April 2020 – Notebook Joy

I have quite a hoard of 68gsm Tomoe River notebooks! From the Hippo Noto to the Taroko Enigma to the Endless Works Recorder, there is now many notebooks that use this wonderful paper. GLP Creations’ Author notebook makes a niche through its availability on Amazon. It also is a slim A5 size, smaller than the regular A5. This makes it portable and light, especially with only 192 pages.

Specs:

68gsm white Tomoe River paper
$27.99 on Amazon
192 pages
comes in lined, dot grid, and blank
5.3 in x 8.26 in, slimmer in width than regular A5
softcover

My Author notebook has a teal, pebbly faux leather cover. It’s soft to the touch and flexible. With its flexibility, it should last in my bag. The notebooks come in teal, red, gray, black and brown, navy blue and green, with the option of blank, lined or dot grid. The ribbon is long, but it isn’t sealed off so it might unravel. There is an aqua elastic band that will keep it closed. I don’t find it to lay as flat as the Endless Works Recorder. Whenever I try to flatten it down, the front cover flips the book closed. There’s a logo on the backside. The back pocket is nice but doesn’t expand much. Comparing it to a Taroko Enigma, the Author is narrower but the same length.

The inside has a few pages of stiff cardstock where you can print your name and address and fill in a table of contents. I think it’s formatted well except that the headers are jet-black. I’d prefer for headers to be a light gray.

The inside has the same 68gsm Tomoe River I know and love. If you want to see a more in-depth review of the paper, read my Hippo Noto review. Fountain pens shine on it, showing shading and sheen. I like that the page numbers are a light gray, matching with the lining. However, the lines are dotted and thick, distracting to me. I’d prefer if they were much thinner, like the lines in Hippo Noto notebooks.

Overall, I enjoy the slim A5 size and flexible teal cover of this notebook! The paper inside is delightful of course. However, the lines are thick and the price is quite expensive for the number of pages you get. If you’re looking for a slim and portable Tomoe River notebook, I would recommend the Author!

I bought these notebooks with my own funds. I was not paid for this review.

After being pleasantly surprised by the paper in the Fabriano Ecoqua Gluebound, I bought a 4 pack of pocket notebooks at my local Plaza Art. Write Notepads and Story Supply Co. are my favorites for pocket carry but I’m always searching for more options.

Specs:

4 pack, in “warm” and “cool” colors
85gsm “Bioprima” ivory acid-free paper
$9.50-11.00
32 sheets, 64 pages
3.5″ x 5.5″, pocket size
4mm dot grid
staplebound

The Fabriano Ecoqua Pocket Notebooks come in a set of four “warm” colors, red, orange, yellow and green. There is also a “cool” set available. They have a bellyband and a packet with more information about Fabriano. The cover is made of a thick textured paper that stands up to daily carry well. “Fabriano” and “Made in Italy” are printed in faint silver ink on the back. The paper corners are rounded off. Compared to the gluebound, I think these notebooks would hold up well in my bag. Two staples hold the notebook together. It could use another staple because it’s hard for this notebook to stay flat.

The paper is the same as the gluebound, ivory with light 4mm dots. The paper holds up well to pencil, gel pen, and fountain pen use. There is shading and a bit of sheen, and no feathering! Show through is minimal. The Inkjoy and Zebra Sarasa shows through more than my fountain pens. The pages are slightly textured, providing a pleasant tooth when writing. The second half of the notebook has perforations for tearing out pages. It tore out cleanly when I tried.

hard to lay flat, used a salt shaker!

weird discoloration

One issue I found was that the dry time for fountain pens was longer than I’d like. It took 10 seconds for the ink to dry. This is okay for larger notebooks but in pocket notebooks, I write quickly then close the book. Write Notepads also has a long dry time of 10 seconds but Story Supply Co. takes only 3 seconds! I also found it hard to make the Fabriano stay flat because of its two staples and thick paper. Finally, part of my notebook cover is discolored but that’s not too much of a problem, just annoying.

These notebooks are a great deal for the price! I love how they include four books instead of three, contain great paper, and come in fun colors. I recommend them if you want quality notebooks for a good price.

I bought these notebooks with my own funds. I was not paid for this review.

Month: April 2020

GLP Creations The Author Notebook

Fabriano Ecoqua Pocket Notebook Review