Here’s some more notebook fans in search of their own personal holy grail… can you help?
From Paul:
Has anyone ever seen an “Adult Perpetual Diary” like the one shown here:
I had one when I was about 13, which I used to write down school assignments–I bought it at Woolworth’s, and was thrilled by seeing “adult” on the cover.However, I haven’t seen one in over 30 years, and when I Googled the phrase, this was the only hit it received.
Have you ever seen this?
From Dave:
I am going NUTS trying to find a journal/sketchbook combo that has lines on one side and is blank on the other side of the page. I’ve found a few, but none that can be bought online or in the US. Any suggestions?
Actually, I think the Dialogue notebooks I reviewed might be available in some US retailers now.
From Jack:
What I am after is an A5 or A4 sized, hardcover, spiral bound notebook with alternating lined/plain pages (either whole pages or lined one side, blank the other). Seems like no-one makes such a thing, or do they?
The Dialogue notebooks I mention above aren’t spiral-bound, unfortunately…
From another reader:
In elementary school we used to always use the same style of journal. They had manila covers with a red spine (tape spine) with “JOURNAL” in big red letters vertically next to the spine. Any chance you know where to get these? I am 21 so it’s been a while since I’ve been in elementary school and I don’t even know if they exist anymore. I’ve tried looking but the internet has been no help and the stores i go to don’t have them.
From Zac:
Hi, I am a daily writer, I write at least 3 pages a day, sometimes more obviously, but with that kind of prolific nature, in many ways a small notebook isnt practical for me, as I would have to keep buying and buying them. i recently bought those massive 500 page Michael Roger blank notebooks [perhaps this?], which worked well, but ive been using Roger for years now and Im tired of it.
Do you know of any notebooks that like Roger have options where you can really go wild with the page count and have hundreds and hundreds of pages in one notebook?
Many of the notebooks like rhodia and moleskine, while obviously great, are too small for these things. I’d use of 90 pages in about a month or so.
There’s the huge sketchbook I mentioned in this post, but that’s only 348 pages. There are also the StartHere notebooks that link their covers together and theoretically become an infinite notebook, but I’m not sure that would solve your problem!
Thanks for the questions, everyone, and sorry I don’t have answers off the top of my head! But maybe the hive mind of this site’s readership can help!
@ Zac I’d give the Zequenz notebooks a try – I’m sure Nifty reviewed them on her blog, after all she’s reviewed every notebooks there is! :) I’m not sure about the lined version, but at least the squared version is superb. The squares are smaller than your average squares, giving you more room to write. Although I suppose if your handwriting is on the larger side, this might be a problem. The squares are also quite light, making it easy on the eyes.
The Zequenz notebooks are of course, also quite a bit thicker than a Rhodia or Moleskine – unfortunately I don’t know how many pages it has, and I can’t find the information on my own Zequenz or on their website.
Either way, if you’re interested, you could buy them on Amazon.com, however I don’t know if any retailers carry these in the US. I bought mine in Germany.
Hi Zac,
We make our Jumbo Books (with 500 pages) at our Bookbindery in New Jersey and so I have a bit of flexibility in making them differently.
What different features would like to see in these books?
Thanks!
Eric
(This is Eric from Michael Roger.)
@Paul – I love this sort of diary as well. I’ve found some vintage one’s on Etsy, but don’t know of any quite like this still being manufactured. Pangaea Books, a shop on Etsy, makes a perpetual diary that looks pretty nice. C. R. Gibson makes a diary with two days per page, and there are some five-year perpetual diaries out there. But I really love the style of these older models better than anything I’ve been able to find. Pity they don’t exist anymore.
@Dave – You might check out the Cool Notes line from TeNeues:
http://www.teneues.com/shop-us/stationery/new-coolnotes-medium.html
@Zac – I love this Tsubame notebook – 400 pages of wonderfully smooth Japanese paper. Amazingly sturdy. I’m on my third one:
http://www.mymaido.com/tsubame-notebooks/967-tsubame-notebook-b5-8mm-rule-7-x-98-200-pages.html
Anyone mention this yet? If Eric’s offer isn’t good enough, print your own custom layouts and bind our own books at Kinkos.
david boise ID
Zac, try etsy their are many book binders there that may currently have large books but could make them…
here’s one http://www.etsy.com/listing/68297284/large-cord-bound-leather-journal-500
To Dave, Dark Horse had a few journals that were blank on one side and lined on the other. Krazy Kat was one, still available on Amazon, and a sock monkey one, but don’t know where to find that one. The blank side of the Krazy Kat journal has a comic along the left side margin that goes vertically, but the page is essentially blank.
The Maruman Mnemosyne notebooks may be what dave is looking for. Each page is grid on one side and blank on the other. They are spiral bound… you can find them at JetPens and art supply stores.
After looking for ages, I found a notebook with blank pages on one side, ruled on the other. They are called Scripta Notes:
http://www.amazon.com/Scripta-Notes-Small-Asphalt-Journal/dp/1624130003
Seconding what Katy said, Scripta Notes on Amazon has the sketchbook/journal combos! Just bought one for my mom since she’s been looking for something like this for a while. They have large ones which are about 6″ by 8″ and small ones, which have several difference sizes listed.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_0?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A1064954%2Cp_4%3AScripta%2Cn%3A%211084128%2Cn%3A1069242&bbn=1084128&ie=UTF8&qid=1419191692&rnid=1084128