Maruman Mnemosyne Imagination Notebook Review

(This is a guest post by Nick Folz. You can find more of Nick and his work on his blog, Smallberry Drive, Twitter, and Instagram.)

Hello everyone, my name is Nick and I have a paper problem.

I guess it started in kindergarten. Up until that point in my life I had been doodling on stacks of ragged, ripped out blue lined notebook paper, without a care in the world. What a fool I was. One fateful day my teacher passed out thick stacks of colored construction paper, and my world was turned asunder. "There are other types of paper!?!" My mind whirled. Other children we busy cutting the sheets up with their safety scissors, all making a pleasurable "SKRRRRIIT" sound as they cut, but not me. I was shoving every available piece into my Captain Caveman backpack. I knew that I must save those for later. That was just the beginning.

In high school I experimented, everything from spiral bound sketchbooks with crisp white pages to hard backed notebooks that looked more like novels than journals. It was a phase I would not grow out of.

Things only worsened in college, now I knew where to get the stuff I had only heard about: Stacks of A4 linen, 80 lb Bristol by the pile, Cardstock as far as I could see and Vellum in every tone imaginable. The Art Store was my enabler. It was just too much.

I bottomed out one day when my friends found me facedown in a pile of thick toothed, cold pressed Cresent board with two bulk rolls of newsprint stock paper tubes stuck over on my arms.

These days I try to keep it under control. Sure, I still stock up on Bristol board during holiday sales. It is a nice heavy stock with a good rough tooth, makes me feel safe to have it around.

Temptation still rears its head, though. Just the other day I received a Maruman Mnemosyne Imagination Notebook, A4, blank pages. Someone had done their homework, someone was trying to pull me back in. Then the first bit of doubt creeped in, the paper was light and smooth and I like my paper thick and toothy. Scoffing, I cracked it opened and took at it with a pencil and, well, wow. The paper is so damned SMOOTH, plus it took the graphite very well. That is usually my problem with smooth papers, the lead lays atop the paper like a stiff breeze might blow it away. My pencil glided over the page like an ice skater, leaving smooth black trails.

Impressed, but still not completely sold on this new stranger, I broke out my brushes. No way this thin stock could hold straight ink. I gave it my all. The full business. Ink wash and everything. The notebook continued to surprise as the brush slid across the pages, okay, okay. I was gaining respect for this notebook, but knew that would all fall away once I flipped the page to see the inky mess underneath from the bleed through. I flipped the page, and gave a gasp, the next page was pristine. I still can't believe it.

I had to take stock of the other features, now that paper quality had been put to the test, and passed. Dual rings bind the notebook together, adding strength to the overall appearance. A black plastic cover with minimal text and a matte texture covers the front, a thick woodpulp backing finishes the book. Each page has a micro perforation, along with a light grey area for "Title" and "Date/No." along the top. It is sleek and clean.

And that's not all! They offer it in a variety! I mean, over at JetPens you can get them ruled, graphed, and plain in everything from steno style to weekly calendars. Listen, if you just loan me a little bit I could just order a few, just two or three and I will be good. Just this once, I mean I'm good for it you know, I , I just... Okay... Breathe... Just breathe...

Whew. I'm good. I, I just got caught up. I still have many more black sheets waiting for me in my Mnemosyne, I'm good for now. I just have to remember the mantra: "I don't NEED more paper, I just WANT more paper, and that is okay."

Thanks for letting me share, now I've got some doodling to do.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Maruman Mnemosyne N196 Notebook Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

There really is a notebook out there for every single occassion and purpose. If someone thinks of a new occassion or purpose, the notebook follows shortly after. I love the versatility of different notebooks and often find myself on a constant hunt for the right size for the perfect job.

Recently, I've been on the hunt for a small, top-bound book with high-quality paper that doesn't break the bank. Enter the Maruman Mnemosyne N196 notebook. This notebook fits a perfect purpose for my workday: it sits constantly to the right side of my keyboard and mouse where I take notes during the day. It fits that purpose beautifully, but it's also starting to wander into other territories because it's just such a great notebook in general.

The N196 is a B6 (4.9" x 6.9") sized book with 7mm rule and three divisions on the page. Division? That means that every 8th line is a darker weight, which creates three separate areas of a page. It's there if you need it, but it's also easy to ignore if you're focused on filling up the whole page. I haven't found myself using (or noticing) the division at all.

There's 50 sheets in the book, and it's a spiral top-bound book, which is what I especially love about the layout of this book. When I'm jotting down notes through the day, I don't want to use a stapled, sewn, etc. bound book, as it won't lay open consistently. I also tend to get annoyed with side-spiral books as the spiral gets in the way of my hand when writing. I've always enjoyed using steno books for jotting down notes, and this fits the bill perfectly.

The main difference between this book and your average steno book is the quality. This is the crème de la crème of steno books. (I apologize if this notebook doesn't actually qualify as a steno book—I just can't think of anything else when I look at it.) The paper is luxuriously smooth and handles every ink and pen I've thrown at it. It performs with Rhodia and Clairefontaine easily. I can see now why so many people have so much praise for the Mnemosyne paper. It's fantastic and always delights.

If there's one flaw that I've noticed while using the book, it's that it doesn't really accept fine-tipped pens very well. My 0.38mm gel pens and rollerballs scratch across the surface and seem to hang every now and then. Take that with a grain of salt, though. I'm not a huge micro-tip pen fan in the first place, and that's a normal side-effect of pens of that size. I don't use them regularly enough to stay accustomed to the feel.

The spiral binding is top-notch. It's strong and seems very resilient to being thrown in bags with other hard covered objects like books and computer bags. The front of the book is an elegant black with a small "Mnemosyne" label in gold foil. It's understated, and I love it.

The back cover isn't extremely thick, but it is thick enough to serve as a writing surface if you don't bear down too hard. It works in a pinch, but you couldn't do it full-time.

At $10.50, it's not a cheap notebook, but I think that's an incredibly fair price for the quality of the book. And, if you really like it, you can buy a bulk package of 5 books for a good deal cheaper (40% to be exact).

Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with this form factor. It's portable, it doesn't get in your way when writing, and it's extremely utilitarian. I'm a big fan of the format, but if you don't happen to enjoy it, Mnemosyne has a large selection of other formats that feature the same dreamy paper. I've already begun expanding my collection. I hope my bookshelf (and wallet) can find the gumption to forgive me for the stress that is my addiction.

Ink Samples With The Maruman Mnemosyne Word Book

One thing I have always wanted is a visual sampling of my fountain pen inks. I have tried random sheets of paper and various notebooks but none have ever stuck. I wanted a good, thick paper and the ability to move the samples around and compare them side-by-side. Enter the Maruman Mnemosyne Word Book.

The Word Book is basically Maruman's take on flash cards. Used by students for memorization, these ringed study cards can serve many purposes. Personally, they remind me of a paint sample book and are the perfect setup for fountain pen ink samples.

The cards are approximately 4"x2", giving me plenty of room for a large ink swab (using a basic Q-Tip dipped in the ink bottle) while leaving room for a written description at the bottom of the card. The cards are thick enough to where the large amount of ink doesn't buckle the card or bleed through. You could even use the back side for another ink sample, but I will probably use that side for ink notes.

The paper is off-white and does have some tooth to it, similar to watercolor paper. For deadly accurate color representation I will admit it is not perfect. Since the paper is so porous it soaks up much of the ink and dulls out some of the colors. It works for what I am trying to accomplish but a smoother, perfectly white paper would be a better choice.

Having the ring and pre-drilled holes is an awesome option. I can arrange the cards however I want, plus add and remove as needed. My only mistake was putting the ink sample near the top of the card. It would have worked much better if I put the ink at the bottom to where I could see them better when fanned out.

Overall, I am happy with this setup. It allows for a quick comparison of inks and is easily accessible. I have swabbed all of my ink bottles so far, and will be moving onto my sample vials in phase two. The Word Book is a great deal for under $4.00 at JetPens.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)