Notebooks & Journals
How to Pick a Journal as a Gift
A blank book is a generous gift and a prompted one is an opinion. Knowing which you are buying is most of the decision.
How this page is funded. Buying through a link here earns us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend or the order we recommend it in, and we have not handled these products ourselves — see how we pick and the full disclosure.
The short answer
Buy a blank dotted A5 hardcover from a maker that publishes its paper weight. That combination is not exciting and it is wrong for almost nobody, which is exactly what you want when you are buying for somebody else's inner life.
The four questions
Answer these and the shortlist is usually two books
- 1
Do they already journal?
If yes, buy the book they already use, or a leather cover that takes it. Somebody with a habit does not want a new system - they want the thing they like, in something nicer. If no, buy a plain hardcover and no prompts.
- 2
What do they write with?
Fountain pen means 90 gsm. Gel means 80. Ballpoint or pencil means it does not matter and you can buy on page count instead. This is the only question with a checkable answer - see paper and ghosting.
- 3
Is it prose, or is it lists and layouts?
Prose is faster on lines. Lists, trackers and tables want dots. If you cannot tell, dots - see dotted versus lined versus grid.
- 4
Is it meant to be kept?
If it is a record rather than a working notebook, acid-free paper matters and so does a cover that survives a decade. Moleskine publishes acid-free; full-grain leather covers outlast the paper inside them.
Quick picks
Ranked for the person doing the buying. Every pick names who it is wrong for.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No image Leather Journal Gift Set with Metal Pen, A5 Refillable A refillable leather cover, a metal pen and a black gift box, and it takes standard A5 inserts so it outlives the notebook inside it. | A gift that arrives finished | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now. How this is funded |
| 2 | No image Rhodia Webnotebook A5, Dot 90 gsm Clairefontaine ivory vellum, which is the heaviest mainstream notebook paper in this comparison by a clear margin. | A fountain-pen user, without qualification | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now. How this is funded |
| 3 | No image LEUCHTTURM1917 Medium A5 Dotted Hardcover Notebook 80 gsm paper, 251 numbered pages and a printed contents page, which is why this is the default recommendation in every journaling forum. | The bullet-journal standard | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now. How this is funded |
1. A gift that arrives finished
Leather Journal Gift Set with Metal Pen, A5 Refillable
A refillable leather cover, a metal pen and a black gift box, and it takes standard A5 inserts so it outlives the notebook inside it.
#ad No live price right now. How this is funded
Refill compatibility is the whole argument for a leather cover. Because it takes a Leuchtturm1917 or a Moleskine insert, a buyer who later learns the recipient's paper preference can fix it for the price of a notebook rather than the price of the set.
The supplied insert's paper weight is not published, which is the standard weak point of gift sets. Treat the insert as a starter and the cover as the gift.
Initials change the arithmetic of a gift. An embossed cover cannot be regifted, which is a cost, and it cannot be mistaken for something bought in a hurry, which is the point.
| Refill compatibility | Takes A5 inserts including LEUCHTTURM1917, Moleskine and Panda PlannerThis is the specification that matters. A cover locked to a proprietary insert becomes landfill when the maker stops making them.Source: Amazon listing - Personalized Leather Journal Gift Set |
|---|---|
| Included | Leather cover, A5 lined paper notebook, metal pen with black gel ink, black gift boxSource: Amazon listing - Personalized Leather Journal Gift Set |
| Personalization | Initials embossed on the coverSource: Amazon listing - Personalized Leather Journal Gift Set |
| Paper weight of the supplied insert | Not publishedNot stated. If the recipient uses a fountain pen, plan on replacing the insert with a known-weight notebook - which this cover is designed to accept. |
What it does well
- Accepts standard A5 inserts, so the cover outlasts any one notebook.
- Arrives boxed with a pen, so it is a complete present with nothing to add.
- Personalization available without a separate engraving service.
What it does not
- The supplied insert has no published paper weight.
- Embossed initials make it non-returnable and non-regiftable.
Skip this: if you are not certain of the spelling of their name or their initials. An embossing error is not fixable and not returnable.
2. A fountain-pen user, without qualification
Rhodia Webnotebook A5, Dot
90 gsm Clairefontaine ivory vellum, which is the heaviest mainstream notebook paper in this comparison by a clear margin.
#ad No live price right now. How this is funded
90 gsm is the number to buy this for. Against 70 gsm Moleskine paper that is roughly 29 percent more paper between one page and the next, and that is where fountain-pen show-through stops being a problem.
The trade is page count. 160 pages against 251 for the Leuchtturm1917 at a similar size - heavier paper in a book of the same thickness means fewer sheets. That is physics, not a cost saving.
Ivory rather than white is a real preference axis. It is easier on the eye under a desk lamp and it flattens the contrast of a photograph, which matters if anyone is posting pages.
| Paper weight | 90 gsm Clairefontaine brushed ivory vellum10 gsm above the Leuchtturm1917 and 20 above the Moleskine Classic.Source: Amazon listing - Rhodia A5 Webnotebook, Dot, Black |
|---|---|
| Pages | 160 (80 sheets)Source: Amazon listing - Rhodia Webnotebook, A5 |
| Size | A5, approximately 5.5" x 8.25"Source: Amazon listing - Rhodia Webnotebook - A5 |
| Fittings | Leatherette cover, inner pocket, ribbon page marker, elastic closureSource: Amazon listing - Rhodia Webnotebook, A5 |
| Page numbers | Not publishedNot numbered. Rhodia does not target the indexed-journal use case. |
What it does well
- 90 gsm Clairefontaine paper, the heaviest here, and the safe choice for fountain-pen ink.
- Ivory stock is comfortable under artificial light.
- Soft leatherette cover, pocket, ribbon and elastic as standard.
What it does not
- 160 pages, roughly two thirds of the Leuchtturm1917's count.
- No page numbers or contents page.
- Less recognizable as a brand than the other two, which matters in a gift.
Skip this: if the recipient keeps an indexed bullet journal. No page numbers means hand-numbering, and at 160 pages they will run out sooner than they expect.
3. The bullet-journal standard
LEUCHTTURM1917 Medium A5 Dotted Hardcover Notebook
80 gsm paper, 251 numbered pages and a printed contents page, which is why this is the default recommendation in every journaling forum.
#ad No live price right now. How this is funded
Numbered pages plus a printed contents page is the whole reason bullet journaling settled on this book. An index needs page numbers, and printing them saves the user writing 251 of them.
80 gsm against the Moleskine Classic's published 70 gsm is a 14 percent difference in paper weight, and it is the difference most people notice as ghosting on the reverse of a page.
Two ribbons is not decoration in a journal that has an index. One marks the index, one marks today.
| Paper weight | 80 gsmSource: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Notebook Hardcover Medium A5, Dotted |
|---|---|
| Pages | 251 numbered pages, with 8 perforated detachable sheetsSource: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Notebook Hardcover Medium A5, Dotted |
| Size | A5, approximately 5.75" x 8.25" (145 x 210 mm)Source: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Notebook Hardcover Medium A5, Dotted |
| Fittings | Blank table of contents, two page markers, gusseted rear pocket, elastic band, archival stickersSource: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Notebook Hardcover Medium A5, Dotted |
| Binding | Thread bound, opens flatSource: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Notebook Hardcover Medium A5, Dotted |
What it does well
- 251 pre-numbered pages and a blank contents page, ready for an index.
- 80 gsm published, the heaviest of the three mainstream hardcovers here.
- Thread bound, so it lies flat from the first page.
What it does not
- Still not fountain-pen-proof; 80 gsm reduces show-through, it does not eliminate it.
- The dot grid is fainter than some users want for straight-line work.
Skip this: if the recipient has never mentioned journaling. A 251-page dotted notebook handed to a non-journaler is 251 blank pages of obligation. See how to pick a journal as a gift.
The case against prompted journals
A journal with questions printed in it - gratitude prompts, daily reflections, five-year formats - is a strong opinion about how the recipient should think, delivered as an object. Some people love that and buy them for themselves.
Given as a gift, unasked, it reads differently. It suggests the giver has a view on the recipient's inner life and a method for improving it, and if that view is unwelcome the book is unusable rather than merely unwanted.
A blank book carries none of that. It says: here is somewhere to write. Buy prompted only if they have specifically asked, and then buy the exact one they named.
The pairing that lifts it
A journal and a good pen. It costs a little more than the book alone, the two are used together on the same evening, and the pen removes the most common reason a gifted notebook sits unused - the recipient not having anything they enjoy writing in it with.
Match the pen to the paper rather than the other way round: a fine gel pen suits 80 gsm, and a fountain pen wants 90. Fountain pen gift sets has the pen side.
What to avoid
- Prompts, unless asked for.
- Anything with a quote about writing or living on the cover. It is the first thing they see every time they open it.
- A pocket size, unless you have seen them carry one. People who journal fill A5 books.
- A very large or heavy journal. It stops being carried, and a journal that is not to hand does not get written in.
- A notebook with no published paper weight if they use a fountain pen. It is a coin toss you are handing them.
Questions people actually ask
What journal should I buy as a gift?
A blank dotted A5 hardcover from a maker that publishes its paper weight. It is wrong for almost nobody, which is what you want when guessing.
Are prompted journals a good gift?
Only if asked for. A book of printed questions is an opinion about how somebody should think, and unasked that can make it unusable rather than merely unwanted.
What paper weight should a gift journal have?
80 gsm for a gel pen and 90 for a fountain pen. If they write in ballpoint or pencil, buy on page count instead.
Should I buy a journal for someone who already journals?
Buy the book they already use, or a leather cover that takes it. Somebody with a habit wants the thing they like in something nicer, not a new system.
Journal and pen together, or just the journal?
Together, matched. A fine gel pen suits 80 gsm and a fountain pen wants 90 - and the pen removes the commonest reason a gifted notebook sits unused.