The Best Journals & Notebooks

Of course I have lots of notebooks. In my parents' attic there is a box crammed with my childhood and teen diaries. The number lies somewhere in the 30s, and, despite them being filled with cringey garbage about boys and how hard my life was, I sort of love how well documented my life has been. Since the internet came along (...and full time work, and an adult social life), I find it harder and harder to find the time to sit down and write, but my collection of notebooks and journals continues to grow. 

The truth is, even though it's unlikely I'll ever fill these books like I did when I was younger, the possibility is always there. It's a source of comfort, knowing I always have paper to turn to. 

My favourite notebooks range from prayer diaries, 'blog-spiration', to creative writing ideas and a journal I have kept for more than two years. 

My mum gave me this book for Christmas. I use it to write notes on sermons at church. I'm not sure where she got it from, but the pattern and colours are brilliant.

I was given this journal by a lovely family from church for my 21st Birthday. The quality of the paper is excellent and the journal itself is beautiful, even just to hold. I use it as my prayer diary and it's my favourite of the favourites. I'm sure this can be found online, but this was bought from a shop in town called Fortysix. It opened last spring and it sells all sorts of things from stationery and clothes to jewellery and interior decorations and furniture. I love it.

My 'diary' since 2012. I'm not sure how I should feel about the fact that in 2005 I could fill two or three diaries, but I haven't finished this in more than two years. Life is busy. There's less time to dwell on it, but I still manage to stuff cinema tickets from dates in the past years, reminding me of the people who made me happy and gave me memories to keep. Available to buy here. 

My mum got me this journal from Italy about two years ago. The colours are some of my favourites, and, again, the quality is impeccable. I use this book to write in when I am feeling anxious or down. I turned to this book when I felt the first pangs of depression. The pattern on the cover seems fitting to how I feel when going through a bout of depression. Strange, unrecognisable, stretched, swirly, unusual, new, unique...

Battered and stained by hot chocolate from three years spent writing in bed, this Krispy Kreme notebook was a gift from my brother-in-law which I used for all my creative writing notes throughout uni. I love krispy kreme doughnuts and this was my favourite notebook throughout uni – it is a little bit past it's best now, though.

This soft black book is from Paperchase. I got it in the sale and what I love about it is it has three sections of paper – plain, grid and lined. I knew straight away it would be used for What Naomi Wrote, and when I go out to review somewhere, I take this with me so I can make those all important notes. The bunny rabbit postcard is from Le Pain Quotidien.

And this is one of the latest additions to my collection, which has a number of fantastic quotes inside:

This book is great for when I need to rant (which is a lot of the time), and can be bought here. There are lots of 'trigger' journals out there which I love – one of which was featured on Emma's blog, Reverie Lane, yesterday, and is now on my Amazon wishlist.

Do you love journals and notebooks as much as I do? What are your recommendations? Come September I know I'll be shopping for stationery... I may have finished education but I just can't get over that back to school feeling, and new notebooks are a must. A writer can never have too many.