lightweight, but had less show-through than I would have expected. A nice feature is the micro-perforated edge so you can tear sheets out neatly.

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Finally, here’s a bonus item that’s not really a notebook: a Rhodia paper mousepad! What a great idea– it’s such a handy way to have a nice piece of doodle paper handy on your desk at all times. They designed this very cleverly, gluing two edges of the pad so it won’t slide around while you’re using your mouse. (The staples shown on the cover are fake, just a little touch to make it look more like the traditional Rhodia blocs.)

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You can look for these items at your local stationery shop, or take a shot at winning a couple of items I’m giving away! Two lucky winners will be selected, one to receive the Clairefontaine Life Unplugged notebook, and one to receive the Rhodia dot-grid notebook. As usual, you can enter in any of the following ways:

On Twitter, tweet something containing  “@Exaclair” and “@NotebookStories.”

On Facebook, “like” the  Notebook Stories page and the Rhodia Drive page, and post something containing the words “Rhodia” or “Clairefontaine” on my wall.

On your blog, post something containing the words “Rhodia” or “Clairefontaine” and “NotebookStories” and link back to this post.

The deadline for entry is Friday October 14 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!

Moleskine, My Collection, Places to Buy Notebooks, Travel Notebooks

Moleskine Monday: Did the World Just Get Smaller?

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As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a fan of the Moleskine City Notebooks, so I was distressed when I noticed that they seem to be discontinuing many of the titles. The MoleskineUS.com store currently only lists London, Paris, Berlin and New York– that’s it. In a panic, I went searching to see if I could still find other cities for sale elsewhere– at BookDepository.com, they have quite a few, at discounts of up to 50% off, so I snapped up several cities that I hope to visit (or re-visit) someday, including Tokyo, Stockholm, Vienna, Venice and a few others.

The problem with some of these may be that they become outdated– the actual city maps aren’t likely to change much, but in some cases the transit maps could change quite a lot in just a few short years– that is certainly the case in New York. I wonder if Moleskine plans to update the content more frequently on these few titles they’re continuing to sell? I’m not counting on it…

I still love the idea of having a notebook dedicated to a city, with maps and the clear overlay sheets, and space to record my own itineraries and travel tips. I’m tempted to go back and buy all the cities I don’t have, even if I am unlikely to ever visit them!

Notebook Addict of the Week, Other People's Notebooks, pens, Places to Buy Notebooks

Notebook Addict of the Week: Gracie

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This week’s addict emailed me a hot tip:

 I just got home from a recent trip to Canada. I am not sure if you know this but there’s a store there called Dollarama and they sell moleskine-like notebooks for $2. They are a good alternative to the real thing and a LOT cheaper!

She also sent these photos of what she bought, and the rest of her notebook (and pen) collection:

Thanks Gracie! I may have to go up to Canada and do some shopping soon!

Links, Other People's Notebooks, Travel Notebooks

Notebook Stolen by Gaddafi’s Son?

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A reader tipped me off to this story, about a reporter whose notebook went missing in Libya:  

I like notebooks. I like writing things down – bits of detail, colour, what people say, their names, memory joggers, phone numbers. You name it.

I am writing this in a notebook because we are out filming.

And I do not mean a small portable computer. My notebooks have pages, hard black covers, a useful pocket inside the back and an elastic strap to stop them pinging open.

Khamis Gaddafi, the colonel’s most feared son, must have liked them too. Because it seems he has been writing war plans in the back of one of mine….

Read more at BBC News – Was Jeremy Bowen’s notebook stolen by Gaddafi’s son?.

Art, Links, Moleskine, Other People's Notebooks, Sketchbook

“I Can’t Stop Sketching”

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A nice little post from the Seattle Sketcher blog on the Seattle Times website: 
Seattle Sketcher | Like the Starbucks logo artist, I cant stop sketching | Seattle Times Newspaper.

I enjoyed reading this story by my Times colleague Melissa Allison about the artist who created the Starbucks logo, Terry Heckler. I can relate to his compulsive sketching. “Whenever Heckler gets a phone call, he grabs a sheet of paper and begins an ink drawing,” wrote Allison.
While I’m not much of a phone sketcher, I always carry a pocket Moleskine and draw on it at every opportunity. A guy standing on the bus. Sketch. A cool motorcycle in the street. Sketch. My Starbucks Frappuccino. Sketch.

For an artist, drawing everyday is like exercise. Our sketchbooks are like a miniature gym where we go for our daily workout.

 

Emilio Braga, Moleskine, My Collection, record-keeping, Serrote, Travel Notebooks

Moleskine Monday: Lisbon

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I’m just back from another trip where I used a Moleskine City Notebook, this time for Lisbon. I really enjoy using these on trips, as it’s handier than having to tote around a full guidebook. I stayed in a very central location, and the maps covered most (but not all) of the areas I visited around the city. It can be a pretty complicated place to get around, so the maps were essential! I just wish the transit map had gone beyond the Metro, as the buses and trams and trains were what I used more.
I used the indexed pages to jot down hotels, restaurants, shops and sights that I wanted to see or had visited. I used the blank index sections in the back to add additional info on other parts of Portugal I visited outside of Lisbon. And as always, I came back with the expanding pocket full of ticket stubs, extra stamps and other little mementos.
One other Moleskine note about Portugal– wow, were Moleskine notebooks expensive there! I saw pocket size notebooks for sale for as much as €16.50, which is almost $22!
And in a non-Moleskine aside, I of course bought lots of notebooks during my trip! Emilio Braga, Serrote and some other brands. I’ll show them off soon!

Art, creativity, EcoJot, Moleskine, Notebook Addict of the Week, Other People's Notebooks, Sketchbook

Notebook Addict of the Week: Amanda

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This week’s addict emailed me lots of photos of her notebooks, with the comments below:

The photos I have show 32 of my absolute favorites, minus the drawers I have dedicated to course notebooks and other larger ones.The titles should be fairly exclamatory regarding what’s in each image.  In the sketchbooks, there are two graph paperchase that I got on clearance for about $3/each.  In the misc, there are three moleskines, two large and one of  my two pockets, all sketchbooks.  Missing is my blank moleskine notebook, and another moleskine sketchbook that I gave to a friend’s sister to encourage her to draw more.

Click on the thumbnails below for the full view, with some bonus shots of some of Amanda’s drawings!


Thanks for sharing your collection!

 

 

Notebooks, journals, sketchbooks, diaries: in search of the perfect page…