A while ago I wrote a post about my excessive collection of unused notebooks. I’m still working my way through them and trying very hard not to buy more, but admittedly, a few have slipped through the net! 

I do have a few that are at the top of my to-use pile though: some I’m just waiting to finish another notebook so I can replace it, and others I’m still looking for the perfect use for. So I thought I’d do a rundown of some of the notebooks from my collection that I’m the most excited to use:

Leuchtturm1917 B5 Notebook (Lemon Yellow)

I’m generally a big fan of Leuchtturm1917 notebooks. They come in a fun array of colours, and whilst their paper isn’t the most fountain pen friendly, it is nice, and with a fine nib I haven’t had too many problems.

I’ve only previously used their pocket or A5 size notebooks though, and wasn’t aware they did B5 until I spotted this one for a bargain price at TK Maxx. It has dotted paper, which is my favourite, and I love the cheerful yellow colour!

As I often do, I decorated it before I even assigned a use to it, and it’s been sitting in my drawer waiting to be used for quite some time. I like the larger size, but it seems a bit too much page space for my daily journaling, so I think I might wait until I have a longer creative writing project in the pipeline, and use it for that. 

Moleskine XL Softcover Notebook (Hydrangea Blue)

This XL Moleskine notebook is the notebook from this post that I’ve had sitting around the longest. Again, I’ve had it decorated ready for use for ages, but haven’t been quite sure what to do with it. As with the Leuchtturm1917, it seems a bit big for a journal, which is what a lot of my notebooks end up being used for, so this also might have to wait a little longer for a bigger project.

Moleskine also isn’t known for their fountain pen friendly paper, but from the pen tests I’ve done in the back, it seems like it’ll be OK with fine nibbed pens. It’s lined, which isn’t my favourite (I prefer dotted), but I am still excited to finally get around to using this notebook! It has languished in a drawer for too long!

Stalogy Vintage Notebook (Grey)

I really like Stalogy’s 365 Day notebooks, so when I spotted this exercise-book style Stalogy notebook I was intrigued.

Unlike the other Stalogy notebooks I’ve used, the paper is lined, but the lines are a pale grey, so they don’t feel too in your face. The paper also feels different: it’s a little thicker and slightly glossy. I’m curious to try it out! I think this might be my next non-fiction writing notebook when I finish my current one. 

Rhodia Rhodiarama Sewn Spine Notebook (Taupe)

I love Rhodia paper, but so far have just used their standard spiral bound notebooks with the orange card covers. This one has the same, amazing Clairefontaine paper, but feels a lot more premium with a textured cover. It comes in lots of colours, so I’ve had to really control myself not to buy more when I haven’t even used this taupe one yet! 

Penco General B6 Notebook (Green)

I really love the retro feeling of these cute little Penco notebooks! 

The glossy plastic cover feels sturdy and I like the compact B6 size. It has smooth grid paper which has withstood my fountain pen tests. My only concern is that it doesn’t lie super flat, so I’m hoping it won’t be too annoying to use. 

This notebook is another one I bought because I liked the look of it, but have then been at a loss for what to use it for. Because of the grid paper I was thinking maybe as my next commonplace book?

So have you used any of these notebooks or notebook brands? What did you think? Do you have a lot of unused notebooks lying around that you’re excited to use?