Readers of this blog might have got the impression that I’m rather keen on technology — including, but hardly limited to, computers, smartphones, e-book readers and media players. However, as fond as I am of shiny gadgets, I have a deeper, longer-standing compulsion: notebooks and pens. Growing up, one of my favourite things about the start of a school year was going to get new stationery. No matter how easy it becomes to make notes electronically, there’s something fundamentally appealing about ink on dead trees — especially dead trees of the Moleskine variety.
The reason that I’ve been thinking about this subject is that I’ve recently come across four examples of good notebooks:
- Top of the heap, in terms of cost and wow factor, are these custom, laser-engraved Moleskine notebooks [via Mike].
- James has veered away from Moleskines in favour of making his own notebooks through lulu.com, using a classic book cover [via Booktwo].
- Mark Frauenfelder links to some handsome graph paper notebooks “inspired by the vanishing subgenre of agricultural memo books, ornate pocket ledgers and the simple, unassuming beauty of a well-crafted grocery list” [via BoingBoing].
- Finally, I rather like some of the Right Note range of notebooks - they sell a splendid ”Action” notebook, with Buchanesque thirties pulp cover, for recording “stupefyingly important things to do.” Unfortunately, their website isn’t as good as their products — though it is being redeveloped.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Eoin Purcell // Mar 17, 2008 at 2:15 pm
george,
Great links, that Evernote looks great!
Eoin
2 George // Mar 17, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Thanks Eoin. I’ve just had a beta invite for Evernote so will report back on it - though unless it’s seven kinds of magnificent, I’m not sure it’ll displace my paper fetish…
3 Ev // Mar 17, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Nice, very nice. I also dig the old Redstone diaries, years 96-99 were golden.
4 Joe // Mar 23, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Yep, you’re right, bud, much as I fancy some portable WiFi device for the occasional trip, there’s nothing like a decent notebook. The old Moleskines have that nice literary-art heritage associated with them too, which just makes them more special
5 George // Mar 23, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Hi Joe. That heritage is a real selling point for them - hence the amount of effort that the manufacturers put into emphasising it, even though it’s not necessarily true:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/10/16/mmole_ed3_.php
Marketers misleading customers - who would have thought it?
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