Check out this tutorial on how to make a sort of Hipster PDA out of a Moleskine. I’m not sure how I’d like having those rings interfering with the front cover lying flat, but I like the way this adds a removable/ refillable element to the Moleskine, and the ability to flip it to the outside for quick jotting or reference is really nice.
Among their other favorite workspace tools, these are the top picks for note-taking:
Paper and Note-Taking Tools
Despite our zest for technology, pen and paper is still Lifehacker readers’ favorite note-taking tool. Let’s take those notes in style.Moleskine Notebooks: We take our note-taking very seriously around these parts, so it’s no surprise that we’re fans of the high quality Moleskine line of notebooks. They come in all shapes and sizes, they’ve got thick, durable binding, and they just feel good in your hand.
Field Notes: Like to do a lot of back-pocket note-taking? The pocket-sized Field Notes memo books are just the right size for the job, are flexible but durable enough to survive your pocket, and come in graphed, ruled, plain, and mixed flavors. (Original post)
The third edition of the Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper will be here before you know it, this time hosted by Office Supply Geek on Tuesday October 6th. Submissions are due by 5pm EST on Sunday October 4th.
The Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper is a traveling monthly collection of the best blog posts about notebooks, pens, pencils, paper products and anything else deemed relevant by the editors. More information about the carnival here and here. If you’re unfamiliar with blog carnivals, they’re a great way to build community and awareness among blogs that share similar subject matter. Bloggers and hosts can get more exposure for their posts, and readers enjoy an edited collection of posts and can discover new blogs they might not be aware of.
Submission guidelines:
Submit your post using this form no later than 5pm EST on the first Sunday of the month. Submissions must relate to the subject matter of the Carnival. One submission per blog per Carnival. All posts are included at the editor’s discretion and any considered inappropriate, off-topic, or of sub-par quality may be rejected.
All participants whose posts are selected for must post a link back to that edition of the Carnival within one week of its publication, also including a link to the Carnival home page at https://www.notebookstories.com/carnival-of-pen-and-paper/
A reader named Carol sent me a really nice email a couple of months ago and I’m finally getting around to making her an Addict of the Week. Here’s some of what she had to say (I’m blushing as I write this!):
I love you, I love your website, and I love all the other people out there who love notebooks. I used to think I was the only one! No more….
First a shot of my lifetime in notebooks, kept on and off since I was twelve (I’m 48).
Then my current stash. The top three are in use, the others are lying in wait. Their number is smaller than usual because I just gave a pile of rejects to a thrift store.
Currently coveting: another Miquelrius, Rhodia ePure, Bob’s Your Uncle Do-Doodle.
I asked Carol about the small green notebook in the lower left corner of the second photo, as I really liked the look of it and hadn’t seen anything quite like it:
The little green notebook is old, though I have no idea how old. Someone gave it to me, it’s made by a company called Warwick, and it’s actually called “Album of Snapshots” with heavy paper for mounting pictures (the pages are perforated, and the instructions say to remove every other one, I guess so the book will keep it’s shape once the photos are in), but I figured it would work for collage, drawing, etc. too.
Finally, here’s a question Carol was pondering. I’ve often wondered the same thing, and I’ll bet many other readers have too:
Has anyone ever put forward a psychological theory as to WHY we love notebooks so much? I mean, I understand the need to be creative and remember things and make lists and whatnot, but loving the actual physical notebooks, keeping empty ones around and still buying more, always looking for a better one?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments…but it may just be one of those mysteries of the world that we’ll never understand!
A big thanks again to Carol for sharing her notebook addiction!
For a nice list of recommended materials for “art journaling, doodling and beyond,” check out this post at the blog Daisy Yellow. Among lots of other fun supplies, these notebooks are mentioned:
Moleskine Notebooks
~ I use the sketch lined or unlined Moleskine for doodling, making lists, planning trips, drawing mandalas.
Moleskine Watercolor Notebook
~ I use these for neocolor II crayons (wet/dry), doodling, watercoloring, drawing mandalas, acrylic paint, anything. The watercolor paper is beyond fabulous. I’ve painted on the back/front of the same page without a problem! No bleed-through. Expensive but a worthwhile luxury.
Hand Book Artist Journals
From Canada’s National Post, a nice appreciation of the pleasures of notebooks, pens and other supplies: Move over Moleskine.
Oh, how I longed for that pack of Prismacolor pencils! Yet every year my consolation prize was a plastic pack of Laurentiens and, if I was lucky, a fruit-scented eraser. But the gold-tipped deep red Prismacolor box is what I remember most from the annual August school supply shopping of my childhood. Hilroy notebooks, Berol HBs, Elmer’s Glue and Pink Pearl erasers, maybe a Trapper Keeper. But certainly never the Prismacolor or the fancier-still Faber-Castells.
I got all excited for a minute, thinking ” ‘Hilroy?!?!?’ A new notebook brand I’ve never heard of!” But they’re actually pretty dull-looking, along the lines of Mead notebooks. Further along in the article, Moleskine, Rhodia, Field Notes, Canteo, Whitelines, Clairefontaine, Rite in the Rain and other brands are mentioned. And I liked this quote at the end:
The beauty with having a notebook is that you write anything random down. You can always cross it out later.
Here’s someone who is a notebook addict and a bit of a philosopher too, it seems. Many of the notebooks seem to be the red and black ones made in China and sold in stores such as Pearl River Mart in NYC. I have one in my collection that was bought in Boston’s Chinatown many years ago.
You can read various excerpts from these notebooks at the author’s website: Unpublished writings from the notebooks 1990-2005. Here’s one example, called “Celibacy, sex, mysticism, and spiritual liberation:”
Celibacy applies not to the sexual act, but to the relinquished desire for specific, tangible actions, or understandings. We audaciously assume to vindicate ourselves by marrying plausibility. Though really we are the infidels of isness, lusting after after manifestation’s maidens… specificity.
Hmm… I guess I will stick to notebook commentary rather than literary analysis! But it’s a nice collection of notebooks.
Did you know that in addition to their ubiquitous water bottles, Nalgene also makes notebooks? Neither did I, but apparently they do! And the notebooks are waterproof, in case you spill the contents of your Nalgene bottle on them.
Waterproof notekeeping in the field.
Keep records in wet or harsh environments. Spunbonded polyethylene PolyPaper has exceptional strength and resistance to moisture and chemicals. Unaffected by fresh or salt water, it far exceeds the performance of conventional papers, even those with special coatings.
All pages are printed with a green 1/4″ grid. Pocket Data Book fits easily into packs or pockets. White plastic spiral binder can’t rust. Cover provides a firm writing surface. Pocket Notepad fits in a shirt pocket yet provides permanent records in wet and harsh environments. Rugged cover has rounded corners to prevent bending. Field Notebook has a durable yet flexible cover and spiral binding. Pages are printed on both sides and numbered from 1 through 96, plus title and table of contents pages. Each page has space for dates and signatures. PolyPaper Plastic Paper won’t rip, stretch or shrink. Write on it with almost any kind of pen or marker. Use it for labels on dry chemical or biological samples stored in formalin. No. 94887 can be used in photocopies or laser printers. No. 94888 can be written on with pencil.
I found the listing here, at the Ben Meadows Company, though the info is a bit confusing: what size are the notebooks? And how many do you get for for $63.20? I thought it had to be one multi-pack of notebooks, not just a single notebook! But I emailed the company and the nice people there confirmed that yes, that was the price for one notebook and that they were not going to be selling them any more because they were too expensive, due to the rising cost of the materials used to manufacture them. That still didn’t answer the question of size, though. I did find other retailer listings that offered a 9 x 11 1/4″ notebook for $89.93, and an 8 1/2 x 11″ notebook for $96.20, as well as what seem to be some hardcover lab notebooks of unspecified sizes for $36.10-60.70. Finally, I found this listing for the Pocket Data book–not very pocketable at 4 1/2 x 8″, and costing $288.44 for 12. But no one seems to list the small spiral bound notebook shown in the picture.
Oh well– if you really want a waterproof notebook, stick to Rite in the Rain
One of the best things about writing this blog is that I’ve been getting some nice emails from readers with photographs of notebooks. Here’s a few:
Carol sends this HUGE notebook:
And Jan sends this tiny one, bought in Holland:
And Jun shares these photos of a very covetable Japanese surveyor’s notebook:
If you have any pictures you’d like to share, send them to me at nifty [at] notebookstories [dot] com. If you send a picture of your whole collection, I might even make you an addict of the week!
