Notebooks
It’s not just that I like paper. I like it when it’s many papers bound together with an interesting cover and preferably a divider with a pocket. I have a lot of notebooks. It’s almost like I panic if I don’t have something I can write on – something that’s not a receipt or a napkin. I love the look of a blank page with nice blue lines that are begging me to make a mark on them.
One of the things I do when visiting in a new city, even if the store I’m in is just the grocery, is visit the aisle where they sell notebooks for school or business. Every area of the country is bound to have a different type or size of notebook and they are hardly ever expensive, so I buy one (or two. Okay, sometimes I buy three.)
I have small ones for my purse because I might need to write something down at any given moment and must be prepared.
I have a notebook by my bed because I might get a good idea before falling asleep and I know I’ll forget it by morning.
I have notebooks where I record the books I read and notebooks where I journal.
I have a notebook of quotes that I like.
I have notebooks to keep track of my house and what’s in it.
I have a church notebook in case I think God is telling me something while I’m in a service.
I have notebooks by the phone and notebooks for the grocery lists.
And finally, I have a stack of notebooks, mostly gifts, just blank and waiting for me to need them for something.
My calendar that I use most is like a notebook. I buy the same kind every year and use them like a journal. There is a lot of stuff in them. I am always referring to them when I wonder what I was or wasn’t up to on a certain date.
I am glad that I write in my notebooks, but there is a strange phenomenon because of the habit. Once I’ve written something down, I often put it out of mind. That is why I like to go back and read my notebooks from years ago. Sometimes when paging through an old notebook I say to myself, “who wrote this?” It looks so foreign that I wonder if someone else used my notebook. It’s a pain to have to figure out if I was quoting someone or being original. For this reason, I have a final tip for all notebook lovers. When you write, be sure to put the full date of your writing and credit those you quote.
Do you carry a notebook?
I Just Have to Say... 
Never without a notebook! Spiral preferably, so I can rip out the pages once the scribbles have been transferred (or not) to a laptop. An excellent A to Z theme, btw 🙂
Thank you! You are notebook wise.
I have a healthy collection of notebooks, some of which contain story ideas, possible titles, and miscellaneous stuff. But I excel at collecting journals, which are really just snobby notebooks. Leather, wood, handmade paper, magnetic closure, lockable, wrapped with a leather thong. A couple volumes have books I’ve read with little reviews — or else how will I remember that I’ve already read that book when I pick it up a year later and the first page doesn’t ring any bells?
So true. Unless I take notes on a book, or read it more than once, I may not remember it. But I have a handfull that impressed me so much I will not forget them. Wish I could write a book like that…
So do I. Are you working on one? Time will tell how successful my own attempts are.
A lot of my short posts are really test driving subjects for a memoir. Maybe someday, who knows?
I’ve read enough of those to believe that would be a gripping read!
Oh, this is so cool. Thank you, Shirley, thank you. We’re about to leave on vacation (Thursday – yay!), and I’m going to start collecting NOTEBOOKS from all our vacation destinations. I love this. Wish I had read this idea years ago, but I won’t regret starting late. Instead, I’ll look forward to finally starting.
THANK YOU! So glad I stopped by here!
I’m sure you will have no trouble finding pleasing notebooks. Happy hunting!
Notebooks are wonderful. Great collection! – Marie The Articulate Image
On my desk here are three notebooks. One for the A to Z to keep track of things I read or think I should read, or write, or go back to. One is for me, when I get a thought and don’t want to be distracted. One for house stuff my wife has asked me to do. Then behind me…. Many, many notebooks for so many things. Plus, Post-Its and sometimes notebooks with Post-Its sticking out of them… I really need to get organized (laugh)
Lol, I can identify.
I love love LOVE notebooks. Blank notebooks hold so much promise.
Oh yes, fellow notebook lover!
I am indeed a notebook junkie like you. I have notebooks for all manner of things which I use regularly, and a delightfully large stash of them waiting. I buy them, and gifted with them, and bind my own.
Binding your own, that sounds like fun! Going over to check your post for today. Thanks for reading and commenting.