Category Archives: Journal

Letts Notebook Review

It’s been more than 8 years since I reviewed a notebook from Letts! This classic English brand has been around even longer than that, though… since 1812, in fact! Letts claims to be the first publisher of “commercial diaries,” meaning a mass-produced calendar book combined with space to write and usually some business-related promotional info … Continue reading Letts Notebook Review

Notebook Addict of the Week: Vanessa Berry

Our latest notebook addict of the week is Vanessa Berry, an Australian writer and artist. In a 2012 blog post, she talks about her collection of 31 diaries, written starting in 1998. The photo of the whole collection is striking: The close-ups of the individual notebooks are also fascinating. She mostly uses old notebooks found … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: Vanessa Berry

Quo Vadis Life Journal Infinite Review

I’ve always had a soft spot for Quo Vadis products, ever since my college days when I used some of their vinyl-covered diaries to keep track of my classes and assignments. An updated version of the ones I used is still available! But Quo Vadis has kept up with the times and added new products … Continue reading Quo Vadis Life Journal Infinite Review

Notebooks in Storage

Exciting times here at Notebook Stories headquarters… as I’ve mentioned in passing in a few posts, most of my notebook collection has been sitting in a storage unit for almost 2 years. It’s been quite frustrating to have all these notebooks in storage and not to be able to access them for blog posts and … Continue reading Notebooks in Storage

Patricia Highsmith’s Diaries

The diaries of Patricia Highsmith (author of many books, including Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and The Price of Salt, the basis for the movie Carol) are being released by her estate, for publication in a book. The diaries, which Liveright Publishing plans to release in the United States in 2021 as … Continue reading Patricia Highsmith’s Diaries

A Good Company Notebook Review

I was not familiar with A Good Company when they contacted me to offer a sample for review. Based in Sweden, A Good Company offers a focused selection of stationery and household items, all designed to be environmentally friendly, and produced in line with a set of values: We believe being completely transparent between ourselves, … Continue reading A Good Company Notebook Review

Zuzana Justman’s Terezín Diary

A very powerful article from the September 16, 2019 New Yorker magazine: My Terezin Diary, by Zuzana Justman. It’s a miracle that the diary and its author both survived the atrocities of the Nazi concentration camps. I kept the diary from December 8, 1943, until March 4, 1944—the first winter of the two years I … Continue reading Zuzana Justman’s Terezín Diary

Nolty Page Per Day Efficiency Notebook for 2020

Hot news today! I just happened to see a post on Instagram where JMAM, the makers of Nolty diaries, announced some additional 70th anniversary products. Most exciting to me is that they are introducing a Nolty page-per-day Efficiency Notebook! It looks like they are calling it the “Daily Book.” It looks a lot like the … Continue reading Nolty Page Per Day Efficiency Notebook for 2020

When Do You Get Nervous?

Let’s say you’re packing for a short trip. Like, just a long weekend. In your own country, in an area with plenty of stores where you could conceivably buy any of the widely-available brands of notebooks. Maybe even in an area with a few cool gift stores that stock cute upscale Japanese notebooks. And let’s … Continue reading When Do You Get Nervous?

Franz Kafka’s Notebook

The National Library in Jerusalem, Israel has just revealed to the public for the first time a collection of Franz Kafka’s papers, including some notebooks. The writings themselves have been published before, but without access to the original papers, people couldn’t see how he wrote, and doodled and sketched, as in the example below! Trove … Continue reading Franz Kafka’s Notebook