Notebooks

Nov. 29 update: I ordered a sketchbook from Hemlock & Oak by recommendation of Jedda. It ticks a lot of my boxes:

• A5
• 100lb paper (though white, since it’s a sketchbook)
• Pretty! I got it in the deep forest green colour.

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I’ve been using a Leuchtturm1917 A5 notebook for at least the past five years, and I would continue to buy it because it suits my needs perfectly, but I’m not against branching out, particularly for notebooks that are more beautiful.

My notebook criteria

Mostly shaped by Leuchtturm:

Requirements

• Lay flat when open — need to be able to write in it with one hand; don’t want to have to use my other hand to hold it down; I want to leave it open on my desk without holding it down with anything.
• Plain/blank pages (i.e. not lined, grid, or dot grid)
• A5-ish size (145mm × 210mm) — Not too big that I can’t fit it into various bags as well as on my desk. Pocket-sized notebooks are too small.

Strong preference

• Bookmark ribbon
• Hard cover — useful for when not at a desk, but this is infrequent so it’s not a hard requitement
• Pretty / comes in nice colours — huge plus if the cover or colours are beautiful. Text, slogans, quotes, or the like are unappealing.
• Cream / off-white paper colour — pure white is too stark IMO, but not a deal breaker
• Ships to Canada at some reasonable cost.

Nice-to-have:

• Back cover pocket — occasionally useful
• Personalization options (e.g. embossing)
• Minimal ghosting — I’ve gotten used to ink ghosting in my Leuchtturm and sometimes find it charming because it adds to the used/messy look, but I sometimes also skip pages where I want to avoid that.

Don’t want:

• Spiral-bound — ergonomically awful
• Too few pages (let’s say, <100 is too few)
• Overall fussy to handle — e.g. the Traveller’s Notebook system

Other considerations

• Primarily use a black ink pen — mostly a Muji 0.38 gel pen. Occasionally pencil, but only for sketching. On occasion, a brush pen when drawing.
• Used for sketching art, designing, and writing brief notes. Not used for longform writing (e.g. paragraphs of text). Not used for more serious or polished art. Not used for scrapbooking.

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The standard to beat: Leuchtturm1917

• Size: Medium / A5 (145mm × 210mm)
• Paper weight: 80g/sqm
• Colour: comes in many solid colours
• Personalization: yes; line of text at the bottom
• Other features: has two ribbon bookmarks and back pocket

Options

Need to investigate

• Mossery: considering, but hesitant due to shipping costs. Otherwise I love their art.
• Midori
• Moleskine: I used to use this, and I liked it less than Leuchtturm. But it’s been a few years and I could revisit it.
• Rhodia

Options I’ve dismissed

• Notebook Therapy: super cute and I love the vibe, but only has dot grid options
• Archer & Olive: only has dot grid options
• Shinola: I used to have a large linen journal, but it didn’t open flat. Unsure if that’s the case for the smaller sizes.

Suggestions

I am taking them! Feel free to suggest.