Harry Potter Notebooks, Part 2.

Back in January 2019 I published a review of a collection of Harry Potter notebooks and now, just over two years later, I have another pile of Harry Potter notebooks for review.

So welcome to Harry Potter Notebooks, Part 2.

Like Part 1 this is going to be a collection of short reviews that makes up one long review but, as always, if you just want to skip to the review that most interests you then please do, however, if you plan on reading the entire post, I suggest the beverage of your choice and a plate of cookies for company.

 Ok, here is the list of notebooks being reviewed:

1. Harry Potter A4 Lined Notebook – Primark

2. Hogwarts Notebook by Blue Sky

3. Exploring Diagon Alley – Insight Editions

4. Exploring Hogwarts (3 Pack) – Insight Editions

5. Gryffindor Composition Notebook – Amazon

6. Harry Potter Constellation Notebook – Insight Editions

7. Platform 9 ¾ A4 Weekly Planner – Primark

8. Harry Potter Pocket Notebooks (3 Pack) – Primark

9. Platform 9 ¾ To Do Notes – Primark

Harry Potter A4 Lined Notebook – Primark

The A4 lined notebook is one of those notebooks you just want to add to your collection, the cover is a creamy colour covered in pictures of cauldrons, spell books, labels and jars of ingredients. The style of the design is reminiscent of the Weasley Jumper notebooks I reviewed a while ago.

It is a wraparound cover and on the front is a ‘label’ declaring it the property of ‘Mr H Potter, The Cupboard under the stairs’. The notebook is built in stitched sections that are glued to the cover and the notebook happily opens and lays nearly flat allowing you to use approximately 90% of the width of the page for your notes et cetera.

There are approximately 80 sheets/160 sides to write on, the line spacing is around 7mm and the lines themselves are printed in grey ink.

Close up on printed lines & stitching.

I tested the paper using a fountain pen loaded with Diamine Oxford Blue and whilst it is nice paper to write on there was a degree of show through on the reverse side; as such it is not really fountain pen friendly so I would suggest ballpoints or pencils for best results.

Ink test using Diamine Oxford Blue

Hogwarts Notebook (A5) – Blue Sky

Unlike the other notebooks being reviewed this one is a hardback, and it offers a little more functionality.

The notebook is a maroon red and the cover is gold blocked with the Hogwarts crest and a gold frame border; the spine and back are also gold blocked and on the back is printed ‘Property Of Hogwarts School’.

The flyleaves are a darker maroon and printed with the legend ‘I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good’. When you open the notebook the pages are a bright white and all print is in maroon, the pages have a Hogwarts crest watermark, dashed horizontal lines (7mm spacing) and the top and bottom line also have evenly spaced vertical markers allowing you to create a table in the notebook with ease. In the top righ/left corners is an HP logo that includes a snitch in the design and lastly there is a ‘Date’ line so you can date your notebook entries.

Stitching & page design.

Full page design including watermark.

I tested the paper with a fountain pen using Diamine Oxford Blue and whilst there was a small amount of ghosting it wasn’t enough to stop you using the reverse side.

Ink test using Diamine Oxford Blue.

Even though the notebook is a hardback it is built of stitched sections so it does lie flat, and you can use the full width of the page for taking notes.

Exploring Diagon Alley (A5) – Insight editions

This is from the new range of Harry Potter notebooks, stationery and books and the covers provides a short tour of Diagon Alley; starting on the back cover with Hagrid and Harry coming through the wall in the back yard of The Leaky Cauldron progressing to the front cover. Where you can see Ron, Hermione and Crookshanks and Harry and Hedwig and assortment of stores including and Weasleys Wizard Wheezes and finally at the top of the street is Gringotts Bank complete with a dragon on the roof.

When you open the notebook the flyleaves, front and rear, are printed with extracts from Diagon Alley. The pages are a cream paper with lines and designs in blue; line spacing is 7mm and in the top left (on a double page spread) is a brick design and in the bottom right is Harry and Hedwig. The notebook has a complimentary purple marker ribbon and a matching blue elastic closure.

Flyleaves.

Upper corner design.

Lower corner design.

It is built of stitched sections and will lie reasonably flat allowing you to use around 80% of the page width and if you apply a little force this can be increased to around 95%.

When I ink tested it there was no ghosting so I would be happy to use both sides of the page for note taking and I would say that this notebook is fountain pen friendly.

Ink test using Diamine Oxford Blue.

Exploring Hogwarts (3 Pack) – Insight Editions

Like the Exploring Diagon Alley notebook these notebooks are from the new range and the three notebooks tell a story; in this case it’s Harry’s first day at Hogwarts starting with the journey on the Hogwarts Express, then the trip across the lake and finishing with the sorting ceremony.

1st Years journey across the lake on their first day at Hogwarts.

Each notebook has a different inner cover and flyleaf as well as a different design in the bottom right corner of the page and in one case a matching design in the top left. The page lines and corner designs are printed in matching colours in this set two are orange and one is blue and all are stitched with orange thread. The paper is a light cream and when tested there was a small amount of ghosting it was not enough to prevent the reverse side of the page from being used.

Each notebook has a different corner page design.

What I like about these notebooks is they are good quality and a lot of time and effort has been put into the design and the story telling using the covers which makes them more interesting to own and if you are looking for a gift or a stocking filler these are ideal.

Ink test using Diamine Oxford Blue.

Gryffindor Composition Notebook – Amazon

This notebook is one of those that is printed by Amazon and I have to say they have done a good job it. The cover is red and gold with heraldic lions, crowns and shields with a larger gold lion that blends into the cover.

It’s a glue bound notebook but does open quite well to give you about 80% of the width of the page to write on; you can apply a little pressure to the spine but this doesn’t yield a great deal in additional writing real estate.

Inner page of the composition notebook.

The pages are bright white paper with grey lines and the snitch and broom corner design is in the top right of every page. Line spacing is approximately 9mm and when tested with Diamine Oxford Blue there was sufficient ghosting to make it not a good idea to use the reverse of the page if you are a fountain pen user. However, pencils and ballpoints are fine.

Ink test using Diamine Oxford Blue.

Harry Potter Constellation Notebook (A5) – Insight Editions

The first thing I noticed about the Constellation notebook is the compass design with each of the school house emblems (in house colours) having a place at one of the main compass points. The rest of the compass design is in gold and at the centre is Hogwarts and above the compass design there are three constellations of stars.

It has a cream cover that is glue bound to stitched sections and has a matching gold marker ribbon and elastic closure. The flyleaves are decorated with miniature house emblems and constellations which then leads into the main notebook.

Flyleaf design.

The notebook is approximately A5 in size and filled with nice cream coloured paper, the pages are lined and in the bottom right is a Hogwarts emblem and in the opposing top left are three stars. The designs and lines are printed using a copper/brown ink which goes well with the cream paper, with line spacing at approximately 7mm. 

Upper corner design.

Lower corner design.

Overall, the notebook has 240 sides you can write on and I tested it with my trusty Ranga 8B and there was no ghosting to speak of so I would say this notebook is fountain pen friendly.

Ink test using Diamine Oxford Blue.

Platform 9 ¾ A4 Weekly Planner – Primark

Whilst not a notebook a planner is something you write on so I decided to stretch the definition of notebook to include this planner and the To Do Notes, below.

The planner design is from the same range as the A4 notebooks except this is based around Platform 9 ¾ and the Hogwarts Express and has a couple of quirks. 

It has a box for every day of the week set out, landscape, in two lines of four and the final eighth box is cut out and has a block of Hogwarts stickers in it. 

This is the first of the quirks, the stickers are a nice blue/grey with the Hogwarts coat of arms, in gold, that matches the ‘Weekly Planner’ title band. What makes them quirky is whilst they are probably meant to be a Post-it note of some sort I don’t think that would work as there is nowhere really to write on them, instead they are very nice Hogwarts stickers.

The other quirk is the ruler. Printed along the bottom edge is a 27cm ruler which actually looks quite useful. 

As most people who use a desk planner only use one side of the paper testing the ink proof capabilities of the paper was probably not called for, but I did it anyway and it is ink proof.

I really like this planner and if you are in the market for one or know someone who would be then I recommend it to you; at A4 size it’s useful without being intrusive and for £2.50GBP it’s an absolute bargain.

Harry Potter Pocket Notebooks (3 Pack) – Primark

These pocket notebooks were hanging just above the planner and found their way into the shopping basket.

Unpacked.

As pocket notebooks go, they are a very nice three pack, each one having a different design, a printed leather finish with a Hogwarts ‘H’ on the cover, a black Platform 9 ¾ with some writing and a Hogwarts Express and lastly a Gryffindor one from the same range as the A4 notebook and the Weekly Planner.

The notebooks are stitched and easily lay flat, the pages are bright white and lined (printed in grey) with a 7mm line spacing and when tested these are perfectly fountain pen proof.

Stitching.

These are great pocket notebooks and at £2.00GBP for a pack of three, you are going to be very hard pressed to get better value for money.

Ink test using Diamine Oxford Blue.

Platform 9 ¾ To Do Notes – Primark

This is designed to sit on the refrigerator door or any other metal surface but despite the large magnet on the back it also sits comfortably on the desk.

It is a good size for a To Do list and I have been finding it increasingly useful; it has approximately twenty-five lines with 5mm line spacing a little design work at the top and this continues and borders the list area.

I tested it and like the planner it is fountain pen proof and that’s all there really is to say about this one except that if you need a To Do list don’t buy one, stock up and buy plenty they’re worth it.

Conclusion

If I had to choose and I really don’t want to I think it would be the Exploring Hogwarts notebooks and maybe the Exploring Diagon Alley notebook but definitely the Weekly Planner.

However, having said that there is nothing in this review I wouldn’t recommend as long as you take into account the ink resistance of the paper you shouldn’t go far wrong. 

Any one of them would make an excellent treat for yourself or for the Harry Potter fans you know, the only caveat I would place on some of them is buy them soon as once stock is gone it’s gone, particularly if you are going to buy anything from the Primark range.

Disclaimer: The notebooks were purchased 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.