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Review: Write Notepads Pocket Ledger

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Given my usual disdain for spiral bindings it might be considered unusual for me to put up yet another positive review of another spiral binding, but I am. So for those of you who need no other info, I like these so read no further.

Let me get into WHY I like these notebooks so much.

Let’s start with the insides. These notebooks sport 120 super thick eggshell colored pages. The paper is smooth yet toothy. The ruling is a pale shade of green that melts into whatever is written. The combination of warm paper with pale ruling just gets me. The paper isn’t so warm or off-white that it interferes with ink color or pencil has difficulty showing on it’s page, rather it compliments everything I’ve put onto the page. Everything simply looks good on this paper.Write ledger

As for what I’ve put onto these pages. Well I’ve used Akkerman Zuiderpark Blauw-Groen, Sailor Yama-dori, Platinum blue black, and every grade of graphite available to me. I’ve been sticking to fine and extra-fine pens so the paper works okay with fountain pen ink with a minimum of show through and bleed through. Larger nibs, well they are out of the question. Ink spread out to a bit more than nib size, and the wetter the nib, well that just invites disaster. Pencil, on the other hand, oh mama, that might be what this paper was chosen for. Pencil slides onto this paper without grinding the tip down quickly. Yeah a large amount of graphite is taken, but tips seem to last well.My favorite grades were HB and B. Which were plenty dark and were complimented by the cream shade of the paper.Write ledger Write ledger

While I adore the paper inside the covers, the covers might be my favorite part of these notebooks. The chipboard is heavyweight and perfect for writing in hand. There is just enough flex in the chipboard that it conforms to my hand as well as to a pocket. Over time the cover also gets softer with use, not just in stiffness, but in feel. I’m a fan of the worn in and well used look and these covers get that look oh so well. Yet, they don’t look like the dog chewed on them either. This notebook has been with me for about  a year and it’s gotten better looking with age.Write ledger

Now, my least favorite topic, spiral bindings. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I don’t despise them as much as I thought I did but rather, I like them for some uses. It seems I like them for some small pocket notebooks. Which makes sense, the way I got into pocket notebooks was through the free 3×5 pocket notebooks we were given at my old DayJob to keep track of things. I must’ve used hundreds of those things. For journals, I hate spirals, for day-to-day notes, ideas etc… spirals are a-ok. The good thing about the Write Notes spirals- they don’t crush or smush in my bag- they stay strong. I can get behind that.

I think it’s worth examining the size of these ledgers. By modern standards it’s weird at 3×6 inches; bigger than a 3×5 notebook and too small to be a reporter notebook. That said, it is a perfect size- it fits in the hand just right and is easy to write in.

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Observation: Looking Back into Old Journals

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I was looking through one of my older moleskine sketchbooks specifically the one I started writing in then I first moved to Massachusetts. One of the thigns that I wrote about a lot was simplicity. I had lived in a small 3-ish room apartment in the woods of Maine. My apartment was essentially 1 large L-shaped room, a half wall divided the kitchen from the living “room” and a wall with a doorway divided the kitchen from the bedroom. There was no door on the bedroom. The only room that had a door was the bathroom, which housed a shower stall, toilet, sink and a bunch of shelves. Total square feet of the apartment was maybe 600sq ft. If the walls had not been vaulted it would have been awesome.

When I moved to Mass the apartment I moved into wasn’t much larger. Over the years we moved from about 600sq ft to about 700 sq ft and now we are in a 1200 sq ft house, we’ve got about 300 to 500 sq ft we don’t use all that often. Sometimes I feel like it’s too much space and other times I feel like it’s not enough. I am really thankful we’ve got a garage and a basement, both of which feel decadent after years of living without a space to work on bikes, engines and greasy things that don’t belong on kitchen or coffee tables.

I feel like I need to revisit this simplicity concept . It’s not like we live extravagantly, simplicity is something I strive for, but sometimes I get caught up in ridiculousness and making things more complex than they need to be. I need to cut that out.

I tend to think of simplicity as going hand-in-hand with organization. As I look around my office I think perhaps I should start here and work my way out.

On a side note anytime I think of simplicity I have to think of my art and what materials I would work in if I could only chose a few supplies to keep with me. I have to say I’d probably go with pen and ink with watercolor. It gives me color and the ability to draw.

If you could only pick 3 art materials to use for the next 6 months what would you use?