A new interest?

 Or maybe, obsession?

One thing I like is having good tools to work with. I shifted over a couple years ago to using Mitsubishi brand pencils (yes, imported from Japan) because someone recommended them to me when I asked for "are there any pencils better than what you can buy at the typical office supply big-boxer" because I get fed up with how readily the leads broke and just generally how cheap some of the pencils felt. (Mitsubishi pencils are NOT cheap, but they last for a long time, so a $12 box - or whatever they are - can last me for months). 

Well, I restarted doing my research reading recently. I really need to do this more - both to keep up with my own continuing ed and research planning, but also, when my brain gets bored, when there's not enough for it to be working on, I get sad and twitchy. So I restarted during our enforced downtime with some print outs and then this week I slowly circled towards trying to write a bit of an introduction. But then I realized I needed to boil down the papers to the bits of information I would want to use in my own manuscript. So I decided on something different - in the past, I used 3" x 5" cards, like I was taught way way way back in school (perhaps even as early as fourth grade?) - one fact per card and one "source citation" card with the bibliographic information on it. But cards are messy and if you drop them it's hard to reorganize them, and I wanted to try something different.

I had a little bound notebook - it was a free thing that came with a Folio Society order, it was inspired by their recent republication of The Little Prince - the cover is a similar design.And it's a nice little book - it's about what is called A5 size (about 8 1/2 by 5 1/4 inches) and it has nice thick paper in it - not lined or ruled, but that's fine, I tend to write big and sometimes the lines on ruled paper are too small for me.

And as I worked through the papers, I realized - using a GOOD notebook is such a pleasure, it makes doing the research note-taking more pleasant and makes it easier for me to "bribe" myself into doing it. But I fill up pages alarmingly fast, because, like I said, I write large if I'm trying to write legibly. And then I thought 

And I put out a call on twitter: "Notebook fiends of twitter: share your favorites with me" (I gave a few parameters - it had to be BOUND, no spirals, because I loathe spirals, and I prefer a heavy paper. I don't want the crummy cheap "composition books" that everywhere sells - for one thing, something with better paper, for another, something that LOOKS NICE.)

And I got a little advice - Moleskine, which I have heard of, but several people suggested Leuchtturm1917, a German company that has a US presence. 

While waiting for responses  I admit I did order what is probably a "generic version" of the Leuchtturm notebook from Amazon, but I decided to look at their website. It took a little while to find the shopping page, but I did - and ordered a hardbound book in a bright pink, with plain pages (I kind of like the plain pages). Also ordered a couple of their fancy pencils to compare to the Mitsubishis.

I kind of like their philosophy - their tagline is "to think with the hand" (that's a literal translation of the German) and it emphasizes the idea that writing things out longhand help you remember them (I have known that for YEARS. One of the reasons I often wind up as "recording secretary" in groups is that I've trained myself to take good notes in meetings - because taking notes keeps me focused on the topic, otherwise my mind wanders.). I take reading notes, too, when I'm reading other than for pure fun; if I need to use that information later it's best if I write it down - I both have a record of it in my own words and I remember it better. 

And yes, the books ARE expensive, more so than the bog-standard black-mottled-cover "composition book" that every office supply place sells. But something I'm learning as an adult (having come from a VERY frugal family) - sometimes it is better to spend more money on something either better-quality or simply NICER than the bare minimum. We're only here on this earth for a comparatively short time, we might as well have the small pleasures. (And for me? Well, I make a decent salary, I don't have any dependents. I do donate money to a number of places - my church, its various outreach efforts to help those in need, to Mercy Corps, to a scholarship fund for Native American students...)

One thing I tell people is that if you can afford it, don't cheap out on paper towels. I buy a more expensive national brand because they work better. I don't use paper towels all the time - but sometimes you need them, if it's a task too messy for linen towels or if you need to mop up a lot of liquid in a hurry. Cheap paper towels make it worse. (this is notable in my department, the paper towels the university buys - well, I don't know how they can make something made of cellulose NOT absorbent of water, but somehow they managed)

But things like the notebooks - as I said, it helps me overcome a little of the "activation energy" required to start working on research reading if I have a nice notebook to take notes in. And it's a pleasure to write in, and less fatiguing to my hands. And on some level I intend these to be "permanent" - at least as long as my career lasts, I can always go back and look up the previous notes I took, I can line these up on a shelf as I fill them and consult them as needed. 

And yes, also, there's the "something is coming in the mail for me," which has become increasingly important in this still-partly-locked-down time for me. (Our case loads are FINALLY falling so I feel a bit safer going out. But still - having a little package coming in the mail from time to time does give one a reason to get out of bed....)