Some more tips and questions from our mailbox:
Christa’s hand-drawn Moleskines celebrating San Francisco, made to order with your name included in the design:
Paul spotted the RoadPro brand of notebooks at a truckstop in Ohio. I’ve seen these at truckstops too, and also wondered why there would be a brand of notebooks exclusive to truckstops!
Ana sent a link to Confetti, a brand of Brazilian notebooks:
Sarafina is looking for something just like the Rubberband journal below but with lines (and no expensive shipping). The closest things I’ve seen would be the larger sizes of Moleskine softcover notebooks, or perhaps Zequenz, but those just have basic white paper, not bright colored. Anyone else have any suggestions?
Steve also needs help:
I’m looking for my ideal 8.5″ x 5.5″, lay-flat, fold-back notebook. I believe this will have to be some type of (no-snag) spiral binding. I prefer that the pages be perforated(not essential) in squared, blank or very narrow lines.
My goal is to have an 8.5 x 5.5 pad laying to the side of my computer or other material I might be working on. It’s almost like a side-bound stenographer’s notebook with a spiral that won’t snag on everything.
Some Postalco notebooks have a semi-covered spiral that can be folded back completely, and they come in that size (or close to it), with squared paper, and I think they may be perforated. They’re not cheap or easy to find in stores, though.
And Robert shares a cool notebook link:
I’m a fan of Notebook Stories, just saw this and think its right up your alley.
Its from a TV show called Breaking Bad, on AMC. The link below is to a
police ‘case file’, and one of the tabs is to a “Lab Notebook” that
one of the characters used. Its really interesting and has a mix of
chemical formulae and procedures, along with recipes and quotes, its
actually a great example of a notebook. One of the first notes from
the notebook author is “There is so much going on — if i don’t write
this all down in a systematic way I will be completely screwed….”.
You can zoom in and flip through the canary yellow pages of the
notebook, its really interesting. Here’s the link:http://www.amctv.com/shows/
breaking-bad/gale-boetticher- case-file
As always, thanks to everyone who sends me these interesting tips, and thanks in advance to anyone who can help readers find the notebook of their dreams!
For Steve, I would recommend the Mead Cambridge Polywire Spiral Bound notebook. A bit larger than what you specified, but it features perfed pages, college ruled, heavy ivory paper, a heavy cardboard back cover, and a manilla pocket in the front. My wife and I use these all the time. For an all-purpose notebook, it’s the best I’ve come across.
http://www.mead.com/meadstore/mwv/product/Cambridge%26reg%3B-Poly-Wire-Bound-Notebook/06704?searchClickId=0036646153%2C243&catId=&prodId=06704
I would assume that truckstops would carry notebooks since truckers have to log their miles very carefully. Love the idea of the customized Moleskines…a nice way to make a ubiquitous product more originial.
Steve, have you looked at the notebooks sold by JetPens? I have two, one a Maruman Mnemosyne, the other a Notebook Inspiracion by Kokuyo, both good quality, perforated with grid pages and no-snag wire-o bindings. I think they come in a variety of sizes.