Hi. My Name Is Gary, and I’m a Papyrophile.

[kaasirpent]

Moleskine

<This is where you all say, “Hi, Gary!” at the same time.>

<No, go on and do it.>

<I’m not going to continue until you do it.>

<I’m waaaaiiiiitiiiiiing.>

<Thank you.>

Some people collect unicorns. Some collect turtles. Some collect mementos¹ from a favorite movie or TV show, or autographs.

Others collect everything, and we call these people “hoarders.”

I have always been a fan of notebooks, notepads, clipboards, different types of paper . . . as far back as I can remember. I have a whole closet in my office at home replete with this kind of thing. It is with some degree of difficulty that I’m able to stop myself from buying more even though I have enough to last me many, many years.

Of course, when I buy really cool notebooks or notepads, I don’t want to use them because . . . well, they’re really cool. Somewhere in my house I have a notebook where the covers are made of computer circuit boards sanded smooth. No one has ever seen this because it’s really cool and using it would reduce the really coolness.

You see how this could become a type of trap, I’ll bet.

The other night, I went to a special Thursday night session of my Tuesday night writers group. I thought I might need to take notes, but alas! alack! I had no notebook. At all. (Because all of my really cool notebooks are locked in a closet in my office at home.)

The book store didn’t, of course, carry simple legal pads, which is all I wanted, really.

But what they did have were Moleskine notebooks. A lot of them. I neeeeeeded something to write on. Really. So I bought a three-pack of dark red Moleskine notebooks. But this time, I was determined to actually use them even though they are really cool.

Of course, I needed to take no notes at all. So at the end of a more-than-two-hour meeting, my Moleskine was unsullied by ink or graphite.

I wanted it sullied. I wanted it sullied in the worst possible way.² But every moment of unsullied . . . ness was one moment closer to these three really cool Moleskine notebooks finding their way into my closet.

I brought them to work with me on Friday morning, thinking surely I’d find a way to sully them. Or at least one of them. Surely.

But . . . I didn’t want to use them for work. (There. You see how this starts? A really cool notebook shouldn’t have mundane things written in it, like notes from a silly meeting or phone conference. A really cool notebook needs to have really cool things written in it.)

When I went to lunch, I took one of them with me. The intent was to use the notebook to work through some ideas for my alphabet series of short stories I talked about the other day. I was stuck at the time on the letter F.

I took along my favorite pen. (Which, incidentally, I also seldom use because it’s really cool and I might lose it or chip it or damage it in some way. See how this goes?)

Well . . . I did it. I wrote “F Is for Fangs” at the top of the first page and . . . and . . . took notes! In my really cool Moleskine notebook using my really cool ACME Writing Instrument. And then put “D Is for Dragon” on the next page. And “H Is for Hive” on the one after that. And “G Is for Gravesite” on the one after that.

Sullied! I have sullied my Moleskine notebooks! I even crossed some stuff out so it’s not perfect.

If you knew how big a step this is, you would not now be making that face and thinking about rotating one hand at your temple in the international symbol for “one ring short of a binder” or making that “cuckoo” sound. Yes, I know what you were thinking. I mean, come on . . . it was obvious.

I thought I had lost said sullied notebook, but today I found it and made some more story notes, including a snippet of dialogue for “D Is for Dragon,” which I’m going to have a lot of fun writing.

One page for each letter of the alphabet will use 26 whole pages.

Oh, and Z? It’s for Zombie, and these are the stories that keep sleep from me. “Zombie” and “from me” kind of rhyme . . .

Disclaimer: This post may not be used to establish or confirm any lack of sanity that may be hinted at by the contents thereof.

---

1. Every time I see this word, my mind says, “The Fresh-Maker!”
2. Well, that’s not true. The worst possible way would be to give them to Snooki and have her pen her next best-seller on them. Oog. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. But I digress.

Originally published at WriteWright. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

Dude. This is so me. I must have office supplies for, well, much of the rest of my life. Though much of them are too cool to use just to make notes...

[kaasirpent]

Oh, good. It's easy to think you're the only one until you say something and other people give you validation. :)

[happy-buddha.livejournal.com]

http://www.moleskinerie.com/2004/07/jacob_pigott.html

[kaasirpent]

There are two of you?

[happy-buddha.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha... No, that was me. It was for a fast fiction contest Warren Ellis did years ago. I got chosen, then linked to the other site.

[kaasirpent]

Oh, okay. For some reason, I took that comment to mean that you hadn't written it. :)

Plus, honestly: Jacob Pigott? How could there be two? :)

[happy-buddha.livejournal.com]

There are about 5 of us I've found... and I'm the oldest by far. The next just graduated high school in Mississippi!

Any relation to Isaac Pigott?

[julie hannah (from livejournal.com)]

I went to high school with him in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Re: Any relation to Isaac Pigott?

[kaasirpent]

He is related to Isaac (vulcan_rc), yes. Jacob is his brother. :)

Egad, Tuscaloosa is the biggest small town I've ever lived in. Everyone literally does know everyone else. :) I know all the Pigotts because one of my good friends is their cousin, craftsman.

Re: Any relation to Isaac Pigott?

[julie hannah (from livejournal.com)]

Too funny. I dated Isaac briefly (he was two years older than me) before he graduated, but there was no chemistry there. Now I see he's a TV news anchor.

Re: Any relation to Isaac Pigott?

[kaasirpent]

He used to be. He got out of that and went into public relations. His current blog is at Occam's RazR, and he's on Twitter and Facebook and probably quite a few other places, as well.

I feel like his publicist. :)

Re: Any relation to Isaac Pigott?

[julie hannah (from livejournal.com)]

Yeah, the TV networks tend to dump you once you gain weight and the wrinkles start showing. : ) Getting old sucks.

Re: Any relation to Isaac Pigott?

[kaasirpent]

Actually, HE left, not the other way around. Various reasons, from what I gather, but entirely his decision.

Holy Moley

[izmeina.livejournal.com]

Izzie also has an addiction to journals and stationery of all sorts. Got real quills and bottles of emerald ink, old nibs and wax seals amongst other things but no moleskin notebooks.
So you are the perfect serpent to ask a question that has long bothered me. What is this whole moleskin cult thing?
Oh yesss they look compact, sleek and elegant and all that but what makes them so so special that squiggling sorts dream of them, drool over them and would sell their souls for them?
Is it a Mac vs Windoze kind of thing or just another inexplicable mystery of the universe?
Unless you are talking about those city guides with maps and things, they are blank after all and quite expensive.

And guess who else has a rather large stash of notebooks much too good to be written in? Most of them are made of leather and Izzie has even gone to the bother of doing two bookbinding courses in order to learn how to make the things too.
On the subjects of dusty dark leather bound tomes, a certain alphabet comes to mind. Here's hoping that N will be for Necronomicon ;)

Re: Holy Moley

[kaasirpent]

I don't know what the cult thing is about them. They are nice, hand-made notebooks, and maybe that's all. You can carry it around without fear that the slightest bump is going to cause pages to rip out, because they're sewn, not bound with glue or wire. And they're not perforated.

Here's what it says in the 'brochure' that comes in every pack of notebooks:

Moleskine is a brand that identifies a family of notebooks, diaries, and city guides: flexible and brilliantly simple tools for use both in everyday and extraordinary circumstances, ultimately becoming an integral part of one's personality.

Well, okay . . . whatever. Then:

You will find your notebook identification number in the back pocket. Keep it safe. Every notebook is handmade and has been carefully checked for quality. If, despite our best efforts, we have overlooked a defect of any kind, please let us know.

Just . . . a little creepy, but all right.

There's also a "history of the Moleskine notebook" that goes on for four sizable paragraphs, implying that it's been around since van Gogh, then went out of business in the 1980s, then revived in 1997. It says, "Today, Moleskine is synonymous with culture, imagination, memory, travel, and personal identity — in both the real world and the virtual world . . . They represent . . . a symbol of contemporary nomadism . . . ."

Again, oooookaaaaay. I just like them because they have a nice feel and they're well-made. :)

Re: Holy Moley

[izmeina.livejournal.com]

No sin in liking beautiful things. And Izzie agrees they do look very understated and elegant. But could never justify paying that sort of price for a blank notebook especially when there's stacks of them sitting gathering dust in a broom cupboard. And as you say, the more beautiful they are the harder it is to actually do stuff in them. It is like they have to be saved for the most perfect prose

Learning how to sew pages together for making books was quite fascinating and doing it can be hypnotic like knitting or quilting. Now if only we could get around to making covers.

Curious to know what characteristics the paper in their notebooks has. Making paper from scratch is yet another item on the book lovers to do list.

Re: Holy Moley

[kaasirpent]

From what I can tell, this is probably on the slightly higher end of papers, but it's certainly not handmade. It's just commercial-grade graph paper on good paper stock. Not like rèsumé quality, but . . . like what you'd find in the copier machine at an office when they're not trying to slash the budget.

Re: Holy Moley

[sydneygb.livejournal.com]

Moleskines are expensive comparatively, especially in recent years as other companies have come out with similar products. I love the paper in Moleskine notebooks. It's strong and I love the shade of off-white they use. Molies are the only notebooks I have that I can write in with almost any pen I pick up and the ink won't bleed (Sharpies being the notable exception, but hey - they're Sharpies).

I've tried similar books from Piccadilly, Miquelrius, and another company whose name I forget, and nothing quite compares. Oddly the Piccadilly, the cheapest of the lot, comes closest, though their attempt to get the colour right in the paper misses the mark. I guess everybody has their own reasons for liking Molies. :)

Re: Holy Moley

[izmeina.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the detailed information. Never seen any of those other brands in this bit of the world. The inner scrooge is seriously tempted by those Piccadilly notebooks. Not like you need an excuse to accumulate stationery and other squiggly things

Maybe the decadent cost of even the most basic model Moleskin might just make it a suitable reward for passing the 50,000 word mark for this year's nanowrimo. A lot cheaper than the 2009 motivation of a Big Mac in order to take advantage of the half price Scrivener software

Been learning how to do bookbinding so eventually will be able to make decadent hand sown leather bound notebooks.
Finally mastered the art of sewing the stacks of pages together. It's making clean crisp edged covers that is the tricky bit.

Re: Holy Moley

[kaasirpent]

Who are you on NaNoWriMo, Izzie? Once they get the writing buddies thing back up and working, we should add one another. :) (I am of course Kaa.)

Re: Holy Moley

[izmeina.livejournal.com]

Annoying isn't it that the two most important features are the ones that are still not there yet. So so misses the writing buddies feature as it is the easiest way to find like minded creatures

Slinking around over there as plain old Izzie (http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/izmeina)

At least we never have problems with name squatting. It is not exactly a common name but attracts rather more than its fair share of Russian spammer friendsters over here in Livejournal land.

Looking forward to all those spooky and abominable alphabet updates

Re: Holy Moley

[kaasirpent]

Yeah, I tend to get Russian and Indian spam.

[sydneygb.livejournal.com]

Oh do I ever know what you're talking about. :) It took quite a bit of mental gymnastics for me to get myself to sully (love that word here) my first Moleskine. I still face that 'but I don't want to mess up the beautiful paper with my dumb dumbness!' feeling when starting a new book sometimes. I adore Moleskine cahiers. I use the smallest size for random notes whenever I'm without my regular plethora of note-taking stuff. Okay, gonna sit on hands now and not gush about Molies, 'cos they're awesome. :D

Nice looking pen, by the way. I recently received a Lamy Safari fountain pen and it feels pretty good.

[kaasirpent]

Exactly! I don't want to mess them up with my dumb dumbness. I like that. :)

The pen was a Christmas gift from my friend telleestmavie back in...1999, I think it must have been.

I use it sporadically for several months, then I'll accidentally put it somewhere that made perfect sense for the 8 seconds it took me to do it, and then afterwards forget where it was. For several months. I just re-found it and am on a 'using it' phase. :) I love the heft of it. If necessary, I could kill a bird with this pen.