Moleskine® - Legendary Notebooks

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I'm a big tech gadget freak, and I'm always in the local Apple shop checking out the latest desirable Apple product. Yes, I'm an unabashed Apple fan boy, but the strange thing is, I haven't gone out bought myself the iPad2, not even the iPad. I'm typing away on the MacBook Pro, and I didn't hesitate spending on this lovely piece of equipment, because this is what I do my work with, and also for its style. But with the iPad, it's just an oversized iPhone to me. If I have to carry around the iPad, the only reason would be because it's friendlier on my aging eyes (stay away, presbyopia horribilis!). And perhaps for the purpose of sending mails. But apart from that, I won't carry it into meetings and start taking notes with it although there is a Moleskine app for iPad.

Earlier this evening, I was in Borders checking out Moleskine^® notebooks, and my wife was curious why I would looking at something that's old school (Yes yes, hold back the "old man" jokes, won't you?). I do bring my laptop into meetings and discussions to take notes, but only because the information would need to be archived or sent out to other parties, and there really isn't any sense in scribbling in a notebook, then transferring them into the laptop. And there's worry about this notebook crashing. I can shake it all I want, and drop it.

There is just something about the good old pen/pencil on paper. I have a nice trusty (very dog eared) spiral notebook which I had been using for years, in which I've scribbled ideas for work in progress, reminders, and pictures. I like scrawling some form of a mindmap, arrows all over the page linking one point to another, using different colours for effect.. it's just not something that a software could quite do as efficiently as pen and paper. And there's just something about the feel of paper. Plus you can flip through the pages of a notebook to look for something that you had penned some years ago, without having to worry whether you'd synced it from your other electronic devices.

What's the big deal with a Moleskine^® notebook? I wish I can tell you that I love the fact that it's made from acid-free, it's handmade, that their suppliers are ISO1400... but I have to admit that I'm shallow. For that kind of price (S$37 for a 5x8 inch notebook), I can easily buy a couple of these from an art shop. The elastic band that hold the covers together reminds me of the army issued ones that I used when I was serving my National Service. 

Why do I find it desirable? There's just something in the way it feels:  the cover and the paper.. then there're the sightings of Moleskine^® notebooks in movies such as National Treasure and Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain. Nothing quite sells like a well-placed product in a movie. Although I must say that I'm also impressed (yes, I'm easily impressed anyway) that each notebook comes with its own identification number for the purpose of reporting any defects.

Would I succumb to the lure of consumerism and buy a Moleskine^®? Perhaps.. but the cheapo that I am, I would probably scour for cheaper options first.