“It’s Pronounced LOI-shturm”

Why you need the award-winning journal

Is there anything quite so satisfying as scratching your words onto a beautiful blank piece of paper with a really good pen? If you’ve been with us long enough, you know that we love a good writing instrument. Blackwing pencils and LAMY fountain pens make our hearts go pitter-patter. (Just got some new Blackwing pencils and sharpeners to the bookshop this week- the “volume 11” is my personal favorite, with a soft graphite core perfect for sketching, and a design that serves as a tribute to the legendary basketball star Bill Russell.) 

And for a journal in which to write, there is nothing finer than a Leuchtturm1917 A5.

The mighty Leuchtturm1917 A5

And I will tell you why. 

First, let’s establish that there is more to a journal than an appealing cover. Can we agree on that? You want a good quality paper that will not fade over time (acid-free), has enough thickness to avoid bleed-through (for markers and fountain pens especially), has a sewn binding (lasts longer than glued) that lays flat (easier to write or sketch in), and is the right size and weight for you. 

Leuchtturm (the 100+ year old German brand) has all of the above, and though they have several styles and varieties, my favorite is the A5 hardcover, for the following reasons:

• Two ribbon page markers (so I can quickly find where I’ve left off)

• Blank table of contents and numbered pages (which is amazing- DIY table of contents to organize your thoughts as you like!)

• Gusseted pocket (handy especially for junk journaling)

• Elastic enclosure band (so nothing falls out)

• Eight perforated and detachable sheets (for me to have when my kids ask for paper and I don’t want to tear into the nice sewn-in pages)

• Sticker set for labelling and archiving (I like to name and date my journals when I’m finished with them. You know, for my future biographer.)

• It’s the perfect size and weight to hold all of my ideas and lists for a year, and can easily fit into my bag

"Thoughts grow into words, sentences and pictures. Memories become stories. Ideas are transformed into projects. Notes inspire insight. We write and understand, learn, see and think – with the hand."

But Ashley, why do I need a physical journal, you say? Can’t I just log all of my thoughts into cyberspace? Use the apps for every literal thing in my life? Oh, friend. We miss so much when we don’t pick up a pen or pencil and put it to paper. I think Leuchtturm actually has managed to put it beautifully: “Thoughts grow into words, sentences and pictures,” the brand says.  “Memories become stories. Ideas are transformed into projects. Notes inspire insight. We write and understand, learn, see and think – with the hand.” German philosopher Immanuel Kant said the hand is the window to the mind. So when we pick up a pen and write with our hand, we are processing our thoughts on paper in a way that far exceeds typing on a keyboard. 

“It takes time for us to learn how to read. And it takes years until our handwriting joins the individual letters in a smoothly flowing movement, which in turn inspires our thoughts to flow freely. It is precisely this complex interplay of fine motor skills, abstraction and imagination that makes writing with the hand a veritable symphony of the synapses. Writing by hand strengthens the connection between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. From the point of view of the human brain, very few things are as integral and sophisticated as writing with pen and paper.”

That is just so incredible, isn’t it? Just like reading a physical book, writing on physical paper is so fantastically healthy. 

Not sure what to write? I have fun ideas for that!

• Keep a travel journal (Junk journaling is optimal here!)

• Write affirmations

• Track habits (Did I drink 64 ounces of water every day this week?)

• Do bullet journaling (It’s a whole thing- definitely worth a deep-dive!)

• Sketch 

• Jot down your dreams when you wake up

• Track your spending and finances (horrible but essential)

• Outline or write out notes for a novel

• Log special memories to gift to future generations

• Write out recipes and entertainment ideas

• Make lists (my personal favorite thing)

• Keep a prayer journal

• Design things like remodels and floor plans (Yes, journals come in the form of dotted, blank, or graph paper as well as lined!)

Also, they make fantastic gifts. What could be better than receiving a specially chosen Leuchtturm notebook from a loved one with an inscription that says, “I believe you have an incredible story to tell.” 

Or, perhaps you want to gift a journal in which you’ve written a little quote, or drawn a little doodle, or even pasted a photo every few pages. 

OR, for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Grandparent’s Day, perhaps you gift a journal with the handprints of family members on some pages, and a note asking the recipient to fill the journal with stories of their life. 

So many good ideas. So many great things to do with Leuchtturm journals! Let us know your journal or notebook ideas in the comments!