(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)
I just feel like my notebooks are happier with little coats on. It's cold where I live. And sure, maybe that's just an excuse for more cool notebook covers. But any excuse you can find to pick up the Midori MD Goat Leather Notebook Cover is a good excuse, because it's a good notebook cover.
This cover is made from natural, vegetable tanned goat leather. The natural leather ages and patinas with use, taking on the story of its journey with you. I've been excited to start to see some character develop in the weeks I've been using this one, but so far, it still looks brand new. Because it's also very durable. I'm happy to patiently await the development of character, though. The leather is very lightweight and flexible, but durable.
The design of the cover is very minimal and simple. It's plain on the outside, and the inside has two folder-style pockets for the notebook cover to slide into. Those two sleeve flaps have slits in them that serve as pockets for wee papers. And there is a slim pen loop built into the back cover's edge. The edges of the leather are neatly finished, and the surface is smoothly pebbled. Some variety will appear in the leather, since each piece is unique. That's all for features. There is no closure, or bookmark, or any other accessories. It isn't over-designed, but it does its job well.
The cover is designed to fit the Midori MD A6 notebook, but it fits a variety of A6 notebooks, including the Hobonichi Techo A6 and the Hobonichi A6 blank books. The cover also comes in six other sizes to fit the variety of Midori notebooks available. A6 books with wider spines will be a bit of a tighter fit, but I've been pleasantly surprised by how many notebooks are compatible with this cover.
I've been using the A6 Midori notebook in this cover as my craft project tracker, which has been getting a lot of use as my holiday gift crafting has amped up. It's been a pleasure to use, and the pen loop keeps my writing tool handy at all times.
That being said, these are not inexpensive notebook covers. The A6 one sells for $85 on JetPens, which is a little on the high side, especially since it doesn't come with a notebook insert. That will set you back another $12.50 or so. It will probably last forever, though, and using it is a pleasure.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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