It might seem strange that, as the paperless guy, I find myself using old-fashioned notebooks more and more frequently. But that’s just what I am doing… Most apps that I have tried for taking quick, disposable notes have not worked well for me. Even Evernote, which I use for many other things, puts up too many barriers to taking quick notes. I am much more likely to record a note if I can just pull the notebook out of my pocket and start writing.
I have yet to find an app that can equal the immediacy of paper.
Many people will have a problem of hoarding notebooks so I am not alone, and my stack is probably much much smaller than most, but to get a real idea on how bad it was I decided to write a post on the number of used and un-used notebooks I own.
Really great idea and post. The pictures, as usual, are beautiful. I think it is important to stop and challenge ourselves regularly with questions of need vs. want. If for no other reason to help us make future decisions wisely.
I’ve been keeping a notebook for over 14 years, and one of the main things I’ve learned is that your notebook is exactly what you put into it. If you pour yourself into it, it will be a patchwork quilt of your life, thoughts and ideas.
The notebooks are filled with images and words that recur in Basquiat’s paintings and other works. Iconic drawings and pictograms of crowns, teepees, and hatch-marked hearts share space with handwritten texts, including notes, observations, and poems that often touch on culture, race, class, and life in New York. Like his other work, the notebooks vividly demonstrate Basquiat’s deep interests in comic, street, and pop art, hip-hop, politics, and the ephemera of urban life. They also provide an intimate look at the working process of one of the most creative forces in contemporary American art.
I recently had a chance to spend some time with this new collection of the composition notebooks of one of my favorite artists, Jean-Michel Basquiat. I found it absolutely fascinating as a fan but even more so as one who has championed keeping a notebook or journal to others for a very long time.
The reason — most of the pages have a single small drawing or a sentence or even just a single word. A great deal of it would make no coherent sense to the casual reader — especially if you were not already a fan of and well versed in the work and troubled life of this artist.
One of the points I try to hammer home about keeping a notebook or journal of any type is the idea that “anything counts”. And, certainly, Basquiat’s notebooks are a near perfect example of that. I find it strangely inspirational.
Leftybooks, notebooks designed and made exclusively for left-handed minds. The Leftybooks contains a slight slant-ruled paper printed in the inside, so you can write with your left hand without running over your own notes.
Those that have followed along here for a while know my rather hard-line policy on linking to or posting about crowdfunding stuff. That being, I generally do not link to them — too much past disappointment and I’d rather focus on products that are available to help you today.
That said, in my continuing quest to make this site a good resource to my left handed friends, this Righty can’t help himself and is making an exception to his rule. Looks like an interesting solution to a problem many left-handers face. I’d love it if this post goes even a small way towards helping these folks make their goal.
I came up with a plan on how to distribute the slightly used notebooks and other items I am kindly sent for review. If you would like in on it click the link above.
It was just about a year ago that I began buying a dozens and dozens of books in my research for The Focus Course. I bought physical copies because you can get used books cheaper than Kindle books. But, what I discovered, was that I much preferred using physical books to do research.
Good episode of Shawn’s members-only podcast. So good that I asked him if I could share it here with you. What we believe in.
Shawn has been killing it lately — putting out so much great stuff it boggles the mind. So, if you like what you hear you should consider checking out more of his stuff and supporting him.
I get a fair number of notebooks sent to me for review. I write in them for the first couple of pages, maybe try out some different inks or handwrite a draft of the review, but then I’m done. The truth is, I generally use the notebooks I use and like the ones I like and tend not to veer from them. If I do get sent a notebook that knocks me off my feet, I will switch to it but this is rare. So, these notebooks sent to me by all too kind folks go into my (way too large and growing) pile of notebooks likely never to be used again — which seems a shame and a waste.
So, I’ve been wondering if there is any interest in these very slightly used notebooks by my readers here. I’ve also been trying to come up with a good way to choose how to get them into the hands of those that are — with the least expense, time, etc. to myself but also as fair as possible to all involved.
“I started with Stardust: It was (in my head) being written in the 1920s, so I bought a fountain pen and a big notebook and wrote it by hand to find out how writing by hand changed my head. And it did, it really did. I was sparser, I would think my way through a sentence further, I would write less, in a good way. And when I typed it up, it became a very real second draft – things would vanish or change. I discovered that I enjoyed messing about with fountain pens, I even liked the scritchy noise the pen nib made on the paper.”
Very cool. I’ve known that Neil writes with pen and fountain pen before this but actually seeing it and reading his experience it gives it new perspective. Make sure to click through because there are a ton of scans that really show his process — crassest, side notes, and all.
