Customer Reviews

Persian Splendor Journal (Notebook, Diary) (Guided Journals Series)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I keep a journal and have been looking for a new one since the one I currently use is going to run out soon. A trip to the local World Market, Papyrus and even the Seattle Art Museum shop didn't yield much variety. I turned to Amazon (does Amazon ever disappoint:) and found this notebook that had great reviews.

I just received my journal today and I am very pleased with my purchase. The cover is beautiful - the picture doesn't do it justice. What you cannot tell in the photo here is that the cover is embossed. The colors are rich and glossy - silver and shades of blue. The paper on the inside is a nice, rich cream and lined with an elegant light gray. The writing surface is smooth. The pages lay flat when you open the journal, so you don't lose writing surface towards the spine.

Also, at almost 9 inches x 7.5 inches, this is journal is larger than several other Peter Pauper Press journals - that's what clinched the decision for me to buy this one vs. another journal from this line that I really liked.

Beautiful heavy journal, with tough hard binding and absolutely stunning blue and silver Persian designs. Cream good quality paper and enough space and pages to write for a long time.

Now I know why this journal was on backorder! It is simply beautiful. The cover is silver and sky blue with accents of darker grey/green. The pages lie flat with a bit of pressing down; the paper is smooth and light cream colored, faintly lined (might be a bit too light for some). A great gift--for yourself especially!

I've had twelve journals in eleven years, and this one is by far the best I've ever used. My reasons:

1. It's absolutely beautiful. The silver scrolls and flecks on the cover design don't show up in the online picture, but in real life they add a subtle sparkle to the whole book.

2. The hardcover is very sturdy, which is good for me because I put a lot of wear and tear on my journals. So far, after four months of traveling everywhere with me, the hardcover has only the tiniest bit of wear at the corners.

3. The paper is great quality--very thick and creamy and smooth. If you make a dark mark on one side of the paper, you can't see it on the other side of the paper, which (for me) is a huge plus.

4. The lines are 5/16 in. apart from each other, so they give ample room if you have larger handwriting.

5. The lines are visible but they are thin and gray(instead of bold and black), so they don't dominate the page.

6. The lines leave a good 1/2 in. for margins both near the spine and at the edge of the page, which makes it easier to write and read.

7. The book actually lays flat without having to be held down. After writing in many different journals I can tell you that almost NO journal in my experience lays flat on its own. This one does and it's so comfortable for writing!

8. The journal actually has sewn binding, rather than just cheaply-glued binding. That means that I won't be seeing years of my memories peeling away from the spine like pages on a notepad and getting lost.

9. I was initially uncertain that I would like a book of this unusually large size (9 x 7 1/2 inches). By the time I had filled the journal, I was hooked on large journals. The size made the journal unbelievably comfortable to write in; I don't think I have ever enjoyed my journaling experience so much. I only wish Peter Pauper Press would expand its oversize journal options--I want to buy more!

The only thing that could make this book possibly better is the inclusion of a marker ribbon. Other than that, I think this book is fantastic and I'm going to be looking into Peter Pauper Press books for my journaling needs from now on.

This is an excellent journal, and I am very pleased! The cover is blue under natural light and the lines are spaced 5/16" apart.

I wasn't sure from the description if this book would have writing prompts in it (since it's called a "guided journal") ... but it didn't. It had just lined pages, which is what I wanted. Very nice blank book.

I perused all the journals at Barnes and Noble and while quite beautiful they were also very expensive. When I saw this one on-line I decided to try it. I like M.E. culture, tiles, architecture, etc. When it arrived very shortly after I ordered it I was thrilled because it's so pretty and luxurious. I won't start on it until the new year begins and I can hardly wait. All the reviews were helpful especially those that said the paper was so nice to write on. That feature is very important to me so thanks to all of you who wrote.

This journal feels nice and opens flat for comfortable writing. The cover is beautiful. Bought one, loved it, bought 3 more. Keepsake journal quality.

I am a prolific journal keep and have written daily for almost a decade now, and in that time have gone through dozens of journals.

The first thing I notice when this journal arrived was that it is a lot wider than I expected it to be. Of course had I paid attention to the measurements I would have known that. It isn't a knock against it at all, but if you need a traveling journal you might look at something a tad narrower.

The cover is very well done and the quality of the paper and binding is very good. The paper is thick enough I don't worry about ink bleed through from my fountain pen. The spine has held up very well and so have the cover. The pages themselves are slightly yellowish and lined. All in all I am happy with my purchase, it is a good journal and at a very good price.

Things to be aware of: This is printed in China. I wish Amazon would include that info in product descriptions, as I prefer to avoid "sweatshop" labor. I do realize that China makes the vast majority of blank journals, however.

Also, there is no ribbon bookmark. It's easy enough to add one--put glue on one end of a ribbon and stick it into the spine--but that's always a nice touch on a journal.

This journal is generously sized, and has wide-ruled pages. Many will appreciate that, though I prefer narrower lines and a smaller book. The lines are nicely gauged so as to be visible but not overpowering to the writing.

I don't like the page feel; the off-white pages just seem like thick newsprint to me, like they ought to be stiffer. But I use a black gel pen and have had no issues with bleed-through, so I guess they're OK.

And the cover is nothing breathtaking--it's printed paper, like a satin-sheen giftwrap with foil accents, which is wrapped onto a hardcover and embossed. It's pretty, but to me it just doesn't feel all that spectacular.

Furthermore, my copy arrived with squashed corners. I didn't return it--figured it would get messed up eventually, anyway--but it just makes me that much less under-awed by this book.