I’ve previously featured Jordan Mechner’s Sketchbooks on this site, and more recently, I spotted an article he wrote on Medium about his habit of keeping a journal: I’m a journal-keeper. With over a hundred notebooks filled since 1982, it’s become part of who I am. I couldn’t have expected or anticipated all the ways my … Continue reading Jordan Mechner on Journaling
A fun look inside the world of Kevin Aucoin, the celebrity makeup artist who sadly died way too young. He seems to have used a variety of diaries in a similar format but with different page layouts. I’m not sure what brand any of them were. Kevyn Aucoin was a makeup artist decades ahead of his … Continue reading Kevyn Aucoin’s Journals
This week’s addict is another Reddit r/notebooks find. User Hopsfyquin shared this image and a brief description of their uses. You can see more comments at the original post. Sketching, painting, counselling, wish lists, memoir, lyrics, diaries, bullet journals, holiday planning and gratitude journaling. They all have their own set purpose, some may overlap with … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: Hopsfyquin
Wow, it’s been a while since my last “using now” post. I can’t say I have any totally earth-shattering news to report about the daily carry notebooks I’m using but there is one new item that wasn’t even on my radar at that time. First of all, I suppose the concept of “daily carry” has … Continue reading Daily Carry Notebooks: July 2020
I’ve seen various stories about people documenting their time under coronavirus lockdowns, using sketchbooks or journals. Here’s one example, a visual diary kept by a Scottish architect: Prof Alan Dunlop has filled six A4-size sketchbooks since the start of restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus. He has sketched scenes inside and outside the … Continue reading Lockdown Diaries
I enjoyed this article from Nature by microbiology PhD student Adeline Williams. As a scientist, she keeps lab notebooks in both digital and paper form, and she also keeps a personal journal. She has some great observations about these different forms of journaling and their benefits. Since my school days, long before I started working … Continue reading Keeping Two Journals
I’ve heard from a couple of readers on how they’re notebooking their way through the COVID-19 shutdown. Here are their stories: Tina Koyama A little more than 3 weeks ago, I was so freaked out about the pandemic that I needed something to do to calm my mind so that I could move on with … Continue reading Notebooking Through the Coronavirus
I read a lot of books, and for a brief period, I tried to keep a reading notebook. I didn’t stick with it for long because it seemed kind of boring: it was just a notebook with a list of everything that I’d read. But when I came across this post at Bookriot, I loved … Continue reading How to Keep a Reading Journal
From the Minnesota Star Tribune, a profile of a college hockey player who is also a dedicated journaler: Before and after every practice, every game, the Gophers goaltender hunches over a Moleskine not much bigger than his palm and writes. Jack LaFontaine has five journals in all, each to collect different thoughts — practice focuses, … Continue reading A Hockey Player’s Notebook
Writers’ habits don’t just emerge. We cultivate them—they are first aspirational, and then superstitious. If something works once, we hope it will work again. Years ago, in graduate school, I noticed how certain poet friends would casually, but with intent, remove a small notebook from their jacket pocket or bag and jot something down. I … Continue reading Notebooking as a Writers’ Habit