Here’s something to add to my wish list! A $200 limited edition set of facsimile sketchbooks by Françoise Gilot. I highly recommend her book Life with Picasso — it’s a fascinating look not just at Picasso and his work but at Gilot’s own life and thoughts about art. Françoise Gilot, now 96, is best known for … Continue reading Françoise Gilot’s Travel Sketches
I recently read an American classic that I’d never had to read in school: Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis. In the first chapter, there is a description of the contents of Babbitt’s pockets, which includes this passage: Most significant of all was his loose-leaf pocket note-book, that modern and efficient note-book which contained the addresses of … Continue reading Babbitt’s Notebook
From Walter Benjamin: 100 Notes, 100 Thoughts: In 1927, on the occasion of a several-months-long visit to Paris, Walter Benjamin began taking notes on the Parisian Arcades for his most ambitious book project…. With her introduction to a selection of these handwritten notes, Nikola Doll describes how the author attempted “to integrate the principle … Continue reading Walter Benjamin’s Notebook
Some notebooks belonging to writer Susie Boyt: I have always kept notebooks – messy little attics of the mind, an odd assortment of shapes and colours stuffed into drawers next to defunct phones and balls of string. They feel private and tender, a bit like night clothes; or embarrassing, like over-eager little sisters. From an … Continue reading Susie Boyt’s Notebooks
For fans of the Discworld series and Terry Pratchett‘s other books: Doodle-covered exercise books that belonged to a schoolboy Sir Terry Pratchett have come to light and reveal he already had many ideas for his early stories.They provide a fascinating, rare insight into the legendary late author’s creative process as he allowed his mind to … Continue reading Terry Pratchett’s School NotebooksÂ
I had heard of Lee Lozano but didn’t really know much about her until reading this article in The Brooklyn Rail about the publication of her notebooks. I was inspired to purchase two volumes of the notebooks (Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 are available on Amazon) out of curiosity about their contents, and also because … Continue reading Lee Lozano’s Notebooks in Facsimile Editions
I found this week’s addict via Pinterest, which linked back to her Flickr photos. As J. F. Penn, Joanna is a thriller writer. (Her books are described by readers as “Dan Brown meets Lara Croft.” Sounds fun!) As Joanna Penn, she has also published several how-to books about how to self-publish and market books, public … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: Joanna Penn
Maybe this technically isn’t a notebook? But to me, if you cover your textbook in this many notes, it has basically become a notebook. This one belongs to a Japanese student who aced a world history exam by studying from these annotations. Gorgeous, isn’t it? Because if you know everything, you don’t have to worry … Continue reading Extreme Note-Taking!
When I posted recently about most of my notebooks being stuck in a storage unit, a sympathetic commenter named Anna replied: “I feel your pain! Just remember–Anais Nin kept her diaries in a bank vault. Somewhere there’s a photo of her (perhaps in the vault?) surrounded by notebooks in a disorganized pile.” I had no … Continue reading Anaïs Nin and Her Journals
I stumbled across these notebooks via Notizbuchblog.de and love the concept! They are blank journals with various pages of full-color illustrations and information interspersed, so you can learn about a subject while making your own notes about it. The series includes Astronomy, Weather, Butterflies (due February 2018), Home, and Trees. When I first saw the … Continue reading Observer’s Notebooks