Thanks to a tip from a reader, I found this nice little post by Macy Halford, at the New Yorker’s publishing blog, The Book Bench: Not too tall, not too short, not too fat, not too thin, not too flimsy or with too stiff a spine. And most of all, not with lines too far … Continue reading New Yorker Book Blogger Finds the Perfect Notebook
Here’s something for everyone whose New Year’s Resolution is to start keeping a diary! A few months ago, I was sent a free sample of an interesting journal called Keel’s Simple Diary. It’s quite different from most of the items I’ve reviewed. It’s a sort of hybrid, I guess– perhaps more of a creativity prod … Continue reading Review: The Simple Diary
If you’re into art journaling, this book will rock your world. Every page is stuffed with colors, words, drawings– Lynda Barry jams so much onto each page, so beautifully– it’s really inspiring. From the School Library Journal review: “Each page is a feast for the eyes with beautiful full-page collages of photographs, watercolors, ink drawings, … Continue reading My Favorite “Notebook Book:” Lynda Barry’s “What It Is”
Do you ever look at your notebooks and wish you had better handwriting to fill them with? And do you ever notice that notebooks from the past always seem to be full of beautiful script? If so, you might be interested in this book about the history of handwriting. In this electronic age, it just … Continue reading In Praise of Handwriting
I always love hearing about writers’ notebooks, though this is a little different from most! From an interview with Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of American Salvage: Do you keep any kind of notebook? I don’t have a writing notebook properly, but I do have this fabulous datebook that I keep with me at all times. … Continue reading Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Standard Diary
Too bad this event already happened! I wonder what kind of notebook that is in the picture… Julius Singer Press and Awkward Press team up to present “Old Notebooks,” an evening of readings by authors Sara Jaffe (The Art of Touring), Chris Leo (Feathers Like Leather), Zack Lipez (No Seats On The Party Car) and … Continue reading Missed it! Authors Read Secret Notes From Old Journals
From The Unfolding Moment, this is a lovely post about the ups and downs of keeping a journal, and now it feels to go back and re-read old journals: Reflection: Leave the Roots On. Every once in a while, I become reacquainted with old notebooks. My life is flush with them: sketchbooks and art journals, … Continue reading Thoughts on Journaling
The Munchkin Wrangler says he’s “hooked on paper!” This week’s Addict of the Week counted up his stash and did some math to prove the following: I have enough paper stashed in the house to write 2.3 million words. Considering my current production rate of one 100,000-word novel per year, and maybe another 20,000 words … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: The Munchkin Wrangler
There was a neat article in the Wall Street Journal the other day about the writing habits of some well-known novelists. I’m sure it will come as no surprise that many of them mention notebooks! Orhan Pamuk: “Mr. Pamuk writes by hand, in graph-paper notebooks, filling a page with prose and leaving the adjacent page … Continue reading How Great Novelists Use Notebooks
I recently noticed this story about Siegfried Sassoon’s notebooks being archived at Cambridge University. Sassoon was a poet who refused to return to fight after being wounded in World War I. (Read Pat Barker’s novel Regeneration for an interesting perspective on his story.) The archive contains, among other things “Sassoon’s journals [and]Â pocket notebooks compiled … Continue reading Siegfried Sassoon’s Notebooks