Summer Blockbusters

by Stuart Lennon

Field Notes Campfire, Word. Beach Vibes, Write Notepads Chesapeake Bay and Henry David Thoreau. The summer Limited Edition Pocket Notebook packs are here. (The Write Notebooks are arriving this week.)

Please note. the Henry David Thoreau series is already sold out in the US. The Edition is limited to 500. We have a very small allocation. They will sell out very quickly, probably in a matter of hours. They will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

When I launch them, I will put a message out on the Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram. As the allocation is small, I'm not taking pre-orders or reservations. Move quickly - or they will all cross back over the Atlantic.

I might be wrong, but I suspect that we may see more and more of this; different brands releasing their Limited Editions within the same time frames, much as Hollywood does. How fantastic is that? I love it.

What are the books like? I have published a review of the Field Notes Campfire here. The covers on Word. Beach vibes are glorious; so evocative. The colours are so vivid. Just looking at them, I want to put some reggae on the turntable, pull my hat down over my eyes and drift off. With the kind permission of the guys at Word. we have collated a mix and match set of the Beach Vibes editions, with one of each cover design.

The two editions from Write Notebooks Co, I haven't got any yet, so I can't tell you what they are like.

If I'm guessing, each brand will appeal to its tribe. Staple-people will struggle to love Write. Pen people will struggle to get on with Word. or Field Notes. Word.'s bullet ruling will delight some and infuriate others.

If you are a newcomer to these brands, I'll try to explain.

Field Notes. Stapled notebooks. The paper struggles to cope with fountain pens. Most people don't use fountain pens and therefore don't care. Many that do use use fountain pens, do care. A lot.

Word. Stapled Notebooks. The paper is not dissimilar to Field Notes. Additionally, the vast majority of Word. notebooks come with their bullet system of ruling. Every page is a list in waiting. Some use the format, some ignore it and some find it repellent.

Write. PUR Bound. Think of a mini paperback book. PUR bound books look, to me, a little more substantial than a staple-bound book. However, they do not lay flat. To some people, this is not an issue, to others, it really is. Write does have paper better suited to fountain pen ink.

Genuinely, I don't have a favourite. I love them all. Right now, I have Campfire in my pocket, but in a few days, something else will go in.

I would say that: But it's true. I own pocketnotebooks.co.uk because I'm a fan of analogue tools. I take genuine pleasure in pens, pencils and, of course, notebooks. I see no conflict in using a fountain pen in a Field Note. (I'm odd that way)

I get excited when Craig at Darkstar or Justin at Backpocket tell me about a new line they are developing. I'm really looking forward to some more new British books that I have coming the next week or two.

The site is intended to be a place where we can find our favourite notebooks, and maybe even find a new one to try. We will support new entrants and we will stock old favourites. where possible, we will deal directly with the manufacturer, to keep everything simple and immediate.

We have some new lines coming this month, which I hope that you will enjoy. 

If there are things that you would like to see us stock, let me know. If I can, I will.

Right, I'm off to find some new stock.

Remember, forget the app, there's a pocket notebook for that...