Moved by a static anthology

What on earth does Stalogy mean? The mind fairly boggles. For a historian it's so close to 'stalag' that a Great Escape is probably on the cards if we don't move on pretty sharpish and talk about the notebook itself, so let's do just that.

Japan's paper mills are apparently immune to error - or at least their quality control is superb. The duds, if there are any, just don't make it over here, do they? This is a classic example of a simple concept, executed perfectly. It's just an exercise book - but it's a faultless exercise book.

For fountain penthusiasts, the paper is always the most important thing, and Stalogy certainly don't disappoint. This stuff is much better than Tomoe River - yes, really. It's glacially smooth to write on, there's no bleed-through to speak of and ink dries at a sensible speed so that one can carry on writing.

The rest of the package is spot-on too. There's just the basic information one might want about the brand and the product, without boring one to tears with corporate waffle. There's a simple but pleasantly tactile card cover. There's a sturdy sewn binding. There's a set of sensibly-spaced lines. There's nothing else to get in the way, though; this is minimalism which works, not feng shui for the sake of show.

The only fly in the ointment is that if you don't find that B5 is a convenient format for you, no alternative is yet available. Well, give it time. In the meantime, these are available from Nero at a frankly astonishingly reasonable price, so if you're tempted...