The first thing to say is; I was not looking for another notebook when I came across ‘The Author’ in late March when Anthony from ukfountainpens.com reviewed a pre-release version.
I read the review and I was intrigued, like most stationery addicts I own boxes of notebooks, pens, inks and pencils and I’m always on the lookout for the Holy Grail; the prefect pen, the best ink, the ideal notebook etc; you get the picture. So, the idea of buying another notebook could not have been further from my mind especially as some of my notebooks are in danger of reaching vintage status.
Like I said I was intrigued by The Author as I like Tomoe River paper and I have for some time been seeking a good notebook that utilises this paper; so, The Author was added to the list.
It was somewhere around Amazon Prime Day that I checked back and found it was available on Amazon.com but not Amazon.co.uk so I dropped GLP a line asking when it would be available, and Gavin replied really quickly saying that they were just waiting for Amazon to process the stock. So I added it to the Wish List and about a week later I checked back and there it was, so I pulled the trigger and it was with me the following day.
The Author arrives in a simple clear plastic envelope and the first thing I noticed was how slim it was, despite having 192 numbered pages, plus name/address/contents pages and a rear pocket and even though it is around A5 size it still feels slim and unobtrusive.
It has a removeable paper band and the only branding is on the bottom of the rear cover. The cover itself is soft faux leather and is very tactile and pleasant to handle and doesn’t have the plastic feel that many of these types of covers do. A lot of attention has been paid to the cover and like the pages it has rounded corners and where it really stands out for me is the edges. Whilst it may only be a little thing the edges of the cover are finished in a contrasting colour, in this case orange/brown, which gives the same appearance as leather covers when the edges have been burnished.
I know there is nothing I can say about Tomoe River paper that hasn’t already been said but if you haven’t tried it you really need to, it’s worth the pennies. In this notebook the paper has been put to excellent use; I have the dot grid version (it also comes with lined paper) and the dots are light grey, as is the page numbering, and they are approximately 5mm grid. The dots are around twice the size of what I have in similar notebooks and I found this makes it much easier to follow the line when writing.
I tested the paper with a variety of pens and inks including Diamine, KWZ & Mont Blanc; I scribbled, splashed ink, bent the notebook and generally tried to see if there was anything I could do that would affect it. I did not succeed; I did however find good use for the free, page size, sheet of blotting paper that was tucked in the rear pocket.
The notebook is made up of stitched sections which means it lies much flatter that a stapled notebook making it easier to use and this is further helped by the type of paper and the soft cover.
The Author has an elastic closure strap and this, I usually find, is the weak point with most notebooks; they normally stretch and fail after a few uses. To test this, I tucked my Pilot Capless in between the pages and closed the notebook with the elastic and left it overnight expecting to come back to an over stretched elastic and a bent cover. I was happily surprised when about twenty-four hours later I took the pen out and reclosed the notebook and it was as if nothing had ever happened.
Probably the only thing I would have liked to see was a few perforated removable pages but maybe that will come in the next iteration; I am looking forward to seeing where GLP takes The Author, different sizes, a refillable version, wherever it goes I will be a customer.
In conclusion, I’ve never had a favourite notebook and I’ve tried pretty much all of them and I’ve always found something that has irritated me about each and every one of them. However, The Author is different; and even though I have only had it a short time it is the notebook I want to use, so, in short, I think I have finally got a favourite notebook.
The last question is; ‘Is it worth your pennies?’
And the answer is, ‘Yes’. This is an excellent quality notebook that represents outstanding value for money and if you are thinking about buying new notebook this one needs to be at the top of your list.
Disclaimer: The notebook was purchased with my own funds at retail price. The opinions expressed in this review are my own; and I am not connected with either the retailers or manufacturers in any way.
The header image is the property of GLP CREATIONS and I hope they will be kind enough to forgive my use of it for the purposes of this review.
The Indian Marmalade Company 