Writing Joy of Typing reminded me of the Moleskine phenomenon.  I haven't used a Moleskine notebook yet but I am fascinated by all the raving going on.  I don't particularly care whether Van Gogh and Matisse used it or not.  But I do think think there is something there beyond vanity and word-of-mouth marketing.  Maybe it's in the texture of the paper, maybe it's the right size or shape.  Maybe it's the rubberband.  If it is the paper, then I wonder which type of pen or pencil goes best with the notebook.

BTW, I don't understand the pricing on the Moleskine notebooks.  Why does the diaries with 380 pages cost less than non-diaries which haves far less pages?  Do they use different papers?  Obviously the sketch book must use higher quality paper than others, but I wonder if the diaries use thinner pages to keep the thickness down.  Heh.  I guess I got moleskined.

I'll admit that all this is kind of silly if one takes a step back, but then life itself is silly if you take enough steps back.