Lots of people write about how great Moleskine notebooks are, and they are pretty good to carry around, to make notes, and to organize yourself. But I recently found another brand whose notebooks are even better: Leuchtturm1917. This “traditional Hanseatic family-run company” has been making notebooks for 99 years, and their product line will suit anyone who writes by hand.
I recently bought an anthracite A5 ruled notebook, as you can see in the picture to the left. (Amazon.com, Amazon UK) It’s got two ribbons to mark pages, an elastic band to keep it closed, a hard cover, very nice 80g paper, and it’s A5 size, which is a bit wider than the equivalent Moleskine. It has 249 pages, and is available ruled, squared, dotted, and plain, and there’s also a sketchbook with heavier paper. The pages are numbered, and it has a table of contents at the front, and a pocket glued to the inside back cover. And it comes in more than a dozen colors.
The company makes pocket notebooks, A4 sized notebooks, planners, and much more. They also have a full line of softcover notebooks, if you prefer that for writing. They also make leather bound notebooks, if you want something fancier, and even a notebook with staves, which is great if you’re a composer and want to jot down musical ideas.
So if you like this type of notebook, you might want to check out Leuchtturm1917. They’re a tad more expensive than Moleskines, but I think the differences make them worthwhile.