In Praise of the Humble Composition Book
For quite some time, I have used plain old composition books for keeping a to-do list, taking meeting notes, and for whatever else in my life I need to jot down. I would estimate that I have probably filled up around 20 or so at this point. I initially chose the composition book over more expensive notebooks, like the Moleskine, and even cheaper options, such as the legal pad, because composition books are cheap in price, the pages do not fall out, and they are, in my humble opinion, the perfect size.
Over the past year and a half or so, I have strayed away from the composition book toward other types of notebooks with varying degrees of success. While the more expensive, leather bound journals probably appear more “professional“ when compared to the humble composition book, I felt compelled to write less while using them, so as to not fill them up as fast. Sure, the paper quality is also better in most leather bound journals, but I am not a fountain pen user, thus having no issues at all with the paper quality of most composition books. I also tried a few higher quality spiral bound notebooks, but the spiral part of the notebook makes it a pain to to write on any of the left hand pages, and no matter how great the paper quality or how strong the spiral, they just feel flimsy.
So it is that I return to my old friend the composition book. I like the fact that while they are made by a host of different manufacturers, most are essentially the same, and I must reiterate that for me, they really are the perfect size. I generally use the ones with the black and white marble covers, although I have been known to use the ones with all black covers (when I can find them). I prefer the graph paper ones, but the college ruled ones are just fine. Since they are so popular, one can find them in just about any drug store, grocery store, or big box store. They are cheap in price, yet they are sturdy and durable. They are also infinitely customizable. If you have not done so, I highly recommend you give the humble composition book a try.