It intrigued me. I looked into the moleskine web site and found that this notebook used by the likes of Hemingway and Picasso had vanished in the 20th Century and has recently been brought back by a Spanish company. It looked really neat and right up my alley, but wasn’t quite right for me at the time.
Fast forward now a few weeks later. Julie and I have been part of a writing group on every Tuesday night. I also write every day at a cafe and sometimes in bed at night. The number of projects I have been working on has dramatically increased. Julie bought herself a huge journal from Borders to keep all of her writing group projects together, but it isn’t very portable.
While at the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT this past Tuesday, I got to thinking. Julie really needs a Moleskine. She just needs something small she can tuck into her purse and use to jot down ideas, book titles, etc.
And so I searched through the journal section. No Moleskines to be found. But I did come accross a really classy little notebook that is the same idea. The cover is a style of Chinese art and it has a band that wraps around it to keep everything tucked together. While looking for the right one, I was praying that God would lead me to the right one for her.
Upon presenting it, she was ecstatic. She had been scoping out a Moleskine a few nights ago at Borders. I really think that God knew she needed something nice to carry with her to catch those creative thoughts whenever they flow. But the story doesn’t end here.
Tiring of carrying no less than 5 note pads in my briefcase at all times and being unable to find my work in an efficient manner, I decided that it was time for me to get a similar kind of journal. While at the Northshire yesterday, I went to the journal section and immediately thought that I was about to lose my mind.
A large prominent Moleskine display butted right up against the journal section that I had torn apart only 2 days ago. What in the world? Was this display here? Did I miss it???
In any case, I picked up the larger version of the Moleskine since I had a lot to write down and usually have a briefcase. Though the small journals were tempting. There were journals that came in packs of three as well. They were skinny and give you the same amount of paper as the large one I got. You just keep your work more spread out. Something I don’t need right now!
Moleskine also offers blank page sketch books and planners. It’s a simple, but well-thought out product. And they are $10 cheaper than comparable journals that you’ll find in most bookstores. If you want a nice, portable way to keep your writing together, I think a Moleskine is a good option.
But back to my impending insanity.
While purchasing my Moleskine, I was dying to tell the clerk about the Moleskine display. I wanted to tell him how long I had been there last Tuesday and that I had missed it. It was hysterical to me. But I didn’t think I could adequately convey the true nature of the situation in a minute. I was checked out before I knew it.
Later that night I ended up returning the Northshire with Julie for a corned beef dinner and Celtic music. I had to take her by the Moleskine section just to show her how amazing it was that I had missed the big display on Tuesday. As I was relating the sequence of events to her, a staff person walked by. Hearing how baffled I was, she mentioned that the Moleskine display has been migrating around the store. They finally moved it to the journal section (where it belongs, duh) since it was selling so well, even though hard to find.
I’m not crazy. A little eccentric at times, but not crazy.
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Ed Cyzewski: Author // Contemplative 