notebookism

I had an interesting experience the other day--I went through the entire house and after looking through countless Sharpies, gel pens, roller ball pens--I realized that I did not have a single pencil in the house (not even one worn down to the nub). I went to the drugstore (everyone NEEDS a pencil in the house, went my thinking, and I can't remember the last time I used one--I even sketch in pen). I bought some school supply yellow no. 2's and it was curiously very pleasurable to sharpen a pencil, and the scratching feels wonderful. Some people seem to switch over to pens completely in high school, and then some people never do. I'm really loving it, I suppose I could get away from it after a week--or maybe not. I recently began using a fair amount of Rhodia, I thought I would switch away from Moleskine but this wasn't really possible. I tend to use the Pilot G2s in the Moleskines, and to keep up my journal in them. But I like the Rhodia notebooks a great deal. I think that probably I will write much more of my fiction longhand in the Rhodia--they just seem to invite "rough drafts" and I'm using the pencil in THESE--somehow they invite it more (I noticed, I suppose, because I had no pencils in house and was suddenly compelled to go and buy some). Liking this as I am, I'm surprised that I don't want any mechanical pencils (usually I'd have some excuse to rush out and buy these things)--but number 2 pencils are really rather perfect as the are. I was actually waxing nostalgia over the things--but really I have been having an enormous amount of fun here--try it!

A lot of people seem to think of Rhodia as a less expensive habit, but it's pretty comparable because they are relatively thin, like legal pads. They are just as wonderful, but for completely different reasons. And Clairefontaine paper (owned by the same company) I think almost smells perfumed. So I was walking around smelling notebooks and found that some do not--you may not want to do this because the store owner was giving me some pretty cautious looks. So I explained and then we were walking around smelling the Clairefontaine together!

So I've gone eclectic. It's a wonderful feeling.

Sophie Brown

Blank Page # 56

Photo: N2DESIGN

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