advice for a newbie?

[tinkaton]

Hello! So I recently discovered the concept of a commonplace book, got really excited about it because I haven't journaled by hand since high school and every previous attempt of mine at keeping a planner/bujo has failed, and have now ended up here looking for advice. I've watched a bunch of YouTube videos of people showing off their own commonplace books to get ideas on content, setup, etc. and am curious what kind of supplies you guys would recommend for somewhat casual journaling? There's a lot more to consider about notebooks/pens than I realized before looking into the subject and I have basically no knowledge of paper types and fancy pens and whatnot.

For reference I've done a little browsing and I'm eyeing things like this Hobonichi Plain Notebook or this Leuchtturm1917 Hardcover (I'd probably want something medium size, with dot or grid paper), but I'd love to see what you guys prefer, or what pens you'd recommend, that kind of thing! Any advice you'd give for someone who's only previous notebook concern was whether the cover was cute or not lol.

(Any tips on commonplace books or journaling in general is welcome too! I love seeing how people prefer to set up their journals/how they like to decorate/etc.)

Comments

[lunabee34]

Welcome to the comm!

I agree with olivermoss re: Hobinichi. If you aren't going to use fountain pens, I wouldn't fool with Hobinichi. You have to use a pencil board so you don't dent the page underneath, and Tomoe River paper (the paper Hobo uses) is very sensitive to hand oils, so you need to keep a piece of paper underneath your hand as you write. It's extremely fiddly paper that's just not worth it IMHO unless you are hardcore into fountain pens and wanting to show off the properties of the ink.

I really like Leuchtturm 1917 and have used that brand multiple times for a journal; they're one of the only brands that have numbered pages if that's a feature that's important to you. I also like Midori. For inexpensive journals, Walmart carries a brand called Pen and Gear that has truly excellent paper that can even handle fountain pens.

I love using stickers and washi tape. I rec stickers that are made of washi because they are extremely thin and won't bulk out your journal. Also when you put down a sticker and then write on the back of the sticker, it's so thin that you don't get that weird bump you usually get from writing on the back of stickers.

[havocthecat]

I...do not know what the difference between you and I happens to be, but I've never had to keep a piece of paper under my hand with Tomoe River in order to keep it unaffected. I'm not saying you don't! But maybe I just have really dry hands? Which I do! I'm constantly putting on lotion. I do love Tomoe River as a paper, but I also love fiddling around with different inks and showing off their properties.

Leuchtturm 1917 is really great and it's my second favorite paper. It's also not fussy at all!

[tinkaton]

The Leuchtturm seems to be a popular choice based on the comments here, so I'll definitely keep it in mind while I keep browsing options.

[lunabee34]

I am a greasy monster! LOL

It's a thing that happens to a lot of people, though. Here's a little blurb on JetPens about it (under the blotting paper section): https://www.jetpens.com/blog/The-Best-Pens-Accessories-for-Tomoe-River-S-Paper/pt/992#Best%20Accessories

[havocthecat]

I do have excessively dry skin, so the amount of lotion I have to slather on daily is insane, I guess I should get lucky in one thing somewhere? I mean, I believe you in that it's a thing that happens! I'm just saying that I think I'm a statistical outlier and this is why. Though the blotting paper is a good idea on the ink transfer, I usually just deal with it by closing slowly and I don't always have time to.

[lunabee34]

*nods nods nods*

Which now that I've linked to an article that suggests buying fancy blotting paper, I feel compelled to say for anyone who might not know (which I know you do) that you don't need to buy blotting paper ever. You can just use a sheet of notebook paper or whatever.

[havocthecat]

It's true! You only need fancy blotting paper if you want fancy blotting paper!

[tinkaton]

Hello, thank you! Everyone's been leaving very helpful comments, I appreciate the advice.

I'm thinking I probablyyy won't fuss with fountain pens unless I surprisingly end up getting really into journaling, so that's good to know! I haven't looked into Midori yet so I'll have to check them out. And I have tonsss of washi tape I do nothing with except buy more of lmao so I'm definitely thinking about how to incorporate that/regular stickers to decorate.

[lunabee34]

I love using washi tape and stickers. I can't draw, so they help me feel creative.