Posts filed under Notebooks

Enough is Too Many is Just Right

(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. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

We Pen Addicts spend a lot of time talking about finding the right notebook and paper to best use our nice pens. But there are days when I think what I'm really doing is searching for the right pens to use for my tower of notebooks. I'm just as enchanted by a nice notebook as I am by a nice pen, and I love a plain and simple notebook as much as an ornate one. It's very possible that I own too many notebooks. I'm not even sure how many there are... But it's also true that I use them. A lot of them. Constantly. Here's what I'm using right now.

This stack is just what I'm using on a weekly/daily basis right now. There's a separate stack for ones I'm using slightly less often.

The Lineup:

A hardcover Cognitive Surplus notebook with their insect pattern that I'm using to outline and research a new novel. These are gorgeous notebooks. The recycled paper is not the best for fountain pens, but they are still among my favorites. You just can't beat the cover designs.

A Barnes & Noble Italian Leather notebook that contains the draft of the novel I'm currently writing. These are my go-to novel books because they have lots of pages, durable but flexible covers, and the paper is thick and great for fountain pens.

A Field Notes Dime Novel edition that contains the outlines and research for the above novel.

A Graphilo slim notebook that contains the research, outlines, and notes for the novel that is finished, but which I am currently editing.

A huge notebook cover system that holds four slim notebooks (one Midori MD, two Kunisawa, and a Kawachiya) that I use for school. One is for general notes, two for class notes, and one for career planning/course schedules, etc. There's also a Field Notes pocket notebook in the back pocket of this notebook cover that I didn't even remember was there. It has random notes in it.

A Midori MD A5 daily planner that started off the year as my planner but has become my commonplace book where I make random lists, take meeting notes, and write down everything that needs to be written down. It follows me around everywhere I go.

My Seven Seas Writer that is my short story notebook. It has just enough pages left in it for one more story, then it will be time for a fresh story notebook. I'm extremely excited to pick out what notebook to use next.

My Hobonichi Techo that has become my day planner. I've found that I can't have my planner be my commonplace book because I need my plans to stay simple and organized, and my commonplace book must endure utter chaos. No one who looked inside the two notebooks would think that they belong to the same person.

A Doane Paper Grid + Lines spiral book. This lives on my desk as scrap paper. Everything gets scribbled here, like doctor's appointments that need to be transferred into the planner, grocery lists, reminders, lists of which fish I still need to catch in Stardew Valley. Things that get written here are either transferred into another notebook later, or thrown away.

A Traveler's Company notebook system in passport size. This is where I jot down new story ideas, the starting lines of new drafts, or outlines before they get written into the Seven Seas. It's also where I take notes when my writer's group critiques my stories. It serves the same function as my novel planning notebooks, but for stories.

It's a lot, right? Maybe too many, but maybe not. It's a system that has evolved over decades and reflects my need to keep different areas of my life organized and compartmentalized. It also allows me to try lots of different notebooks so I can pass my thoughts onto all of you. I really do put all these through the wringer. You can even see some of them are starting to fall apart. But most of all, and most importantly, using this many notebooks lets me justify buying more notebooks.

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Posted on March 31, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Notebooks, Writing.

King Jim +Kraft File Cover Review

When I first saw the King Jim +Kraft File Cover, I thought it would be just that--a folder. Maybe not exciting, but it looked pretty sweet and vintage and like something I'd like to put files in, so I thought I'd try it out. I was shocked to open it and discover that, in fact, it has features. Quite a lot of them.

The outside is unassuming, unexciting, but elegant in a minimalist way. It's made of plain kraft paper that is fibrous and feels almost like felt. It's not flimsy in any way, and it feels like it will stand up to a lot of use. It's a tri-fold design with two full-size pocket sheets and the flap that closes over the top. It closes with a simple elastic loop over a cardstock button.

Instead of just a pocket inside, it has a plethora of pocketses. On the left is a narrow flap that goes from the top to the bottom of the folder. In that flap is a small slot for business cards. On the right is a set of three pockets. One clear plastic slot covers the whole right side of the folder. An A4 notebook cover can be slid behind this pocket flap, and the folder then becomes a notebook cover.

The other cover of the notebook can be tucked inside the narrow left flap for extra security, or the left flap can be used for papers. There is also a leather ribbon bookmark at the top for use with a notebook. Across that larger pocket, a half-size pocket spans the width. If you're not using an A4 notebook in the larger pocket, an A4 notepad or legal pad can fit in this pocket.

And inside that pocket is another slot that fits index cards or sticker sheets, etc. You could even put a slim A4 notebook in each side, and have two notebooks in one folder. And then a pocket notebook in the smaller pocket for a whopping three notebooks! There's also a pen loop on the right side.

So what I thought was just a folder turned out to be a complex, versatile notebook system. To say I was delighted is an understatement. I had expected boring utilitarianism, but instead I am having fun arranging all the possible configurations. I think these would be great for teachers, students, or business people. Even artists might find this a useful way to take work on the go. I don't use many A4 notebooks, but this folder makes me want to. There aren't a lot of good cover systems for A4 sizes, so I think this product helps to fill an industry gap.

The King Jim +Kraft File Cover costs $19 on JetPens, which is a lot for a folder, but not a lot for a versatile notebook cover system. Perhaps its name is doing it a disservice, but my low expectations did make for a very pleasant surprise.

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

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

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Sarah Read and filed under King Jim, Folder, Notebooks.

Analog Supplies for Virtual School

It's that time of year again, but this time it's totally different. School supply shopping--stationery Christmas--has gone weird, like everything else. But even though our education has gone virtual, the act of study, of learning, has not. It's still a very tactile thing, and analog supplies are maybe more important than ever. I learn by writing, so even if I'm parked in front of a computer for class, I need to be writing the material down. I still need writing instruments (I have a few) and notebooks (check), and I need a system to keep them organized.

I'm writing this in the middle of my grad school orientation week, which my university has affectionately dubbed "bootcamp" to prepare us for the intellectual equivalent of an obstacle course designed to find our weaknesses and limitations. So that we can improve them, of course--not out of cruelty. While the effect might be the same, intent matters, in this case. It's also my first foray into online classes, as the event was moved to a virtual platform due to the pandemic. My courses themselves were always going to be online, so it's actually serving as excellent practice for navigating that format--and for testing out my assembled supplies to see if they will work for online learning.

I had joked, when I first enrolled in grad school, that I wanted a travelers-notebook-style setup that would hold my hobonichi cousin plus five A5 notebooks with decent page counts. It was only a half-joke, though, because while that sort of thing sounded a bit ridiculous, I really did want one! Well, I found one. On Etsy, of course. The maker is DianoD, a leatherworker who I believe is located in Russia (their shop is currently on vacation, so not all details are visible). They make a variety of goods, including the beast I decided to order for my school needs.

I ordered the A5 extra wide cover with all the extra bells and whistles. It has a pen holder on the snap strap, another pen loop inside, two back pockets, an insert flap for my planner, five widely spaced elastic bands for notebook inserts, another slip flap for papers, a zipper pouch, three card slots, and on the folding piece there is a phone pocket on one side and a snap pocket and smaller pocket on the outside.

The leather is smooth but rigid, so it holds the contents firmly in place, and the snap closure has two positions, so it can be closed tightly, or let out a little bit if (when) it gets overstuffed.

It is a beast, when full. It dosn't fit in a purse, though it works in a tote bag or backpack. I was surprised to find that I can actually write in the notebooks while they're still in the cover, but I prefer to take them out for longer notetaking sessions, and then put them back when I'm done. I have one notebook for a commonplace book, one that I am using for all the information I need about school, a notebook for each of my two classes, and a notebook for my writing ideas. My Hobonichi is behind all of those. I keep a fountain pen in the strap pen pouch, and a mechanical pencil in the inside pen loop. I have blank notecards, business cards, and a very small pocket notebook in the card slots, and sticky notes in the snap pouch. I use the back pockets for planner items, like my ill-fated concert tickets. I keep work papers in the front pockets. It really is the most complete system I've used, and so far it's working really well for me.

Its weak point is, I think, the snap closure. The snap is a fairly standard craft snap notion, and it doesn't match the sturdiness of the rest of the construction. It works great now, but it feels like something I'm going to break, eventually. The rest of it feels like it will outlive me. All of the snap pieces are accessible, though, so I think it would be a fairly simple matter to replace them, if they do get bent or worn out.

I paid $165 (including shipping from Russia) for this, making it the most expensive Trapper Keeper I've ever owned. I do not regret it.

There is some irony here, considering that what I'm studying is the organization of information (how, why, where, when, how much, and by whom). I wonder if I can do a thesis on notebook systems.

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