Oxford Stapled Notebook from France

I picked this notebook up in a supermarket in France in June. I could have gone a bit mad buying notebooks in Europe but the credit crunch had just bitten and I was being very cautious. So in the end it was the only one I bought! It's a simple stapled exercise book with glossy card cover. It's the lines that are interesting. I believe that the rench demand very precise writing practice from school kids and this I think is the traditional practice paper. The paper itself is high quality and good to write on. The lines are a bit like Doane paper but not quite. It doesn't have the small grid lines but has larger cm size boxes.
As usual I haven't decided what i'll use it for but I'm looking forward to writing in it

Blackwell Notebook Pictures

Here are some pictures of the Blackwell Pocket size notebook I've mentioned in a previous post. I've compared it to a Moleskine and you can see the paper isn't quite as precisely sewn in. In it's defence I have given this Blackwell notebook a fair bi of abuse in it's short life. I like to personalise my black notebooks so that I know what's in them all and I have fun using moo.com stickers. You can upload your own photos and make a book of up to 90 different square stickers. Available both sides of the pond.

Fisher Space Pen

I found my Fisher Space pen again! I lose it with regular monotony which is a pain but then there is the joy of finding it again (usually but not always). I lose it because of it's smooth small bullet shape of course. It's easy to throw in your pocket or bag but then hard to find. The feel of the bullet shape the size, the clever way the lid extends the length of the pen for writing are all part of what I like about it. It is by far one of the coolest pens I've come across. It is, alongside Teflon one of the greatest achievements of the space program. And while it would seem that a pencil would have worked brilliantly without all this effort in developing gloopy ink in a pressurised cartridge, you've got to admire their invention. Not as big an invention as the story that man got to the moon, however I digress...
The thing about a Fisher Space pen is that while I always, always want to own one they dont actually write that well. My opportunities to write under water, even in Glasgow weather or upside down are minimal so I'm talking about regular on the go note taking. The ink never quite flows smoothly. there can be blobs of ink like a rubbish NHS issue biro or skips on the page and when the pen feels so right in my hands it writes so wrong...

Recently I picked up a Chartwell waterproof notebook in WHSmith for £2.49 (they have a few left now for a £1 but how many waterproof notebooks do you really need?) and I thought this would be the perfect combination for the Space pen. After all it writes under water. I tried it out and although the paper in he pad is indeed smooth and magical in the wet the space pen still performed in it's usual haphazard gloopy way.

So with this criticism of its function what would I still want one. A pen is a functional item after all. Well it really does come down to how cool it is to look at, how nice it feels and how it slips in the pocket of my trousers easily. It is a go anywhere, look good pen. And while mine is black (Henry T Ford again) the coloured ones look fabulous too. I think you can also get coloured inks so perhaps I shall splash out on them one day and give them a go.

Now where on earth did I put my Space pen............?

Is it cheaper to buy notebooks than write in them?

There's a bit of a credit crunch on at the moment. I don't know if you've noticed?
So as a result I've been trying to cut back on my spending. There are several things that I spend money on that I don't really need to. I've found lunchtime when I actually get away from my desk the time tht can cost the most unnecessary expenditure.
Making sure I take my lunch items with me each day is really helping but one of my occasional lunchtime pleasures is going out to look at notebooks. As you can see I sometimes buy one. Now I have to admit I've been too busy for this pursuit lately and so that has kept me from wandering and spending but I was thinking perhaps this is cheaper than if I actually wrote in the notebooks.
Why?
Well If I wrote in the notebooks I'd have to go out at lunchtime and find a spot to sit and write. Now if you're from Scotland you'll understand, it is invariably windy, wet, cold, baltic, snowing, basically inclement. So sitting on a park bench is a once a year summer treat. The rest of the year I'd have to go into a coffee shop to write in my notebook. Average cup of coffee in local cafes is £2.50 I'd say. And I'd have to buy that everytime I went in. It's not the same as going looking at notebooks and sometimes buying one. Okay a notebook purcase could be equivalent to two or three coffee shop visits but I still think if I got into the habit of a lunchtime coffee while I filled up all my existing notebooks then that would spend more money.

So the result of this is that while I bring my lunch in with me as part of my money saving campaign i can also go and browse through the stationary departments and maybe even buy a notebook every now and then...... Result

Moleskine Colour a Month Diary

I was having a lunchtime stroll in Blackwells in Edinburgh when I came across the new book per month Moleskine diary. I'd seen it online but this was he first in the flesh sighting. It has 12 pocket size books, one for every month and all in different colours. Th twelve books are held in a black hard cover, like a Moleskine with an elastic strap holding all the books together. So it resembles a very thick Moleskine but more colourful because of the spines of the monthly diaries.
So if you've had a pocket Moleskine diary you'll know what the inside looks like. There's a bt for a name and other details, map with time zones. A 6 months to two pages planner and a day to a page diary. There are times down the left hand side of the page. So what you have is a very small good looking diary but with plenty of space to write appointments and the ability to include future months appointments in the planner. Although the extra effort in transcribing even a couple of months ahead in the planner and then into the next months book may get tedious.

It really is quite a cool idea, appealing to the weaknesses of Moleskine lovers: numerous Moleskines at the one time, lovely bright colours but inside a black cover, more diary space than usual. But here's the killer, it costs £31.50! That's £2.60 a month which sounds much better. Equivalent to an overpriced coffee from a world dominating chain, if you were daft enough to buy one there. But most of us pay £5-£10 for a diary and that's the really extravagant notebook addicted amongst us. So I love it but I'm cutting back on my addiction so this is one product unlikely to make it into my pocket. This year anyway...

However if you fancy splashing out try MojoLondon

Blackwell Black Cover Pocket Notebook

This is a Moleskinealike notebook. It costs half the price however and is available from Blackwells Book shop for £5. It is the same size as a pocket Moleskine but slightly thicker. I think the reason for this is that the stitch binding isn't done quite as well leading to uneven paper edges in the notebook when you look at it closed. Not that this affects the ability to write on it or close it or anything functional. The paper also feels slightly thicker than Moleskine paper. It has the customary pocket at the back, again a bit thicker because of the card used and the manufacture. It as Blackwell branded on the pocket which wont be to everyone's taste and Blackwell embossed on the back cover.
I've been using it for recording notes for a work project since April so it is full of untidy handwriting, phone numbers, action lists. I've never really kept a one topic notebook before as my work usually involves several topics all ongoing at the one time but this particular project has taken over everything else over the Summer (hence the lack of posts).
I use lots of different pens and pencils to write with, whatever is to hand. I've written in a variety of different types of ink in this notebook; rollerballs,fountain pens, felt tip, ballpoint, liquid ink (see the post on top ten pens for the most likely candidates). They all write really well on the paper. It feels like quality paper and the ink doesn't bleed. However it does seem to show through very badly on the other side of the paper. The interesting thing is that this isn't apparent immediately. I seems to occur after a few days so initially you can read everything fine and then it turns into a bit of a mess. Of course this is worse with some pens than others. Probably the fountain pen and felt tip are worst which isn't entirely surprising.
Being someone who has never been very impressed with Moleskine paper I was hoping for a cheap and yet better equivalent. This unfortunately isn't it. That said I have been very happy writing in it and it has kept a lot of quickly changing information at my fingertips.
It has also been a notebook that I've had no impulse to 'keep good'. I have had Moleskines in the past that I've struggled to write in because I felt I should be writing something of substance in them and unfortunately I have little of substance to say!
So what notebook next for me? This one is nearly finished. What I would really like is a pocket size black book with gorgeous white Clairefontaine paper but I haven't quite seen anything like that and the thickness of their paper might be problematic. The Rhodia equivalent may be worth a try but I haven't seen one in the flesh but have read that the paper s not their usual smooth white paper. If I ever get to see one I might try it. Waiting in the wings is a slightly larger Asda Executive notebook! It cost £3, has gridded paper and 3 concertina pockets at the back.

So I have used the Blackwell notebook well and while I seldom finish a notebook I will finish this one. And there lies the problem while being critical of the paper it has been the only notebook I've fully used. Perhaps I should pay attention to that and realise that more expensive, while making me feel warm and fuzzy inside, isn't what I need! These notebooks also come in dark blue and bright pink which may appeal to some who want something more than black.

Moleskine Monthly Pocket Diary 2009-Update

I've come back to this product to update you on my use of it. Last year I started using this to record the meeting dates for 2009 that were appearing before my A5 2009 diary was being used. I didnt want to carry around two heavy diaries. I said at the time that I would probably stop using it when I switched to a new A5 diary but I haven't. I still use it. I can see a whole month at a time which I've now realised is very important to me. I work in different places on different days and this lets me see at glance where I am and allows me to plan things a bit more sensibly. I colour code location which is such a naff thing to do but helps me immensely. After each moth is a couple of pages for notes and I use these for a to do list for the month. Not everything goes into that but the bits and pieces that I'm liable to forget I write there. There is then a further notebook after the diary section that I just use for general notes and plans. It's not my main notebook but can be very handy particularly as the softcover pocket size is so small and light I do carry it everywhere.The downside to this is I often dont have enough space to put in meeting location and that has occasionally been troublesome. However I think if I had accepted that this would be my main diary initially I would have tried harder with locations. The other option is to buy a large one next year. It would still be light but I worry that I may not carry it everywhere in quite the same way. I have been pleasantly surprised by how well this has worked out. I still need to find consistent way of keeping my notes though!