Joan Didion AND notebooks are my two favorite subjects. LOL
I have had a consistent journaling practice since 2019... and I have a stack of those. But I am so curious about Commonplace notebooks... because those are so different from the kind of whiney writing that I have established.
I just really love the idea of keeping a notebook that is about books, art, culture, ideas... I even bought a journal this past weekend... I don't think I can commit to consistently writing down quotes... but maybe I can write down my MOST favorite quote of each book? I would love to have a stack like that to give to my daughter when she is a little older.
Thank you for playing and for inspiring me to make some decisions about NOTEBOOKS!!!
I am so curious about commonplace books too! The real ones, not the ones I Frankenstein into personal journals.
I love love love the idea of writing down one or two of your most favorite quotes and then passing it onto your daughter! I want to do that and pass it onto my daughter!
Love this and how you compare it to your own notebook keeping! I remember first reading this Didion essay and thinking the same as you: my notebooks have never looked like this. You can really get a sense of her writing style from her notes.
I am ashamed to admit that I throw away my notebooks the minute I get to the last page, so I can't reflect back on the person I used to be...
You throw your notebooks away?! I can't explain why but I am impressed by that. I think it has something to do with how precious (in a bad way) I am about notebooks. But they did what they needed to do for you and now they're gone. I am weirdly obsessed with this!
My notebooks are piling up and awaiting my attention. I'm always torn between reading the old stuff I wrote (which must be pithy, like the abosolute pithiest) and reading new things and making notes. How do we decide?!
We LOVE the notebooks and Noted! Okay thank you for sharing this re: the Clairefontaine pocket sized notebook. I am obviously buying one, even though I have a pocket sized notebook that I don't use lol.
Just looked at that link. She was so chic! Thanks for sharing all of this. Particularly the note about the absolute pithiest pith you wrote 🤣🤣🤣
I'm enjoying your Didion posts, Kolina! They are making me go back an reread the essays and give a nod to the person I was when I first read them. Everything Didion writes makes me want to write more. I was struck in the essay by the various other women she notices, woman in the Crepe de Chine, in line at the grocery story, coming out of Saks, getting off at Grand Central. Her details are poignant and despite time's passage connect me to the events. And I love how it ended with the promise of more
That’s such a good read of Didion’s work. I hadn’t noticed how frequently she writes of other women, but she really does! I wonder how she saw herself in comparison to them.
Amazing that you’re nodding to your old selves. That brings me, and probably Didion, so much joy!
Joan Didion AND notebooks are my two favorite subjects. LOL
I have had a consistent journaling practice since 2019... and I have a stack of those. But I am so curious about Commonplace notebooks... because those are so different from the kind of whiney writing that I have established.
I just really love the idea of keeping a notebook that is about books, art, culture, ideas... I even bought a journal this past weekend... I don't think I can commit to consistently writing down quotes... but maybe I can write down my MOST favorite quote of each book? I would love to have a stack like that to give to my daughter when she is a little older.
Thank you for playing and for inspiring me to make some decisions about NOTEBOOKS!!!
I am so curious about commonplace books too! The real ones, not the ones I Frankenstein into personal journals.
I love love love the idea of writing down one or two of your most favorite quotes and then passing it onto your daughter! I want to do that and pass it onto my daughter!
Lmk what you do with your notebooks 🥰
Love this and how you compare it to your own notebook keeping! I remember first reading this Didion essay and thinking the same as you: my notebooks have never looked like this. You can really get a sense of her writing style from her notes.
I am ashamed to admit that I throw away my notebooks the minute I get to the last page, so I can't reflect back on the person I used to be...
You throw your notebooks away?! I can't explain why but I am impressed by that. I think it has something to do with how precious (in a bad way) I am about notebooks. But they did what they needed to do for you and now they're gone. I am weirdly obsessed with this!
😄 I think it has more to do with my terror that somebody might find them and read my crazed ramblings…👀
It’s truly terrifying. I think of that so often 😐
Don't we love the notebooks and Noted?!
It turns out Joan Didion loved simple notebooks, specifically Clairefontaine pocket sized notebooks that I have also used many times. I found a New York Times article about an auction after her death with pictures and cannot forget it: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/10/28/realestate/joan-didion-estate-sale.html
My notebooks are piling up and awaiting my attention. I'm always torn between reading the old stuff I wrote (which must be pithy, like the abosolute pithiest) and reading new things and making notes. How do we decide?!
Thanks for sharing this.
We LOVE the notebooks and Noted! Okay thank you for sharing this re: the Clairefontaine pocket sized notebook. I am obviously buying one, even though I have a pocket sized notebook that I don't use lol.
Just looked at that link. She was so chic! Thanks for sharing all of this. Particularly the note about the absolute pithiest pith you wrote 🤣🤣🤣
I'm enjoying your Didion posts, Kolina! They are making me go back an reread the essays and give a nod to the person I was when I first read them. Everything Didion writes makes me want to write more. I was struck in the essay by the various other women she notices, woman in the Crepe de Chine, in line at the grocery story, coming out of Saks, getting off at Grand Central. Her details are poignant and despite time's passage connect me to the events. And I love how it ended with the promise of more
That’s such a good read of Didion’s work. I hadn’t noticed how frequently she writes of other women, but she really does! I wonder how she saw herself in comparison to them.
Amazing that you’re nodding to your old selves. That brings me, and probably Didion, so much joy!