The Nova sketchbook is 5.5" by 8.5", or about A5 size, and has beige paper. There is also a smaller version, as well as books with grey, black, or white paper, soft or hard cover, thread or wire binding. There's likely a version that suits your fancy. This softcover book has a papery faux-leather cover. It's nicely flexible and feels sturdy enough to stand up to some abuse. The book itself wears well--it doesn't get shabby so much as takes on a character of its own. I love that in a book.
The binding is thread and glue. It is a bit stiff at first, but with training, it does lie flat fairly well. It still does tend to fall open to places where the glue has been broken and remains stiffer in other places, but when it's in use, it opens well and doesn't bow the pages. The cover is plain matte black with a smooth texture logo on the back. It's very minimal, almost so that it can be tricky to open it the right way unless you mark it yourself somehow, or until it takes on that recognizable character. There are no bookmarks or pockets or frills of any sort. I do wish it had a few of these conveniences. I admire the minimalist aesthetic of it, but there are some frills that make a good tool a great tool.
