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

[finch]

I like the Leuchtturm as a go-to option, though I've actually been using small sketch books lately as I enjoying playing with watercolors and markers and stuff in my books.

For a first go at something, I almost always recommend using something you already have or are familiar with if you're the kind of person who worries about messing up something "nice" but Leuchtturm are a good middle-ground: more expensive than a school notebook but not as expensive as high-end stationary, and good quality for the money.

For a good all-around pen my go-to recommendation is a uniball signo, because they come in lots of colors, and both with caps and clicky-style, and are relatively easy to find.

[tinkaton]

Thank you for the advice, and the pen rec! I know in my heart I should practice with a cheap notebook I already own, but I love buying stationery so I'm just like "I need to buy a nice new one" sjdfhskjh. May do the former while shopping around for the latter, though the Leuchtturm seems like a decent choice based on the comments here.