Thoughts after reading The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper (by Roland Allen)
I read The Notebook on Libby app.
I don’t want to say I am doing my book review because I was not literally reading every word in detail or I want to rate how the book is well written. But, the book is so inspiring that I want to share what I think and what I will do related to my daily life including sketching.
I stumbled upon a book called The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper which was written by Roland Allen while visiting Waterstones, and borrowed it on Libby – my library app.
The book is so comprehensive. Besides the detailed historical information of how notebooks became prevalent due to the invention of paper and the need of bookkeeping, the book inspired me of how this little tool can change in individuals (like self growth and exploration to the world) and society (in terms of power and social contributions). The author quotes a lot of scientific evidence how paper is better than digital devices.
There are images of notebook contents shown in the book. From the strokes you can see how free the users were.
Let paper notebooks keep our life moving
It’s because notebooks can set us free. Free from being stuck in our life thanks to the freedom of thought on paper.
After reading the book, I wrote these statements on my Moleskine sketchbook.
Under the influence of social media, we always get hooked to the impression that a notebook should be neat and tidy like a finished publication (people are less likely to share the less beautiful those). When we get an expensive beautiful notebook, we are reluctant to write and draw something on it especially when we prefer less risky screens which can undo with one click, to writing on paper which may end up messy and ugly pages.
Put aside the visual presentation on a notebook, our satisfaction due to keeping writing and drawing on it is more important. For me, especially after reading this book, a notebook is a magic which keeps our life move forward, given that I am willing to write and draw something. The more I use, the clearer is what I am going to do, and my life is thus easier. Writing empowers me with a lot of new ideas, and they will be turned into actions shortly. I no longer need to rely on outside advices, suggestions or various opportunities. My writing is a big fuel and hope for my life!
My actions
I am an illustration artist, but it doesn’t mean I have to entirely commit to. My life will only be going on with my notebooks. Further embedding sketching in my daily life is a good idea, but that doesn’t imply that I should be more prolific in beautiful masterpieces. Rather, treat sketching as a kind of note taking and self learning. Actually I have already done that, but limited to my oversea travels in the past years. I should do it again, now.
My TRAVELER’S notebooks recorded a lot of my travel memories with sketching and annotations.
But I won’t abolish my current digital tools like Apple Notes or Procreate. They are just good at editing, improving something and connecting dots, which is better to start with a paper notebook.
Analog and digital tools are not enemies, and digital devices were not invented to replace paper. Paper is never outdated.
