Word Intergalactic Notebook Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

Word makes some of the prettiest pocket notebooks out there. I've found myself accidentally collecting these lovely books, and this new Intergalactic design is one of my favorites yet.

They're a standard-size pocket notebook at 3.5" x 5.5". They have a cardstock cover with rounded front corners and are staple bound with 48 pages of white 89 gsm paper. The pages have 6mm line spacing with a unique bullet-list margin.

There's a key for suggested uses for the list format inside the cover. I've found it to be really handy for list-making, but it's unobtrusive enough that it's easy to ignore the bullet points and use the page as a regular lined notebook page.

All 3 notebooks in the pack have identical covers. So while it lacks the pack variety and design excitement of Field Notes, that makes them (at least for me) easier to dive in and use. I don't have that nagging inner-notebook-collector warning me that if I use it, it'll be gone. There are two more just like it! And by the time I've used two, there's usually a new pack out for me to enjoy.

The paper quality, like many pocket notebooks, isn't wonderful. It does very well with pencil, ballpoint, gel pens, or extra-fine and dry fountain pens. But wet rollerballs and medium or broader fountain pens bleed through quite a bit. That hasn't interfered with my enjoyment of the books. Because I'm using them for quick notes and lists, I'm usually grabbing the nearest writing instrument--which is often my oldest son's school pencil, my youngest son's crayons, or the Fisher Space Pen in my pocket.

I do wish, given the bullet list format, that at least a few pages were perforated. I don't just make lists for myself, so sometimes I need to hand over a page to a partner-in-crime.

If you love pocket notebooks and lists (are there people who don't?), I definitely recommend giving these a try. There are lots of pretty designs to choose from, and I can't wait to see what the next one is. Designs are usually limited editions, so grab the ones you like while you can!

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Field Notes + Bellroy Everyday Inspiration Review

I’m always excited when two of my favorite brands collaborate on a product, and this one is right up there with the best I’ve seen. We are talking peanut butter and chocolate levels of goodness here.

Field Notes, one of the premier notebook makers on the planet collaborated with Bellroy, the Australian leather goods and accessory maker, to release the Everyday Inspiration, a compact leather memo book cover.

Field Notes launched a now-discontinued leather cover of their own in 2013 called the Gentlemans Memo Book Cover. I’m not sure what sales were like, but the product was pulled in early 2016. Anecdotally, I don’t recall ever seeing one in the wild, and I never owned one myself.

Bellroy launched their own Notebook Cover Mini in late 2016 and it was met with great feedback. In fact, it is currently available at Bellroy in five different leather colors. On top of that, it is the exact same cover as the Everyday Inspiration, minus a few special Field Notes Brand tweaks.

From the outside, the Everyday Inspiration is pure Bellroy. It is is clean with minimal stitching, with only a small stamped Bellroy owl logo on the entirety of the exterior. The interior is equally as clean, with the added Bellroy/Field Notes name stamping inside the front cover.

The inside also features an orange backing on the grey leather, which I wholeheartedly approve of. The large interior flaps (or pockets) where the notebook cover slides in are easily accessible with rounded corners and stitching only on two-thirds of the edge for easy in and out access.

Credit and ID cards have two sneaky interior pockets under the inside front flap as well, allowing the Everyday Inspiration to be used as an all-in-one wallet as well. Business cards stick out a bit, but the edge lands before the middle fold to keep them from getting damaged.

As with nearly every pocket notebook cover I have tried, space for a pen is at a premium, or non-existent. I’m completely ok with this because I’d rather carry a pen I want to use elsewhere on my person than sacrifice the pen quality just because it fits the cover. The Everyday Inspiration is no exception. You can fit a pen inside the fold, but I don’t plan on ever doing that.

Also included with the cover are three Bellroy-branded Field Notes memo books that looks fantastic. Plus, a single notebook in the case is able to be secured with thin magnets inside the front and back cover. They are so stealth I had no idea they were there when I first opened the package and was loading up the cover.

$85 is an excellent price point for a cover of this quality. Every detail is thoughtfully considered and executed perfectly. I’m a fan of what Field Notes and Bellroy have collaborated on with the Everyday Inspiration and I hope they can find a way to work together again in the future.

(Bellroy provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Maruai - The Basic Notebook, Pocket and Mini Size Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

I think we can all agree that you should have a pen or pencil and paper on you at all times. Pocket tech can't replicate all of analog's necessary functions--people need paper. Especially paper that fits in your pocket. It's what makes pocket notebooks so wonderful--except pocket notebooks don't fit well in my pockets. It's not the notebook's fault--it's a known issue with women's jeans: skimpy pockets. It makes me thankful for handy pocket notebook cases, but I still need paper in my pocket. Sometimes it just needs to be that handy.

My solution has been to use mini notebooks. I've been using the Moleskine minis for years, but I don't love their paper, so I was excited to try these new Mini Notebooks from Maruai.

They come in two sizes, the mini and the pocket size. The mini is 3.2" by 2.2" with 48 blank pages, bound with a side staple. The pocket size is tall and narrow at 4.1" by 2.4", with a sewn and glued top binding and 64 5mm grid pages. Both are small enough to fit in a pocket, and the mini can even fit in a wallet card slot. The pocket size works well as a memo pad with its back cover slid into a planner pocket or wallet slot.

They have nicely textured, flexible cardstock covers. They're very durable. I've carried one for weeks, and apart from some blue dye transfer from my darker jeans and a slight gluteus curvature, it looks brand new.

The ivory paper is very smooth and pleasant to use. It stands up to a variety of inks. Broad or wet fountain pens had significant bleed-through, but fine fountain pens with dry inks worked well, and rollerball, gel, ballpoint, and pencils were all great. These notebooks pair naturally with a pocket pen like the Fisher Space Pen or the Midori Brass Bullet Ballpoint pen.

One downside to the notebooks is that the pages are not perforated. My pocket notebook is often my "have you got a piece of paper" go-to, for handing out contact info or book/recipe/website/pen recommendations to friends. I'm still going to tear pages out of these books--I'm just going to have to mangle the notebook a bit to do it. It should work okay for the top-bound book, but tearing a sheet from the staple-bound book could cause the other half of the leaf to loosen and fall out. Still, pocket notebooks were made to be mangled. I look forward to mangling a whole stack of these.

They do cost nearly twice as much as the Moleskine minis (which have perforated pages), which is a bit of a bummer. The paper and covers are definitely nicer on the Maruai, but I can't say they're twice as nice. They feel good in my hand, though, and they'll be the perfect thing to drop in my cart to bump it up over that free shipping threshold. I'm glad to see more mini notebooks out in the world, and these are lovely, useful things.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, which I am very grateful for.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!