I was in Harvard Square today, and being a few minutes early for my lunch meeting, I decided to pop into Bob Slate.

I haven’t been in there for quite some time, but I can always count on them to have a wide array of cool notebooks to drool over.

I was not disappointed: witness, in the accompanying photo, what can only be described as a Moleskine bonanza!  Ruled, plain, squared.  So many sizes, aspects, and page counts.

Just thought I’d share.

Aron and I got together with a couple of friends who have taken a look at a pre-pre-pre-pre-pre alpha version of the site. I forgot my notebook in my other coat so ended up having to take notes on the back of a business card.

You can see the results. I decided it would be a good idea to immediately smudge most of it. Yuck.

Don’t let this happen to you. As Notee the Notebook always says: “Don’t forget your notebook!”

Anne Zelenka over at Web Worker Daily makes the case for pen and paper as the ultimate solution for to-do lists. It sounds like she might be a Moleskine fan.

I’ve often looked for the holy-grail of to-do list software, but always return to paper in one form or another. As I’ve written before: a blank page is full of possibilities. Likewise, crossing out an item on paper gives a sense of satisfaction unmatched by all electronic substitues.

Ah, yes, the notebook. So simple in concept, yet so hard to find one that really satisfies. My standby notebook for several years has been the A5 Easybook by Oxford. The A5 has a project/small grid layout on perforated, holed pages (for later binding), a flexible poly cover, a relocatable divider, and an internal pocket. This small package is perfect for taking notes, sketching ideas, etc.

A number of stores in the Boston area sell the Easybook series, but the A5 size seems to be much more rare. Luckily, Signature Stationers has an excellent notebook selection, including the A5 Easybook. Signature Stationers is on Mass Ave in lovely Lexington, MA.

Aron and I both have a fetish for nice notebooks. It’s true. I know that’s a, umm, “strong” statement to make, but there is no denying it.

I have purchased many a notebook from Bob Slate in Harvard Square, Maido Fine Stationary at Santana Row, and The Paper Source in Coolidge Corner for no particular reason. Call it love at first sight. A real sucker for a perfect cover and luscious, unsullied pages am I. (Whoa, big guy.)

Often shelved untouched for weeks, months, years; some never get called into use. However, every new project requires a new one; there is nothing more optimistic and full of possibilities than a crisp, clean notebook.

So imagine my interest when I ran across a mention of the Moleskine City Notebooks today. I am currently using two Moleskines: a large 240 page “Set tre Quaderni a Quadretti” as my daily journal, and a smaller version of the same which I keep in my pocket for random notes.

This notebook sounds awesome. I can definitely appreciate the attraction of a structured foundation for each city which can be further customized with your own experiences and preferences: that restaurant you loved in Belfast, that small fountain you ran across while traipsing through Rome, or that interesting artifact you found by the road on the outskirts of town; and not a one of them in a guidebook! Now, if they only had them available for more than a select few cities.

Oh, serendipity!