So, I see a lot on the web about Moleskine notebooks; however, what I’m reading just doesn’t have the same personal touch as an Internet message board.
Any Moleskine lovers or haters out there willing to fill me in, since my only option otherwise is to buy one sight unseen? If so, will you?
Thanks!
I started using the small format, paper-backed Moleskine notebook at the beginning of April for keeping my food log. They come in packs of 3, and they fit into my shirt pocket without weighing me down.
I like them very much. I found them at Stacey’s bookstore in San Francisco, where they have a fairly wide selection, including several different types of the clothbound notebooks. They seem to be very well made, and would probably last a long time. If you were looking for a quality book for a journal or other personal writings, I don’t think you could do much better that a Moleskine.
Roddy
I took a little one travelling with me last year. I don’t know how many varieties they make, but this was a hard cover one that fit perfectly in my jeans pocket and is marked “Moleskine”. It’s a good size, handy to whip out and flip open to jot down one’s thoughts, and relatively durable (the elastic that holds it shut snapped after about eight months of on-the-road abuse). What’s special about it? Not a lot else really, apart from its historical literary cachet.
They are nice and compact and durable. I’ve had one kicking around the bottom of my backpack (a hazardous environment that has munched up more than one paperback novel) for a couple years. The paper is sweet; heavy enough that pretty much nothin’ bleeds though, and smooth as a baby’s butt.
If you’re looking for a small-format notebook for use on-the-go, they’re well worth the money.
I only have one problem with them: they don’t lay flat. I find that to be an absolute deal-breaker when I’m buying a notebook. That means I typically search for a tight spiral bound notebook that can be encased in a nice leather shell. YMMV.
Aside from that, they are well made, and they’re a nice bit of marketing too!
The Doctor
The reason I love my little Moleskines?
Because of the pockets- I take one when I travel as a sort of diary/jotter/notebook thing, and that little pocket is the perfect place for various ticket stubs, phone numbers, leaflets, flyers and so on that I want to keep for my holiday scrapbook.
If you’re the sort of person who can keep even the cheapest notebook immaculate, then you won’t see the difference, but if, like me, any cheap notebook you buy turns into a mass of crumpled, shredded paper, seemingly within minutes, then you’ll definitely appreciate the quality of a Moleskine.
I was thinking about NaNoWriMo, actually. They’re on sale at Amazon & they’ve got ones that are about the size of a letter-sized peice of paper folded in half. Since I found sitting at the bar, enjoying a few pints, and writing, I was thinking that a nice, durable notebook might be just the thing, especially if it was essentially permanent.
It’s too bad this pen is too impractacle (sp?) for the same setting, because I’m verily obsessing about it!
Pah, js_africanus, you don’t need that newfangled glass nonsense. All you need is a pigeon feather, a cup, and an angry squid.
I’d be wary about using it for long stretches of writing because, as Doctor Who says, they don’t lie flat; at least the smaller ones don’t.
Those glass dip pens suck, IMHO. A normal metallic nib is cheaper and works better.
I’m not sure squids are in season at that time of year. Besides, I’ve tried writing with a feather and didn’t find it so hot. (That’s another big point of skepticism with the pen, otherwise I’d probably have broken down and ordered it already.)
Plus, I think there’s health department rules about squids qua patrons in eating establishments. I’ll have to double check that one.
I don’t have that exact pen - but I have a pen very much like it, and it’s not practical for anything - except thinking to yourself “I have a cool pen” while writing with it. Very slowly - because it can’t be used to write quickly. Or in notebooks (the ink doesn’t dry fast enough) or on many types of paper.
I like moleskines and it doesn’t bother me that they don’t lie flat. But I can see how someone who was a hard core writer could really grow to hate that quality. They also make reporter style notebooks that might work better for some people.
I’ve never owned one, but I’m probably going to order a bunch of the large squared. I use gridded notebooks with stitched pages exclusively, and my previous favorite (which wasn’t that durable anyway) isn’t available anymore.
I use the small squared notebook for travel because it is pocket-sized, has the little pocket in the back for keeiping ticket stubs, etc, and the grid is great for copying little maps into the notebook.
I’ve been using them for several years, and I get a new one for every trip.
In the front 1/3 I put info about the places I’ll be travelling to - toursit spots I’d like to hit, Tourist Information Center addresses/phone numbers for each city, possible hotels, restaurants, etc for each destination. I make little maps of the city centers (sometimes I tape in maps if the part I need is too big to draw out by hand).
In the middle I jot my notes each day.
In the back I tuck ticket stubs, receipts, etc, and before I leave I write down addresses of people I want to send postcards to.
They’re great little notebooks!
Cool. So it sounds like they’re outstanding, if not for what my intent is in this particular case. However, they’ll be good for other things, and maybe I’ll start recommend-a-good-writing-notebook thread a bit later.
Thanks!
Not to go Columbo, but one other thing, there, js_africanus… in your OP you mentioned buying them sight unseen —
if you go to your local Borders or Barnes & Noble and look in their journals section, I guarantee they will carry moleskine. You can evaluate them yourselves (although sometimes they are shrinkwrapped).
The Doctor
Oh, right on. I couldn’t find any indication that they retailed in stores around here. Cool. I’ll check 'em out.
I love my Moleskine. I have the pocket-sized ruled, and replace it when I fill it with journal entries, grocery lists, driving directions, and aimless little poems.
It’s a tactile thing. They fit neatly into the palm of my hand, the cover feels good, the paper is fairly good quality. And I love the little elastic band that slips around the notebook so it won’t open up in my purse.
And of course, once you’ve owned a moleskine, you notice how often the little notebooks in movies are moleskines. Indiana Jones’s father’s diary was a Moleskine. So was Nick Cage’s notebook in “National Treasure.”
But I don’t think I’d write a novel in mine, though I’ve used it for the notes. It’s more useful as a diary/ notebook/ sketchbook.
I like the pocket, too, though I don’t always use it.
At $16.95 for the x-large cahier size, it’ll have to be pretty damn nice to get me to give up my $1.19 marble composition books.
I use them. I love them. I find the paper in the blank ones takes watercolour quite nicely, too, so I can colour in pencil sketches later.
I love the sqare-ruled ones for roleplaying notes, with little sketch maps. One for each different game I play in. Beats an a5 or a4 exercise book for portability - that, some percentiles, a d20 and I’m set.
But - they are overpriced. I’ve justy never found the same design cheaper.
So, I went to Borders and they had some that weren’t in the plastic wrapping, so I got to play with them a little. In terms of not laying flat, I found the big ones, at least, did a pretty good job of laying flat. Good enough that it didn’t seem an issue to me. The pockets are indeed brilliant.
I could see why they’d have such a following; the strap, the hard cover, the pocket, the book mark: you certainly don’t need to search for a writing surface. And it’s often easier to find a writing utensil than some paper to write on.
I ended up with a large lined one and a small lined one. Dying for a bowl of sausage & roasted red pepper soup, I went to the bar for a pint and began putting it to use, starting a third novel. Using the large one for a novel seemed quite natural, which was part of my concern: I thought the pages might be too small.
The kitchen manager came and sat by me and we chatted. He saw a quarter on the floor. I tried to pick it up w/ my toes (being in sandals). He said that if I picked it up, he buy me two pints of Guinness. I picked it up. Sweet.