My epic search for The Perfect Notebook

Who knew this would be so difficult?? I know I'm picky about my notebooks, but aren't most of us who love paper and pens?

**UPDATE: I bought a scale and have added the weights of each notebook in the photos below. I have finally figured out my weigh threshold! Details below.

As you may have read in my Journal Evaluation 2013 post, in January I'm switching from using a dated day per page diary as my daily record and journal (as I've been using this year) to an undated notebook for more freedom and flexibility of use in a slimmer and lighter book. Whatever notebook I use has big shoes to fill,  because I adore the Time Traveler day per page diary I've been using this year. The soft cover and white paper are so pleasing to me.

So I started going through my enormous notebook stash to choose which one I would use first. I want something that I will enjoy using as much as my Time Traveler diary.

I'm stumped. Of all the notebooks I own, none jump out at me as The Perfect Notebook. Cue new quest!

First of all, I already have such a ridiculous number of notebooks I really cannot justify purchasing another one. And anyway, half the reason to use a notebook instead of a dated diary is to start using up my stash. So my choices are limited to my considerable selection of notebooks already on my shelf.

But, please post comments with your notebook recommendations for future purchases! I'm always on the lookout for a better notebook. Please keep in mind I'm in the UK and I try to avoid ordering from other countries because the import taxes and fees are outrageous.

Here are my criteria for The Perfect Notebook:

1. Size: it must be between 5 by 7 inches and 6 by 8 1/2 inches. Bigger is too big, smaller is too small.

2. It must have a sufficient number of pages to last at least a few months, but not so many pages that the book is too thick and heavy.

3. I must enjoy the paper. Bonus points for white, smooth and thick. Points removed for too dark paper, and pen bleed-through.

4. I must enjoy the cover. Interesting, attractive, and nice to hold. Bonus points for soft, I love soft-feeling covers.

5. At this point I am only considering bound books, no spiral binding (of which I have several) and absolutely no ring binders (of which I have many).

6. It must stay open on its own! It doesn't need to lie dead flat, but it must stay open on a surface without self-closing.

7. It can't be too heavy. That's why I decided to stop using a dated diary, so half the point of a notebook is to use something that's easier to carry around.

8. Line ruling between 5.5 and 6.5 mm. Wider wastes page space, narrower cramps my handwriting.

9. It can't be too expensive or too difficult to replace. This is the notebook I'll use for everyday stuff. I can't feel like the notebook is too precious to write as much as I want in.

***UPDATE: 10.  I finally bought a scale and weighed all of these books. After some weighing and experimenting I discovered my threshold of how much weight I want carry for my notebook and planner combined is 700g. My weekly Plannerisms planner weighs in at 324g, which means my notebook ideally will be below 376g.

Surely that's not asking too much, is it??

Below are the notebooks in my stash that come closest to fitting the criteria above, but shockingly none of them fit all the criteria. I have shown my 2013 Time Traveler diary in the top left for size comparison. The Time Traveler is 6 inches wide by 8 1/2 inches tall and is the upper limit of what I want to carry.

*Update: my Time Traveler daily diary weighs 503g, so the weight of it combined with my Plannerisms planner totals 827, above my threshold of 700g. (Incidentally, I also weighed my A5 Filofax, which tipped the scales at 1039g. So for those of you who wonder why I don't use an A5 Filo instead of my bound books, that's why.)

All of these notebooks are *almost* perfect, but miss the mark somehow. Here's what I mean:

First up: the large Moleskine Hobbit notebook.

Large Moleskine Hobbit ruled notebook: 342g

The large Moleskine notebook is the perfect size, in my opinion, so I will use it as scale for the other notebooks. And at 342g it is well below my threshold of 376g. Below I have shown it next to my Time Traveler diary to show it is slightly narrower. And of course since it is a notebook with fewer pages than the day per page diary, it is less bulky.

Time Traveler Day Per Page diary 503g, Moleskine 342g

 

More things I like about it: It lays flat. I like this Hobbit cover. It has my favorite ruling, 6mm. I like the layout of the page with space at the top and 30 lines below. It wins points in all categories except for the paper, which has a lot of annoying show-through and even some bleed through with my pen of choice (Uni-ball Signo RT 0.7).

 

I like this pen because it is an archival quality rollerball and is comfortable to write with.

I haven't filled up a page with writing yet to see how much the show-through would annoy me. And because Moleskine's paper tends to change, it's not much use to try it on a different Moleskine notebook to test it. But below you can see where I used this pen to start numbering the pages. Not only is the 3 annoyingly visible from the opposite side of the page, but so is the 2 from the previous page.

 

My worry is that I'll start using this notebook and get aggravated by the show-through. Because this cover is limited edition, I don't want to use it part way and discard it out of frustration. Once I start using this book, I want to commit to filling it.

You may remember from my post late last year that I intended to use this notebook as my journal this year, but later decided to use a dated day per page instead. So, I've been excited about this book for a year now and would like to use it. Despite the paper, it wins in all the other categories and is a contender for the notebook I will start using in January.

The other major contender for my January notebook is the Alwych 5 by 8 inch notebook:

5 by 8 inch Alwych notebook 328g

You may remember I got several of these notebooks a few years ago right before I moved from Scotland to Indonesia. I love these notebooks! This size is perfect, I love the retro cover, it's light at 328g and it could go everywhere with me. And, it's from Scotland! What could possibly be better??

The paper is nicer than Moleskine paper, and I like the colored page edges. This would be perfect, but heartbreakingly it doesn't stay open on its own! I don't know if it eventually would with training.

So close!! The good news is, if I try this notebook and stop using it either to use a different notebook or to go back to using a Time Traveler diary in 2014, it wouldn't be a tragedy because it's easy for me to get these notebooks now that I'm living in Scotland again. So, this is also a very strong contender for my notebook to start in January.

The next runner-up is the Daycraft Signature notebook I got recently. I used one of these a few years ago as a self-drawn planner and really enjoyed the soft cover and smooth paper.

Daycraft A5 Signature softcover notebook 325g

This is another safe contender. I know I would enjoy using this notebook, because I always enjoy Daycraft Signature notebooks.

But, I just used another Daycraft Signature notebook last month, the Inspiro, and as much as I enjoyed it I would like to use something new, like the Hobbit or Alwych. Still, this would be a safe one to use as a trial because it's easy for me to get another one here.

Here's one that's so close but missed the mark: the Rhodia Webnotebook. It's the perfect size, the soft cover feels nice, and the paper is smooth and thick. But here's where it falls down. A minor issue is the prominent branding on the front. Come on Rhodia, put this on the back cover at the bottom please.

Rhodia large Webnotebook 364g

But my real problem with it is the paper color. It's a real shame, because the paper itself is so smooth and thick. But wow it is dark. I have shown it below in comparison to the white paper of my Time Travler, which I love, and the Moleskine paper top right, which is already on the dark side for me. The Rhodia paper is a dark apricot color, and I don't like looking at it. Too bad.

I'm planning to use this notebook for work whenever I get a job because I do like the size, the cover and the smoothness of the paper. But the dark paper color is too annoying for me to use it for everyday personal use.

Below are two Paperblanks notebooks I love: the Ultra Darwin journal (left) and the Midi Lindau journal (right).

Paperblanks Darwin Ultra journal 574g, Lindau Midi journal 284g

The covers are wonderful and the paper is fantastic. But, there is a Goldilocks problem here.

The Ultra journal on the left measures 7 by 9 inches, too big to carry with me everywhere. Update: when I weighed this book I discovered it's 574g! Definitely over my weight threshold of what I'm willing to carry around. The Midi journal on the right is 4 3/4 by 6 3/4 inches and only 284g. As nicely portable as that is, I need a page size of about 5 by 8 inches each day so this is too small. I have shown the large Moleskine in the middle as the just-right size.

For some reason, Paperblanks offers only a few covers in their Maxi (5 1/2 by 8 1/4 inches) size, and none of them turn me on. So frustrating! If they offered the selection they have in their Ultra size as Maxi size books, these would be my notebooks of choice. Unfortunately, my search goes on.

Below is the large Moleskine next to a Leuchtturm notebook I partly used a few years ago. Leuchtturm paper is superior to Moleskine paper by miles, and has the added advantage of numbered pages and an Index already built into the book.

Moleskine (L) 342g, Leuchtturm (R) 391g

Unfortunately Leuchtturm notebooks are wider than I prefer, and are just a little heavier than I like to carry everywhere. (I need to buy a scale and figure out just what that threshold is!!)  *Update: I was right! At 391g, the Leuchtturm is over my threshold of 376. It wasn't my imagination thinking it was too heavy! It actually is.

Below you can see the width difference with the Mole:

I compared this Leuchtturm notebook to the Rhodia webbie, and despite them being almost identical in size the Leuchtturm is noticeably significantly heavier. *Update: at 391g the Leuchtturm is heavier than the Rhodia Webnotebook at 364g.

I used Leuchtturm dotted notebooks as my self-drawn weekly Plannerisms planners before they were published, so I know I enjoy using these notebooks. This particular notebook is unlined, but in the future I may spring for a soft-cover ruled Leuchtturm. That just might become my notebook of choice.

Here are some Clairefontaine notebooks that are so close yet so far away. Below I have shown them with the large Moleskine again for scale.

Clairefontaine A5 harcover (L) 421g, Fabric bound (R) 295

Clairefontaine paper is my absolute favorite in the world, so it seems like it would be an easy choice to use these notebooks, right? Well, no.

First of all, the hard cover one on the left is too big. I measure it at 6 3/4 inches wide and more than 8 1/2 inches tall, which makes it bigger than I want to carry. *Update: at 421g it's definitely past my threshold of 376g.

The one on the right is A5, nearly 6 inches wide by 8 1/4 inches tall so it's just within my size parameters, and at only 295g it's nicely lightweight. But my problem with it is the cover. The laminated card cover with fabric binding has the advantage of being lightweight, but it's not very durable and the bigger issue is it looks like a school book, which is actually what it's intended for. Clairefontaine notebooks need better covers, in my opinion. They have these laminated card ones, or other cardboard like ones.

What I want is a Moleskine or Rhodia-like cover. Rhodia is made by the same parent company as Clairefontaine, but I've already discussed why I don't like the Rhodia's dark paper. Exaclair, please put white Clairefontaine paper in a Rhodia webbie cover! If that existed, it would be my perfect notebook.

The Habana notebooks come close. The covers are wonderful but the notebooks are more expensive than I want to spend for my everyday notebook, and size is an issue: the large is too big (6 1/4 by 9 1/2 inches) and the small is too small (4 by 6 inches).

So, you see my dilemma. I have a lot of excellent notebooks, but none are exactly what I want.

I haven't yet decided on which notebook I will start using in January, but I will let you know when I decide. I need to choose the right one, a notebook I enjoy and that works well for me. I'm afraid of my notebook experiment failing because of using a notebook I don't really enjoy or that doesn't fit my needs well enough, causing me to stop using it.

Do you know a notebook that fits my criteria above? Please post a comment so the next time I'm notebook shopping I can check them out!

Looking for a 2011 planner?

Are you searching for the perfect planner to guide you through 2011?  Hopefully I can help you in your search! 

The first thing you have to decide is whether you want a bound-book style of planner or a loose-leaf binder system (like Filofax etc.).  Here is my post Planner Preference: Ring Binder vs. Bound Book to help you decide.

Here is a list of reviews I have done of 2011 planners, with some suggestions to help you figure out what you need and want from your planner in the coming year.

Click on the highlighted links for my complete reviews with lots of photos of features of each planner, and links to order the planner from the appropriate website if you are interested.  Click on photos for a larger view:

**Edited to add: in my original post I left this planner out because it was sold out, but now it is back in stock! If you want a beautiful, super-slim planner with fabulous paper and a unique layout: months and weekly pages visible at the same time, you MUST check out the Rabbit planner (click here for the ordering page)! Click here to see my review of this fantastic planner:

If you want a sleek, classic style planner that suits many needs in many circumstances, check out the Moleskine planners (here is my review of the Large Daily and Vertical Weekly Moleskine planners).

If you want a similar style to the Moleskine but with all seven days as vertical columns and space for notes in a portable size planner, then it's the Leuchtturm medium weekly planner you want.

If you want a very small, portable planner (perhaps as a companion to your smartphone) then you want the Moleskine Extra Small planner (in daily or weekly format).

If you want a portable planner with a pretty cover, large weekly view, and monthly calendars across a two-page spread with the months EMBEDDED in the weeks (a very hard-to-find format!) check out the Plan-It Planners.  Click here to see my review of the academic year version.  Click here for the 2011 January-December planners.

If you are very busy and need lots of space to write each day and need to write task lists on your weekly pages to see everything you have to do and when you have time to do it all in one view, you can't go wrong with a Quo Vadis Trinote or Minister planner.  Click these links for my reviews of the Trinote and Minister, links below go straight to the Quo Vadis product pages.

The Trinote format has Notes spaces for each day:

The Minister is a slightly slimmer book:

If you have lots of recurring events each week and/ or month and are tired of re-writing them each week (because sooner or later, you'll forget to re-write and something will slip through the cracks) then hurry to order your 2011 WeekDate planner before they sell out!  Its unique format allows you to "Only Write It Once" as the brand's logo says.  Click here for my review of the 2011 WeekDate weekly planner.

If you want to keep track of your and your family's schedule while having fun and learning interesting facts in a weekly-changing planner, check out the Dodo Pad diary (which comes in various formats and sizes including desk, mini, wall, and Filofax inserts).  Click here to read my review of the 2011 Dodo Pad A5 Filofax insert on Philofaxy.

If you want budget sheets, menu planning, shopping lists, holiday planning and more incorporated in your weekly planner, take a look at the Life Book by Organised Mum.

All of these planners, believe it or not, I actually own so if you have any specific questions about any of these that I didn't cover in the reviews, post a comment and let me know.  I'd be happy to help you sort through the piles of options and help you find the right 2011 planner for you!

Of course there are loads of other options besides those listed here, but this selection will get you started or maybe show you some options you hadn't considered before.

Good luck reaching your own personal Planner Nirvana in 2011!

For those of you who have already decided what planner you will use next year, please post a comment and tell us what you've chosen!

Leuchtturm Master Size Weekly Planners

Leuchtturm 1917 very generously sent me two of their Master size weekly planners to review.  Thank you Leuchtturm!

These planners are huge at 225 x 315 mm  (approx 12 1/2 x 9 inches).  They are larger than A4 paper so that you can put A4 pages into them without folding or bending the papers.  Obviously you won't be taking this planner around with you everywhere, but if you carry a laptop case or briefcase for work then it's entirely reasonable to fit one of these planners into your bag.  They are excellent desk planners.

I have the 2010 Weekly Planner and the Weekly Planner + Notebook

Here is the Weekly Planner:


It has all 7 days as columns across the huge two-page spread (click on photo for larger view):

Notice my Pilot V5 pen for scale.  This book is huge!

This would be excellent for someone who is very busy, or to schedule everyone in an office into the same book.  Each daily column is timed from 7:00 to 22:00, and below each column is a large space for daily Notes.  The 8th column has last-this-next months with the current week highlighted, and more space for notes below.  The print is faint and unobtrusive so your writing will really stand out.  Holidays are indicated with the country abbreviations at the very bottom of each day's Notes space.

Here is the Weekly Planner + Notebook :




It has the familiar week + notes format that is so popular these days (with good reason in my opinion, it's an extremely useful format):



Notice my pen again and my hand for scale.  Everything on this weekly format is scaled up to the size of the book, giving it a very Alice In Wonderland feel: the print is larger, even the line spacing on the notes page is larger (the ruled lines are nearly half an inch apart!).  Holidays are indicated in each day's space with the country's abbreviation.  This again would be an excellent planner for someone who is very busy, and who also wants to take notes each week.

Both of these weekly formats have the same features: hard cover, ribbon placemarker, elastic strap, and pocket in the back.

These planners have monthly planning pages with the months as columns and a line per day:


There are also annual planning pages for the current and future year:



Here is a very cool feature: Project Planning pages for the entire year:



In the back of each book there is a full-page size card that is quadruled on one side and lined on the other to place under your page for tidy writing, sketching or graphs.  Each book also has a page of stickers to label the cover and spine of your book, and a booklet that fits into the back pocket:




 This booklet contains an annual planner that you could use for any year, or to record birthdays and anniversaries that recur each year:


The rest of the booklet consists of tabbed alphabetical pages:


The planners are thread bound with acid-free paper.

When the 2011 Master size Leuchhturm planners become available, you can find them at Journaling Arts for excellent prices.

Many thanks again to Leuchtturm 1917 for sending me so many of their excellent products to review! You can see all of my Leuchtturm reviews here.

Leuchtturm Daily Planner

To continue my day-per-page diary kick, here is a great one: the pocket size daily planner by Leuchtturm 1917:

This was very generously sent to me as a sample by Leuchtturm 1917.  It's an excellent planner and I'm very glad to have the opportunity to review it!  Thank you Leuchtturm!

This planner has a really nice layout on the daily pages.  Each day has timed lines for appointments, and at the bottom of the page there is a blank space for notes.  Country codes for those countries having a holiday that day are listed at the bottom of each day's space.  Saturday and Sunday share one page, with each day as a vertical column (click on photo for a larger view).

There are lots of other features that make this planner stand out.  One very cool feature is a Project Planner:

There are monthly planners with the months as columns:

And annual planners for this year and next year:

This planner has a black hard cover, ribbon placemarker, acid-free paper, elastic strap and pocket in the back of the book.  In the back of the planner there are several blank pages that are perforated for easy removal.  Additionally, there are stickers included to label the cover and spine of your book.

This book measures approximately 3 3/4 by almost 6 inches, which is a very portable size that you can take with you anywhere.The Leuchhturm daily planners also come in Medium and the enormous Master size.

At this time I'm not sure where the 2011 Leuchtturm planners will be available to purchase.  You may want to contact Journaling Arts to ask if they will carry the daily planners for 2011.  I know JA have carried the Master size weekly planners in the past, at great prices, but I don't know if they have plans for the daily ones.

Alternatively you can contact Leuchtturm and I'm sure they would be happy to direct you to the nearest retailer to find these planners.

Many thanks again to Leuchtturm 1917 for allowing me to test their products.  Stay tuned, in a future post I will review their huge Master size weekly planners!

Leuchtturm notebooks

Here are two notebooks from Leuchtturm 1917, a German company who very generously sent me several of their products to review.  I've already reviewed their medium size weekly planners.  In future posts I will review their Master size weekly planners in two different formats and their Pocket size daily planner.

But first, these awesome notebooks!  The black-covered notebook has blank pages, and was sent to me as a sample from Leuchtturm 1917.  The purple-covered one, which I adore, has dotted pages and was VERY generously sent to me from Lady Dandelion after I won it on a giveaway contest on her blog!  Thanks Lady Dandelion!  I love it!!

Before I dive right into the cool features of these notebooks (and there are some very cool features so hang on a sec), let me tell you about Leuchtturm 1917 (and you can also read more about the company here).  Founded in (you guessed it) 1917, Leuchtturm (which means "lighthouse" in German) makes high-quality, archival stationery products including diaries, notebooks, binders, photo albums, boxes and more. Their products are very popular with collectors of stamps and coins because they know their collections will be safely preserved.

Now, on to these notebooks.  I am very impressed.  Go get a cup of your favorite beverage and settle in.  I'll wait.

Ready?  Here we go:

At first glance these look similar to many notebooks available today with the hard cover, elastic strap and back pocket.  But right away you start to notice differences that indicate a step or two up in quality from the usual notebook.  As the brand motto says, "details make all the difference."  The notebooks have a color-matched ribbon placemarker which is actually ribbon, not cotton, adding to the luxurious feel of the book.  The creamy paper is smooth, and again gives a feeling of luxury.


The first few pages in the notebooks have a Table of Contents, to record topics on each page:


And, every page is faintly numbered!  HOORAY!!!


This makes it very easy to index your pages and keep track of what you wrote and where in your notebook.  This makes Leuchtturm notebooks especially useful not only for art and writing but also as lab notebooks and to record research.  I wish I'd had some of these in grad school!

Each of these notebooks has a page of stickers you can use to label the cover and spine of your notebooks.

Additionally, the blank notebook has a page-size card that is lined on one side and quadruled on the reverse, so you can be tidy about your writing and drawing while still having unruled pages.

The dots in the dotted notebook are faint and unobtrusive, making them easy on the eyes (click to enlarge):


The dots have 5 mm spacing and are great for writing, drawing, creating charts and tables.  This is a great alternative to quadruled pages.

The last several pages of each notebook are perforated for easy removal.  The paper is acid-free and archival, and the book is thread-bound for durability.

These notebooks are the Medium size, measuring 145 mm wide by 210 mm tall (almost 6 inches wide by just over 8 inches tall).

Leuchtturm notebooks come in a wide variety of sizes including Master (slightly larger than A4 so you can carry A4 papers easily inside):

Leuchtturm Master Notebook, Ruled, 9 x 12.5 Inch (LBM11)

Medium (sized so a two-page spread photocopies onto an A4 page):

Leuchtturm Medium Notebook, Ruled, 5.75 x 8.25 inches (LBL11)

Leuchtturm Medium Notebook, Dots, 5.75 x 8.25 Inch (LBL14)

Pocket, and  Reporter (both sized to fit into your pocket), in lined, plain, quadruled or the new dotted pages.

You can order the newest Leuchtturm catalog by mail or by email by filling out their online form.

Leuchtturm notebooks can be purchased online at Journaling Arts (for fantastic prices).

Thanks again to Leuchtturm and Lady Dandelion for these excellent notebooks!