One Night Stanzas

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time then you’ll know that I am a massive geek about notebooks, journals and diaries. When I get towards the end of one, my mind is filled with notions of the next one, and the hunt for a new notebook is always long, careful and painstaking. I am happy to learn that I am not alone in my obsession, and I was asked recently which diary/journal I’d recommend for 2009. So I’ve made a list of the good, the supergood and the lovely… because journals are important!

The journal I currently use is, of course, a Moleskine — their softcover weekly planner (you can only get the 12 month 2009 version at present — mine is the 18 month one which is released in summer). I bought it in Canada over the summer and at the time I was tutoring hard and needed something huge to record all my notes and appointments; but also something light, bendy and durable that could be stuffed into the bottom of a bag with a bunch of textbooks without suffering too much. This is the very thing. Because it’s not hardback it’s light and it’ll bend happily, but it’s still smart. Like so many Moleskines it also comes with a load of charts, maps and note-pages that basically tell you anything you need to know. It’s my second brain and I am never without it!

Having said that, though, I am also rather in love with Paperchase’s tattoo diary… unfortunately it’s mid-year and they don’t seem to have a 2009 one. However, Paperchase have a heap of other nice journals, including this “beats” one, and this one for those of you who are feeling more feminine! They also make a lovely book journal (I always want one of these but know I will never ever write in it). Note: my previous journal was a Paperchase one and their spiral bindings have a tendency to stretch quite easily. Or perhaps I just beat my stationery up too much!

If you have a bit of cash to spend, please, please check out Nkuku. My aunty runs a luxury gift shop and stocks their notebooks and journals, and they are absolutely beautiful. They seem quite pricey but you pay for quality, and these are real quality. I have their A5 Timu Leather Journal and it’s so beautiful I don’t want to even take it out of its box, let alone write in it! I can also recommend their jewel-encrusted model for my more glamorous readers!

But of course, if you really want something a bit special, you need to get yourself over to Etsy. I’ve been trawling the listings and I found modofly’s incredible customised Moleskines — I’d particularly recommend The Tree and The Steampunk Mad Scientist. For geeks, there’s this really cool Giotto Space Probe Journal, hand-made by picklehead (who also has heaps of other cool journals and notebooks listed)… and if horror is more your thing than sci-fi, check out the Zombie Escape Plan Journal — ChristineRenee will even make one tailored to your specific escape needs!
If you’re at risk from nosy intruders, this journal by RedDoorStudio ought to give them the message… or you could rely on the watchful eyes of Frida Kahlo to scare them off (I absolutely love this one)! But I think my favourite Etsy finds are The Artful Agenda journal by Zippitydooda, and of course this Verve Bath Press custom Moleskine which I am still sighing and lusting after. No generous benefactors out there??

If all else fails, Etsy will still come to the rescue… you can buy your own bookmaking kit and create your own journal or diary!

What kind of journal do you use, and how important is it?

(Photo by iMattt)

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Tags: a journal for 2009, advice for young writers, publishing, resources for young writers, young poets

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 28th, 2008 at 10:00 am and is filed under Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.