Would you take a look at this beautiful notebook?
Some of you might recognise it as a Moleskine [pronounced MOL-ah-SKEEN-ah ... not “moleskin”!]. Moleskine notebooks are famous and much-loved throughout the world but they are not easy to track down in New Zealand, particularly outside of the main cities. I have wanted a Moleskine of my own for years. So I was thrilled to find this one in a bookshop last week while I was away.
What's so special about about Moleskine? It's simple: Moleskine is the perfect notebook.
My favourite Moleskine – the one I am now the proud owner of - is the hard cover ruled large classic notebook. I am using it as the latest volume of my journal, one page of which you can see above. It has every thing I love in a notebook: A5 size, lots of pages, a heavy duty black cover, elastic closure, a pocket on the inside back cover, cloth bookmark, and beautiful cream paper that’s smooth but has enough resistance to make writing with my fountain pen comfortable. The pages open flat and the line spacing is a perfect 6mm.
I’ve discovered a website I can order Moleskines online and you can bet I’ll be opening an account with them soon. The great thing about this is that I will no longer have to suffer from Notebook Separation Anxiety which is what happens every time I finish one notebook and have to start writing my journal in another. I become so attached to an individual notebook that I find it hard to put it aside immediately for another. Now, as long as Moleskines continue to be made, I’ll be able to keep using them – and it will be like using the same notebook all the time!
Pete has had to listen to me raving on about my gorgeous Moleskine all week, and now he’s been bitten by the Moleskine bug too. His preferred Moleskine is the soft cover ruled extra-large cahier notebook. What does he love about it? He says: “It's the actual quality of it, coupled with the fact there's nothing unnecessary included in it. It does what it's supposed to do, there’s nothing fancy about it, but you know it has quality - it will last. And the line spacing is perfect.”
Moleskine users tend to be devoted to their notebooks, whether they’re writers, artists, diarists, travellers or stationery junkies. There are even websites specifically for Moleskine love! My favourite, which my friend B [also a Moleskine devotee] introduced me to, is Moleskinerie. And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go spend some more quality time with my Moleskine and my fountain pen.
[If you use Moleskines, or are a stationery junkie in general, I'd love to know what your favourites are.]
10 comments:
Ah, a Moleskinista, eh? Even before I'd read the marketing pamphlet I'd heard how Bruce Chatwin bought the entire stock of his preferred Moleskines when he heard they were closing down, and that piqued my interest (glad they started up again, though). I have to admit being reactionary in some respects, though — I have an aversion to beautiful notebooks because it's too easy to think they deserve only deathless prose, thus discouraging me from mere jotting. However, the thought of the acid-free paper and the kind of quality that will last definitely appeals.
Anything that encourages you to write sounds great in my book — with luck, we'll get to read some of it here :^)
HOLY COW!!! I was just thinking about you the other day! wondering where you are, who you are, how long your nails are, does your skin still go purple in the winter, is your hair still wavy of is it too short to be wavy, are your eyes still that beautiful brilliant blue and do you have any more tattoos? and now here you are... and I find you are a fellow moleskine lover too!!!
I personally love all their shapes and sizes... but best of all I like the little volant notebooks (good for lists) and the reporter notebook, I do like a cover you can flip back (makes me feel efficient).
Anyway I will send you an email and we can catch up.
x
As a stumbler upon this blog, I immediately relate to your love of moleskin journals. I have been through ups and downs with a moleskin under my pillow. You have great taste in writing media.
i'm a moleskine lover too. thankfully they are a bit easier to find in the uk than in nz.
also, there are some amazingly cheap recycled paper exercise books that i love that i can't get anywhere but the usa. they don't look like much, but i love the feel and sound of the pages AFTER they have been written in. crazy, but true....
i would also be happy to send you a stack of moleskins from the uk if you ever needed a supplier
:)
Pete - Moleskinista, ha! I like it. That's me all right. The funny thing for me about Moleskines is that, even if I'm just jotting, I feel like I AM writing deathless prose. Hm, that's a bit of a worry ...
Hey Katherine, awesome to hear from you and I will send you an email soon. Questions. I'm living in Whanganui, I'm good, my nails are as short as possible [I can't believe I used to type with inch-long nails!], my hands do still go purple in the cold [although not as bad as they used to], my hair is shoulder-length and going through the dreadlocking process, were my eyes ever brilliant blue? I think of them as grey, and I now have seven tattoos. I love those reporter notebooks too, I've been considering getting one for work.
Whitney Mai, welcome! Thanks for your comment. Your blog looks great and I'm looking forward to reading more.
Leonie, I know what you mean about paper sounding and feeling differently after they've been written on. Not crazy at all, sister! Thank you, your offer is very generous - if I get stuck here I will let you know!
Katherine - take no notice at all of her claim her eyes are grey. They always have been, and still are brilliant blue :-)
Clearly I'm colour blind :-(
I also love Moleskine and because Greece is my passion I got myself a city moleskine, with Athens....i have there a map and everything and last september when I "ve been in Rhodes, I wrote everything in my band new moleskine!!!.
mmmm I just think they are quite expensive, at least in Romania....but they are worth.
so I am looking forward to getting a new one, soon:)
hugs, CRis
Hi Cris! Thanks for your comment. It's always great to hear from a fellow Moleskine fan. They are expensive here in New Zealand too, but, as you said, very much worth it. I hope you enjoy choosing your new one!
Anne-Marie,
Just to let you know for your future Moleskine adventures: The Book Depository sell them (cheaper and free shipping) to us in NZ, and Oberon Design make beautiful leather covers to hold your precious journal.
www.thebookdepository.co.uk and www.oberondesign.com
Laura.
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