Let's do something a little different this week and have a look at books instead of the sketches. I've still been drawing a whole lot, but I was putting my books back on their shelf, and I remembered how much I love a good notebook for writing or drawing. So I scanned the ones I have on hand and the doodles can wait until next week.
Probably best to start with a couple of old classics. The first being a typical Quill ring-bound sketchbook with cartridge paper made for drawing. The pages are pretty heavy and have that nice thick texture that art books often aim for, but all in all it's pretty boring. I have a bunch of these books in various sizes, but this one is a handy A5. It has a nice hard back cover that creates a good surface to keep everything steady when drawing on the fly.
The other book pictured above is one that I was given as a present, as the front cover is cut from an actual vinyl record. It's a neat way to make a cover and creates a solid surface to keep everything flat, like with the Quill book. I've filled this LP book with notes and sketches, thanks to using it for my main notebook a few years ago.
I tend to have one or two notebooks on the go for random notes and doodles. These are the books I take with me to meetings and jot down key points and ideas as I go. I always prefer using a pen and paper to take notes when brain storming with people, as there's infinite flexibility and I find it much more efficient than typing on a laptop. I mean, it takes barely any effort to draw a quick doodle and show it to someone, just to make sure you're on the same page.
Speaking of regular notebooks that I take everywhere and are filled with random notations of brain storms and thought experiments; enter the Moleskine. I know they're a bit hipster and trendy when they want to be, but there's nothing quite like a Moleskine notebook, so I tend to have one on the go at all times.
Both of these red books pictured are lined Moleskines; the first is A5 and full, while the second is A6 and empty. Honestly, I'm not even sure if they're A5/A6 exactly, but they're the medium and small variety respectively.
The first was my regular book for a while, so it's mostly filled with text and brain doodles. The second book has yet to be touched and waits patiently on my shelf, ready for when it's needed. I can't remember when I picked it up, but it must have been recently when I was ordering some books online or something. I find it very hard to go past a Moleskine on special.
Again, the best thing about Moleskines, is the hard backing that makes it possible to write and draw anywhere. Additionally though, these dandy notebooks will open completely flat on a surface, so there's no awkward bend in the middle where the binding is. I can't express how much I love that Moleskines can open all the way and still remain functional. It's an essential notebook to have on hand, so get into it.
These next two are both small books around the A6 size, and were gifts from overseas, I think. I mean, I'm not sure where they're from exactly, but people often know I'm a fan of unique notebooks, so I get given exotic ones like these from time to time.
They're both leather bound, but quite different to one another. The first has an etched cover (that's probably machine-made, but either way…) and lines pages that feel around the 200gsm weight variety. They're solid enough to take an inky pen, but not as stiff as the other little book pictured above.
In fact, the second book here is a bit deceiving, as it has a lovely soft leather cover tied up with a string. Its exterior feels luxurious and inviting, but the blank pages within are thick and stiff as a board. The pages are basically a strong card, which means it's not the most enjoyable book to work with as I'm often wrestling with the pages to keep them in place.
Nevertheless, these two books both exhibit a number of pages with random notes and drawings on them. I haven't dedicated myself to either of them fully, but they're definitely due to be in rotation someday.
I mentioned that people often know that I like unique notebooks, so it should come as no surprise that these two weirdos were also gifts.
The first is a hard cover book that's meant to be a "draw every day" kind of scrapbook. The pages are printed with interesting designs and there's a lot of stuff inside to busy up the pages. In contrast to every other notebook I own, the pages in this book are far from blank. They all feature lines or a grid, along with borders and different coloured backgrounds.
It's not the most practical book in the world, but It's one of the thickest I have on hand. There's no way I'll every use it to "draw a picture every day" or anything like that, but I think it would be nice to fill it up eventually with random drawings. The few that I've done already in it have all been of scenery, so maybe I'll use it as a sketchbook for landscapes and architecture.
On the opposite side of the spectrum is the second book here, which is clearly a leather bound notebook from China. It actually came from Beijing, as it was a gift from family who went there on holiday. The cover is beautifully made due to its simplicity and soft dark leather, but unfortunately that's where the pros end. The paper inside feels like recycled grease-proof paper. There's some kind of sealant on the pages that takes away all their texture and basically repels a lot of inks and graphite. It's unfortunate because this coating on the paper has rendered it almost useless.
I'll still fill it up, because I love filling notebooks, but I wish the groovy cover was wrapping up some nice thin paper that would suit its origin. Instead it's kind of a bit cheap and feels like it's probably mass produced; betraying the appeal of its idiosyncrasies.
We're almost done, but I could get to the end without two more Moleskines, as these two are quite significant at this point in time. They're both A6/small sized, with the first being lined and the second featuring blank sketchbook pages.
The first one with the stickers was my daily notebook for the longest time, and it is full to the brim. There are pages and pages of writing and rambling, along with extra paragraphs added in the margins and wherever empty space permitted. I was using this notebook when I started planning and writing a novel, so I still refer to a large chunk of it often. This is one of those books that could never be thrown away, as I am intimately involved with every torn page or creased corner. It's one of the most personal and special notebooks I have on hand right now, even though it's technically out of commission.
From the old to the new, and this funky cassette covered sketchbook Moleskine is currently my go to book for doodles and random sketches. I was away earlier in the week and I filled a bunch of pages with new drawings, which will no doubt end up in one of these posts eventually. This little gem of a book has almost taken over from my last working book, which is fittingly the final book for this post.
This book has been with me for a while and has always been as beautiful as it appears to be. There's a worn leather cover than wraps everything up in a nice pouch, which has only grown in beauty over time as it's been used and worn further.
The pages inside are thick and textures blanks which soak up inks and really hold graphite. If anything they can be a bit too thirsty, as felt-tipped pens can sometimes blot and bleed right into the page if you're not careful enough.
Actually, the vast majority of doodles you might have seen in this series of weekly posts, probably came from this book. Despite the fact that I filled it up a while ago and was about to retire its gorgeous stitching and mismatched pages, I decided to keep it going a bit longer.
Sometimes I tend to only write and draw on one side of a page, so by the end of some notebooks, there might be a whole lot of blank space available. This notebook has the tendency for pen to show through to the other side of a page, so there are many pieces of paper with ink only on a single side. Hence, I've started working my way back from the end of the book, filling in the empty pages and spaces along the way. I don't mind so much if you can see what's on the other side, but I'd feel like something's missing if I left pages unmarked.
That's the funny thing about some notebooks, which are nothing more than a collection of paper held within some random cover. However, after using any one book for a period of time and filling every page it offers, you get to know the book and it stores more than the marks on its pages.
Many of these books remind me of the time they featured regularly in my daily life, as I always have some kind of book on the go. While I'm not really one to keep a diary, these notebooks are a kind of diary substitute I suppose. After all they do a good job of chronicling whatever happens to be relevant on any given day.
I don't think I'll ever stop loving little unique notebooks that only grow and evolve further the more you add to them. Isn't it strange how something so insignificant and lifeless can take on an existence of its own, simply by becoming the vessel for manifestations of thought and inspiration.