Monologue Jotter A5 – Blue Cover

Front and back. Allegedly this is a blue cover, navy more like. That kind of navy you keep thinking is black until you put it next to something actually black.

As previously established, I am a fan of hiding things in notebooks. The Monologue Jotter is just the kind of notebook I want to exist—you’ve got the sleek notebook profile with the convenient functionality of a pen loop. A big thank you to Grandluxe for providing this sample for review.

Pen loop empty, pen loop with a Lamy Pur fountain pen, pen loop with the mechanical pencil it comes with

Unlike an add-on, sticking-out pen loop, this Jotter loop is streamlined right into the side of the notebook. No worrying about your pen falling out or getting knocked off. You pick a perfect pen to pair with this notebook, and then here you have everything you need to carry along for a writing session.

A small sampling of some of the pens that fit. Not all at the same time, obviously.

Not every pen will fit, but many do. A general rule of thumb: no pens taller than 5 & 3/8 inches, and slick barrels tend to do better than ones with rubbery grips (that rubbery-bodied Jetstream up there was a tough fit). The Monologue Jotter comes with a classy, ballpoint-pen-looking mechanical pencil.

Ballpencil?

The pencil is a brilliant move on the seller’s end—you could let this product sit on a shelf indefinitely (though I doubt it would) and never have to worry whether the included implement will write when the customer busts it out. It’s a pencil, of course it will write. Two odd points to note about the pencil: you have to twist the barrel to advance the lead (like you would twist some pens to advance the refill), and I can’t find an eraser on it.

The Jotter and my Lamy get along well

Like the large Monologue Ruled Notebook, the Monologue Jotter handles most fountain pen ink well. The major exceptions are Pilot Petit 1 fountain pens, and printing with broad-nibbed pens (especially with darker ink). Myself, I’ve paired my suede polyurethane Jotter (admittedly my least favorite polyurethane texture, by the way)  with a silver Lamy Pur, extra fine nib, Lamy blue cartridge ink, and it’s doing wonderfully: no bleedthrough, no bad show-through, no fuzzing, no feathering, great drying time (I’ve had no problems while handwriting this review in the notebook).

BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE

I didn’t realize until reading around on some other reviews of the Monologue Jotter that the paper is divided into two sections—lined in the front half, blank with a frame around it in the back half. You know what this means? I’ve been carrying around a notebook AND a sketchbook THIS WHOLE TIME. Mind = blown. Probably an annoying feature if you have no use for blank pages, but if you want to brainstorm or scribble down some doodles too, you’ve only got to carry around one notebook. It’s a little weird, yes, but I’m down with it.

Look how sleek!

The only thing I need to make this THE ultimate perfect notebook is a smooth polyurethane cover. Maybe more color choices? Other paper options? Maybe one day!

Monologue Jotter A5 at Grandluxe Online Store

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