Ask The Readers: B5 Hardcover Notebook

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Okay, gang, now I need your help! Sometimes, questions come into my inbox and I ponder and query and google and I come up with nothing. So, I’m hoping that the massive collective hive mind of stationery genius out there can help out. Maybe you use or have seen something to help Linda.

notebook-criteria

Linda is begging for help:
The notebook I have used since 2008 is now out of print. I bought all the stock I could find and am down to my last two. I need a suitable replacement but haven’t had much luck. Perhaps the Desk can advise?

What I Need:

  • Hardcover
  • B5 or a tad bigger, but not A4
  • White pages, not cream or ivory
  • Thick pages that do not bleed (Sharpies excluded, of course)
  • Dot grid, graph, etc. Even lined, maybe if the lines are unobtrusive
  • Smooth paper

I’m a fan of Apica, Kokuyo’s Campus notebooks, Rhodia dotgrid. But I can find nothing both hardcover and B5.
Any tips?
Please?
I’m getting stingy with my notetaking and brainstorming in order to make my current notebooks last.

I am at a loss to find a good replacement for you, Linda. B5 size is close to a US Composition notebook and, for some reason, this size notebook always seem to have a flexible cover, whether they are US, Japanese or European. Moleskine’s XL size is a B5 but the paper is warm white and not everyone’s favorite. The only bright white options I could find were Leucthtrum 1917 but I couldn’t find that they offered this particular size configuration in hardcover. Only softcover. So, I’m rallying the troops! Do you have a recommendation for Linda?

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18 comments / Add your comment below

  1. Our “Hum Dog Ear Notebook” checks off most of Linda’s boxes. The cover is not hard like a Moleskin, but it’s a very heavy card stock. It’s B5 with grid paper. I would call the paper white, but it could be brighter if she’s looking for really bright white. The pages are very thick; I just tested with a permanent marker, and it showed through but did not bleed onto the next page.

    On top of all that, this notebook has some unique details like the texture and color of the cover and the eccentric dog-ear corners.

    Please take a look, Linda!

    http://www.freshstockjapan.com/store/p222/Hum_Dog_Ear_Notebook.html

  2. Thank you all for your suggestions!
    Lynn asked what notebook I have been using and it is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Rex-Ray-Notebook/dp/0811860043 made by Chronicle Books. I wrote to them to see if they were making the same notebook with a different artist’s work on the cover, but no dice.
    In addition to what I told you already, this notebook is noteworthy because the left hand page is blank, the right hand page is lined — but the lines are quite pale. The hardcover is HARD and thick — the best for taking notes when you’re not at a table.

    Your suggestions are really helpful and I will check them out, and if people have any more, my ears are open!

    Thanks again!

  3. I could not find any hardcover B5 notebooks. However, JetPens (jetpens.com) sells covers for B5 softcover notebooks. So you could buy a cover for your B5 notebooks and just switch out the notebooks when they are full. This way you can avail yourself of the wide variety of B5 notebooks out there.

  4. Thank you Thank you Thank you All!
    You’ve given me so many great leads. My notebook shelf will soon be heavier and my wallet is already lighter.
    Best, Linda

  5. Chiming in with the kyokuto expedient notebook. Wire bound with a stiff plastic cover that is essentially a hardcover. Bright white pages in dot grid or plain. Great for fountain pens but thinner than Rhodia. I believe jet pens has them.

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