44 Comments

Fully understand the dilemma, as I have very specific opinions on notebooks- and stationery in general. I recently has to replace a completed notebook as I’d finished it’s volume of The Bus. And despite the millions of pounds my subscriptions generate, I just couldn’t justify another £15-20 for a Leuchtermm ... so I picked up a very similar one from Tiger for £3.50 - and it’s perfect.

Expand full comment

As I'm sure you already know, Mark, I loved this post!

I used to use Moleskine pocket-sized notebooks in the dim and distant past, and remember being really disappointed when I upgraded to their medium-sized version because it was so narrow. I'm very used to European paper sizes - A5, A4, etc - so US half-letter feels rather skimpy. A bit too tall and thin.

I guess I could use a composition notebook (we call those 'exercise books' over here) for drafting my posts - at the moment I use an A4+ Leuchtturm for that (a little larger than A4, so any loose A4 pages can be slipped in without sticking out. I started my current one in April last year, and it's very nearly full. £20-ish for a year doesn't feel too expensive. Mind you, if I were writing reams and reams of notes for work (which I don't!) I'd certainly feel differently about that kind of spend on notebookery!

My A5 Leuchtturm bullet journal edition 1 is my absolute favourite. I'm still very upset that when Bullet Journal (not Leuchtturm) brought out edition 2 they scrapped edition 1 entirely. They're gold dust on eBay and Etsy... 😕 When they're no longer available I'll switch to the standard A5 Leuchtturm and try not to miss the index, the extra bookmark and the missing pages too much....! 🤣

Expand full comment

I love notebooks. I fantasize about being the kind of person that always carries one, that does everything long hand. Oh, how I have tried. For all my efforts and attempts, for all my deep romaticism for paper and pen, it just doesn't seem to work for me. I've tried journaling, keeping a common place book, a variety of pocket notebooks, and the friction point always comes to the bottle kneck of transcibing them into my Evernote. I've finally had to accept that typing directly into Evernote is my best option.

With that being said, I still have great fondness for composition notebooks. In fact, my iPad cover is made to look precisley like one, lol.

Expand full comment

For my day job I use Staples' inexpensive Steno Pads. Work supplies them and those fit in my camera bag well. I love the Leuchtuurm1917 notebooks and have one for my personal writing, but completely get that feeling like "this is too nice for me to mess up." I recently got turned on to Tombow pencils so those plus my Leuchtuurm1917 is my go to for relaxation. Clearly I need more vices.

Expand full comment
Apr 19, 2023Liked by Mark Dykeman

Wow, three weeks to fill a notebook. I don't blame you for considering options. It takes me 9 - 12 months to fill a notebook at work, so I don't mind using the Dingbats* for that purpose. Plus its paper is friendlier to fountain pens.

Just shows that everyone's use case is different.

Expand full comment

Composition notebooks are my choice. One was waiting for me in the first writing workshop I ever attended, and it’s there I learned to write as a healing practice. Twenty years on and I think the notebook itself is a writing ritual that gets me in the right/write mindset. Plus they are cheap! I use Field Notes for on-the-go writing. My spouse is on a journey with fountain pens and fancy paper notebooks, and I’m enjoying it vicariously.

Expand full comment

My absolute favorite is the Rhodia A5 dotted notebook, but I recently found a 7-pack of dotted A5s that came in at a much cheaper price with really good quality. These are hardcover instead of the flexible leatherette, but I think I’m enjoying the hardcover more. I only wish they were available in more colors.

Expand full comment

My writing output isn't directly equivalent to yours, but if I were to use an all index card set up (standard Oxford 4x6" index cards) I'd be looking at an average of 6,036 cards per year at $0.02574/card for an average of $153.75 a year. It's not the $26.00 per year for composition books, but it's also not nearly as expensive as the more expensive $20-30 notebook habit. 🗃️😁📓

Expand full comment

I remember advice from an art class once, in which the teacher told us the bane of creative expression was making your art too “precious”. That is, by going out and splurging on good quality only, you would produce stiff work because it had to be perfect - otherwise, it was a waste of good paper, right? I think about that advice a lot, be it for writing or art making. Cost aside (and yeah, I wouldn’t use good stock in work notes all the time), use what makes you happy, and don’t be afraid of putting sub-par work on good paper. If Jillian’s newsletter shows us anything, those notebooks become greater than the sum of their parts.

Expand full comment

Sometimes I class it up a bit with a Decomposition Book, which is a brand that makes recycled ones with prettier covers (and makes them in spiral binding, which I know you don't like, but which work for me writing on the couch in the morning). I'm sure you know about them but just in case: https://decomposition.com/

Expand full comment

I’ve always secretly loved composition books because they felt very special and grown-up (or upper year student) to me, a little schlub using duotangs and Hilroy notebooks at school. Maybe that’ll be my next work notebook...currently using some Staples house brand spiral notebook which is actually very nice. I comb the notebook section on eWay every time I need to order a new one for work and use that as my experiment in random notebooks.

Expand full comment

Great post Mark! Procrastination is real when a Cadillac type notebook is purchased! lol And I believe all shapes and sizes of notebooks have their purpose. Happy your new find is working out great!

Expand full comment

I am familiar with Bullet journal books (as in Leuchtturm1917 special editions), but this is the first I’m hearing of Dingbats*! I also first heard about the law of attraction journals today from a YouTube video I was watching not about journals. I am fighting with myself not to buy them as I have a nasty habit of buying beautiful notebooks but refusing to write in them in case I mess up and have to cross something out!

The most I’ve done, and this was years ago, was set one up to be a bullet journal where I used pencil first to be extra neat then traced over it with a fancy ink pen. It was a great relaxing exercise. But when I did the full thing I never used it. What if I started random writing in ink and made a mistake I had to cross out! Like misspell a word! 😫

However, in October I do have something special planned related to my 100 word stories so my fears will have to be tabled at least for one month. I’m also in the market for a smaller sized pocket notebook but as it’s literally just for 31 days I may not splurge and buy a fancy one.

Either way, you’ve managed to remind me about my obsession with journals I spend boat loads of money on but don’t use at 3am! Thanks, Mark!

Expand full comment
deletedApr 19, 2023Liked by Mark Dykeman
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
deletedApr 19, 2023Liked by Mark Dykeman
Comment deleted
Expand full comment