For those of us who have the bad habit of continually buying blank books, is there anything tougher than picking which one to use next?
Do I go with the Rite in the Rain, thus restricting myself to pencil or ballpoint?
Composition book?
A gift journal with slightly iffy paper?
My very last Moleskine?
It's about the most first world of first world problems, but ARGH.
8 comments:
Blank notebooks are indeed a problem. Once you start one, you have to keep going with it, otherwise your writings end up getting fragmented in multiple volumes. For chronological writing, loose sheets are more practical, as they can be punched and ring-bound; but they lack the style of well-crafted notebooks.
Let us know which one you decide upon. Myself, I would choose the one with the best paper, especially if fountain pens are your forte.
This is, indeed, an agonizing problem and has probably brought small European nations to a crisis of indecision. Oh my! :-)
If the notebook will be used indoors, go with fountain or dip pen paper. If snow, rain or sweat is a factor, good mechanical pencils are our friends. (I've become a big fan of Pentels.)
Jeff The Bear
But it seems to me your biggest problem is that you are down to your last Moleskine.
Generally I use them one at a time, and carry them with me until full, then label with dates and shelf them. That fixes the chronological issues. Loose leaf gives me anxiety since it's easy for bits to get lost or misfiled.
It does mean once I commit, I commit, and I'm stuck with whatever notebook until it's filled, so at the end of each one, I go through this anxiety. :-)
I actually don't use Moleskines all that often--haven't used one in several years. On the one hand, they are sleek and ubiquitous and open nice and flat. On the other, their paper doesn't stand up to much ink, so I have to be cognizant of which pens I use in them. But I really should use this one up. And maybe there's my decision.
If you want to treat yourself and you like unlined paper, check out a company called Epica that sells Italian leather-bound journals.
Yes, this can be a problem, but if you're having trouble choosing, perhaps it's because you don't yet have the right next book you need?
I prescribe notebook shopping!
So do you go back and revisit them or do you leave that to your eventual biographers and grad students trying to deconstruct your writings? Having trouble even starting a book I really want to know what the other end of the process is, since I've never been there.
Richard, those are gorgeous! Not something I can spring for now, but wow. Maybe someday.
Steve, I like the way you think....
Notagain, I started to answer your question here, and it got so long I've decided to turn it into another blog post. Two blog posts, in fact. Be careful what you ask, I guess. ;-)
I never know, but keep buying more and more... It's an addiction I guess.
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