Using Moleskines for Class

[bk]

Has anyone ever used a large Moleskine journal as a primary notebook
for taking notes in class? I'm an English major trying to decide
whether to abandon binders next semester for a Moleskine.

Thanks for any advice :)

[John Mayson]

On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 9:36 AM, bk <bkkno...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Has anyone ever used a large Moleskine journal as a primary notebook
> for taking notes in class? I'm an English major trying to decide
> whether to abandon binders next semester for a Moleskine.

I went to college during the time period where Moleskines weren't
available. About midway through I switched to lab notebooks which
were very similar in size and shape to Moleskines and loved them! The
notebooks were more durable and I could write the course name on the
spine. It certainly beat looseleaf papers that eventually came out of
the binder. I had one notebook for each class and I would use the
same notebook for a follow-on class. Example my electromagnetics 1,
2, and 3 notes are all in the same notebook. Really handy! If I had
to do it over again I'd use lab notebooks from day one. I'm not sure
I'd go with Moleskine due to cost, but that's just me. It's not a
slight against Moleskine at all, they would make wonderful class
notebooks.

John

--
John Mayson <jo...@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA

[Erisraven]

I didn't do it with a moleskine -they weren't common when I was in
school. But I did do something similar with a small spiral notebook. I
still have the thing somewhere.
Things to consider when choosing, IMHO -
volume of notes
size of handwriting
requirements of turning things in - I hate tearing pages out of my
'skine.
how often do you rearrange your notes for clarity?

-Erisraven

[John Mayson]

On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 10:29 AM, Erisraven <eris...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I didn't do it with a moleskine -they weren't common when I was in
> school. But I did do something similar with a small spiral notebook. I
> still have the thing somewhere.
> Things to consider when choosing, IMHO -
> volume of notes
> size of handwriting
> requirements of turning things in - I hate tearing pages out of my
> 'skine.
> how often do you rearrange your notes for clarity?

I never tore pages out of my lab notebooks. Worst case I'd photocopy
pages from the notebooks and distribute those.

I was an engineering major. I did my homework and practice problems
on plain sheets of paper. If it was a particularly difficult problem,
once I solved it and verified the answer I'd write it up in my
notebook so I'd have it forever. I didn't do this for every single
problem I encountered, just the really difficult ones.

Looking back I sort of wish I kept personal information too, but I
didn't. I did sometimes share my notes with friends and I really
didn't want them with a photocopy of my notes with a note off to the
side, "Call doctor about that rash down there" or whatever.

[bk]

Thanks for the replies. I may also carry around a small folder or
binder to keep loose leaf paper and handouts in. Hopefully I'll be
able to leave the folder/binder in my bag most of the time, and just
have my book and Moleskine out during class.

I'm also hoping I can get by with just a notebook for my research and
a notebook for class notes. I don't usually have enough notes to
justify having a different notebook for every class. Most of my
classes and exams end up being discussion or essay based anyway.

I'm just not sure if I'm organized enough to have one small notebook
for every class, but it would be so much easier to carry around
campus.


On Jul 24, 10:39 am, "John Mayson" <j...@mayson.us> wrote:

> John Mayson <j...@mayson.us>
> Austin, Texas, USA

[euicho]

I use 2 moleskines for classes, 2 for each class. I use front/back
pages, and instead of splitting the notebook in half (half for each
subject) I just alternate subjects as I go.

So lets say I have Russian history when I first open my new moleskine.
I take notes on as many pages as it takes, and at the end of the class
draw a line under the last sentence to show where those notes end.
Then in my next class, English, I start taking notes directly below
this. This ensures I don't waste any pages, and it's surprisingly
easy to flip through my notes to study, mostly because I like to
alternate pen colors as well. Even when I don't alternate colors, I
write the subject just below the separating line so I always know what
the notes are from. Of course you could simplify all this by having
1 moleskine per subject, especially if you intend to take LOTS of
notes!

I've also found the "Markings" notebooks (found in Staples and
sometimes WalMart) to be a great alternative to the moleskine for
taking notes [blasphemy? ;) ]. They are a direct copy of the moleskine
with very minor changes like covering material (faux leather), but I
use them only because they are only $9 for a large so I get 2 for only
$3 more than a single moleskine!