Notebooks

I am a compulsive notebook user. This fact was mentioned briefly in my last post, but I thought I'd elaborate on it here. In my bag at all times there are at least three different kinds: one for work ideas, one for anything and everything, and one for French books. At home, I also have my vocabulary notebook, and another for tidbits, books to read, and quotes. Oh, and there’s the one that has the list of all the books I’ve read in the last few years. And the one concerning intellectuals.

I couldn’t imagine reading without a pen and at least paper nearby. You never know when you’ll stumble across an amazing quote, or a mellifluent turn of phrase. Since I have mental blockages about writing in books (that’s a post in itself), I need to find another way of interacting with a text. Spiral friends allow you to collate all those reactions and golden nuggets in one retrievable place. They even serve as diaries of sorts if you keep them. The one that’s got everything in it has been going on, September to August, every year since my undergrad.

The work notebook is filled with ideas and things I want to try out in the library. I work in a cool enough place that I actually could for most things. Because of that, I even keep that notebook on my night-table when I’m in bed, as it often occurs that a fabulous idea comes while drifting off to sleep.

People in general love notebooks, especially small ones. Whenever we have a readers’ advisory program at the library, I give patrons their very own little notebook that they can write titles down on. These babies are actually quite diminutive and easy to put in a pocket or purse. Our public loves them, not just because they’re adorable, but because they’re a great alternative to those stubs and receipts that are otherwise used.

I shall go to bed now as I’m exhausted, but for the record, it’s the Mead Five Star notebooks I love the most.

Comments

[Dad]

Admit it Library Girl: underlying the notebook fetish, is a compulsion to make lists. And this compulsion is rooted in a desire to put order in the world, to record events, package ideas and capture images before they disappear. Come to think of it, isn’t that what all books are supposed to do?