The Best Journal

Every year, I treat myself to another one of these lovely journals. When I first started keeping a diary, way back in college, I bought really cheap ones at Woolworth's. Unfortunately those old black, fake leather bindings have started falling apart and are held together with rubber bands now.

In 1996, I discovered this diary and have stuck with it ever since. The bindings are super-sturdy and well-stitched so I expect them to last my lifetime and beyond. Some people may like an unlined page, but for me the lines keep my writing straight and even as I fill up the page.

By having the date on each page, it beckons me to write every single day. I hate to see a blank page. Sometimes when I miss a day, I return later to fill it in.

It's a tradition in my family to keep diaries and below you'll see photos of ones dating back to the Civil War and to World War I. More recently, my grandmother kept a diary and my mother did as well. These are treasures to our family, our links to the past.

My life is pretty ordinary and my opinions, my activities, my concerns aren't great literature. Perhaps writing in a journal is more about the writing than it is about the reading. I don't worry about who will read it one hundred years from now. I write it for myself.

Treat yourself to one of these and start a tradition in your family. Get them to give as gifts to your friends or family members too.

Description: The picture here doesn't do this journal justice. The covers are a rich wine red with a bit of shimmer, like a moire pattern. The lettering is gold (not yellow).

Sometimes You Don't Feel Inspired.

That's when you need a book like this. Just flip it open to any page and you find a question or a prompt that will trigger your writing. Since it has 365 journal writing ideas, you could even make it a project and work your way through day-by-day from the front to the back. You'll never be at a loss for what to write.