I have a thing for notebooks. I have way too many blank notebooks. I’m steadily filling them up, but I have enough to last me for… a while. But there’s always more to look at when it comes to stationary and notebooks. I’ve gotten into the fountain pen hobby, so now I’m on the lookout for some pocket sized notebooks that work well with fountain pens. Preferably ones that lie flat.

The ones I have right now are fine, they do have some ghosting, but they are usable. But they do not lie flat, and that is annoying AF. Sadly, as I said in the linked post above, I bought six of them.

Lesson 1: only buy one notebook of a kind at a time. That way if you don’t like it, you’re not stuck having to use notebooks you don’t care for.

And I will use them. They aren’t that bad, so they’ll get used, but I will bitch and complain every time I open one up. But the dislike of these, along with wishing for paper better suited for fountain pens, has led me to look for new options.

One thing I’ve discovered, is that notebooks can get pricey. For something that isn’t reusable, they sure do cost a pretty penny. The other thing I’ve learned is that there aren’t a ton of pocket (A6) sized notebooks that meet my requirements. I really want a spiral pocket notebook, but the ones that are out there are all pretty thin on the paper spec. The notebooks that I’ve found that are both spiral bound and have paper thick enough for fountain pen ink, are larger than I’m looking for.

I’ve talked before about how much I enjoy the field note sized notebooks. I have a few larger B5 (I think that’s the size), notebooks, and I just don’t use them as often. They’re not as convenient to reach for, and they take up way too much space on the desk. The smaller notebooks can fit in between the two halves of my Dactyl and always be right in my attention zone.

I’ve spent way more time looking for notebooks than I should, probably. I’ve looked on Amazon, I’ve looked on several specialty sites that only sell fountain pens and accessories, and I’ve just not found what I’m looking for. I’ll proably have to compromise, but until I’m ready to do that, I’ll continue to search.

This is a hobby I never really thought I’d get into. My handwriting is horrible, and while I think it has gotten better since I’ve started taking physical notes, it is still quite bad. If you told me a year ago that I’d be deep into pen culture, I’d have laughed in your face and then asked “Pens have a culture?” Now, I listen to podcasts about pens and paper. It’s a crazy transformation. And I’ll probably go deeper. I have another fountain pen ordered and on its way. I will no doubt eventually find a notebook I like enough to buy, and probably others besides.

Good thing I got a new job, I’m going to need the money to finance my new hobby. (Yes, I got a new job, I’ll write more about it soon).