» Themed Journals – Yay or Nay?
I’ve reviewed quite a few different journals over the last few years and have noticed an increase in the production of themed journals from a variety of vendors. When I see them, I often wonder how well received they are by the buying public. Part of me feels as though they are gimmicky and it’s hard for me to wrap my head around utilizing a format that is so limiting. yet another part of me feels as though if a journal like this gets someone writing at all… then it’s a good thing.
Have you ever tried one? Finished one? Know anyone that used them? I’m really curious…. The closest thing to a themed journal that I use is a plain lined journal that I call my “Book of Lists.”
The Quo Vadis Memoriae journals are not currently imported into the US but are available in Canadian specialty shops and also online in the UK.
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I’ve typically used blank notebooks on a particular theme (usually lists of books I’ve read), not themed notebooks. Most themed notebooks I’ve seen tend to be cheesy in terms of format or inferior in terms of materials/binding.
Quo Vadis offering themed notebooks in this series/format intrigues me. I’d probably try a few if they were available through a US vendor.
I actually bought the themed journal shown in the picture, but only to try out the paper. I myself am not keen on ‘themed’ journals.
I must say I found this one quite disappointing! The paper isn’t too FP friendly, I even tried out a Faber Castell Rollerball which bled and feathered through the paper horribly. The ‘yellow-creamy’ colour is too yellow for my taste, and lastly, the fact that each page has a header wastes a lot of writing space.
I also didn’t like the large icons they use throughout.
What I did like was the cover; quite different to have a journal in white, and the size.
Even though I did make an effort to like it and use it, in the end I stashed it away in a box and hadn’t opened it until today. But will return it to its place in the box though.
I admit I am not tempted to buy themed journals of any kind for myself – I am either 1) too much of a control freak and need to organize my information the way I like it, or 2) hate having a book confined to one topic.
I think, however, they might make good gift items for people who are just starting to use journals, and need a bit more structure, and a bit more thematic focus. Maybe.
Some formats make sense, like a guest book, but many of these concepts look like lame attempts to make a paper equivalent of a database, and would be better handled with a box of index cards rather than a bound book.
No themes for me, please! I use blank so I can meander thru life as I please.
Nah. Themed books are too limiting. Especially since a lot of them seem to be poorly made (Can’t speak to the Quo Vadis effort yet – haven’t seen one in meatspace).
I was intrigued by the themed QV journals enough to review them last year:
http://tinyurl.com/239xxvb
As I recall, I found themed journals “…interesting but I have to admit, I have always been terrible at adhering to themed diaries or journals.”
But I think the QV Memoraie diaries paved the way for regular notebooks like the Habana and Rhodia Webnotebook, so that’s a plus :)
No themes for me, either. I hate limits on what I can or can’t write – even if those limits are just my fuzzy perception. I love just one notebook for everything.
I’m not a fan but think it would be good for casual journalers. I love the cover so maybe I would just ignore the theme and write whatever I wanted.
I find it easier to have a few blanks and, if I need to, slip a custom guide template under the current page. Takes about ten minutes to draw up whatever I need in Illustrator…
I rather dislike themed journals, and the vast majority of my customers do as well. The repeated line is that it’s always someone else trying to shoehorn the way they think/express themselves.
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