Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Raymay Kenko Adjustable Book Stand 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. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)

If you are happily ensconced in an analog bubble, as I am--and I suspect a number of you are--it can be galling when digital necessity rears its ugly head. I love to write a lot, and I love to do that with pens in notebooks, which does neither of us any good if I'm writing down thoughts I'd like to share with you. Thoughts like: This Raymay Kenko Adjustable Book Stand is the bee's knees and is a super handy tool if you spend a lot of time typing up handwritten work.

In the course of half an hour, my thoughts on this product went from "This seems pretty handy" to "Oh, this is nice" to "Okay, now I can't live without this" to "This is my book stand 'Stan' and we're best friends now."

The design for this product has been fine-tuned over the course of 58 years, and its simple perfection reflects that. The frame is made from steel, with a thin but strong supportive base. The kickstand can slide up and down the center bar to adjust the reclining angle. The kickstand is tipped in silicone so it doesn't slip against the steel base. At the very front of the base is a hinged bar with silicone-tipped arms that hold the book open for easy viewing. The whole thing folds down flat for easy transport.

The steel is strong enough to hold heavy books or tablets, and the silicone prevents the support bar from scratching pages or screens. It can hold a book up to A4 size, and does well with smaller notebooks also. I imagine a very small notebook might not work as well with the front page holders. Very beefy novels may not fit on the base, either, as the front strip is a bit narrow and doesn't leave enough room between the back support and the page holders for Epic Tomes. But for general use cases, it's perfect.

I tried this out with A6 and B6 hard and softback notebooks, and all were well supported and stayed open nicely to display the work inside. Having the pages upright and facing me has helped tremendously with my work, which can sometimes consist of typing up 400-600 pages of scribbles. It has saved me back, neck, and eye strain. Needless to say, Stan the Stand now has a permanent place on my desk.

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

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Posted on March 14, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Raymay, Notebook Reviews.

Kokuyo Buncobon Dot Cover Notebook Review

These sweet little Kokuyo Buncobon Dot Cover Notebook is designed to resemble Japanese paperback novels--a charming paper cover, the perfect A6 palm-of-your-hand size--with an additional eye for usability.

The notebook measures 4.1" by 5.8" and will fit in your favorite A6 notebook case or cover. It does come with a paper cover over the plain cream cardstock, and then another plastic cover over that. I found the plastic cover to be crinkly and irritating, so I set it aside fairly quickly. The paper cover has a pretty dot pattern, and it stays on with a folding flap that also serves as the notebook's index. The paper cover isn't terribly durable, though. And considering the generous page count and the fact that the book will probably be in use a while, an additional cover might not be a bad idea.

The cover itself is softcover cardstock with blue tape binding. The binding is glue, and it claims to lie flat, but I found mine needed a lot of training to even come close, and then I worried about whether the binding would hold together after such abuse. I prefer sewn bindings, but this one is working well so far.

Inside the notebook you'll find 70 sheets of 5mm grid 70gsm ivory paper. The paper has a bit of texture and tooth to it, but in a crisp, pleasant way. It's surprisingly good paper for a notebook with a large number of sheets and a price tag under $5. It held up well with most pens. Not Sharpie, of course, but everything else did very well. There's a touch of show-through with a very wet, dark rollerball, but the fountain pen did great.

A nice feature of this book is its searchable function--there are spaces along the side edge that are designed for color coding that will be visible from the fore-edge, so you can flip to the section you need with ease. Combined with the index, it's a powerful little organizational tool. And it's got a sweet wee ribbon bookmark, too.

These are fantastic little notebooks. Not perfect, no, but the compromises are fair and worth it for what you do get. I love that there are enough pages to see me through a larger project, and that I can use my fountain pens, all without making my wallet weep. I think these would make great bullet journals or planners. They'd be wonderful for class notes. Perfect for novel research! I may use mine as a travel journal for an upcoming trip. Needless to say, it's a versatile book and very impressive for the price. Kokuyo knocks it out of the park again.

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

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Posted on March 7, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Kokuyo, Notebook Reviews.

Midori MD Goat Leather Notebook Cover - A5: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

In 2017, I reviewed the Midori MD A5 Notebook (Gridded). I use this notebook for poetry writing. The paper is fantastic, and the grid lines mean I can write in portrait or landscape as my mood dictates.

Every time I go to the Midori page on JetPens, I gaze at the Goat Leather cover for the A5 notebooks. I click through all the photos. I read the reviews. I imagine how goat leather might feel between my fingers. I think of the lovely leather smell. Then I look at the price ($84.00) and tell myself, “No. Too much. I mean, the leather doesn’t come in cool colors like blue or burgundy. It doesn’t have a closure. It won’t hold fountain pens. No. No. No.”

Well . . . obviously I caved, because here I am reviewing the Goat Leather cover.

It comes in a simple cardboard box with a label identifying it as the Midori Goat Leather cover (it even has a line-drawn goat).

The cover is wrapped in a simple black pouch to protect it from scuffing.

Made from a single piece of goat leather, the cover is a light cream color with simple stitching around the borders and a seam along the back.

Inside, there are two pockets for inserting the notebook.

Each one has a small cut in the leather that can serve as a pocket for cards or maybe even a smaller notebook, but both are really just slits in the leather, not actual pockets.

There is also a small pen loop. It’s so small even a thin fountain pen like a Parker 51 won’t fit.

But it will accommodate a small pen like the Caran d’Ache 849 Nespresso Ballpoint.

I carry my pens in dedicated fountain pen cases, anyway, so the fact that the pen holder is small doesn’t bother me. I’m sure I could stretch it to accommodate larger pens, but I like the simple aesthetic of the notebook and the pen holder sits flat if you don’t want to use it.

The only branding on the notebook is a tiny “Midori” imprint on the inside back cover.

The Midori A5 Notebook fits perfectly, of course, since the cover is made specifically for it.

Although the goat leather is a rather bland tan color, you’re supposed to place it near a window with lots of sun for two or three weeks. The cover will gradually change from light tan to beige to amber.

I really, really want to use my cover right away, but I’m going to leave it in our Florida Room for the requisite time and watch the color evolve.

And how does the leather feel? Well, it’s exquisite. It’s much softer than cow leather--so silky smooth, yet it also has a beautiful texture when you look at it up close. Even the inside grain is much smoother and softer than cow leather.

Although I still think that $84.00 is an extravagant price for this simple cover, I wanted something special to protect my Midori MD, since I plan to carry it everywhere for poetry writing. I expect it to develop a gorgeous hue the more I use it. I’ll follow up with pictures in a few months.

You can purchase the Midori MD Goat Leather Notebook Cover (A5) from JetPens for $84.00.

(I purchased this cover with my own funds.)

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