@vish: if another company were making less expensive, threadbound, acid-free notebooks that held up to backpack abuse for less money, I would so be all over that. But until I see public disclosure of Moleskine's profit margins, I'm somewhat skeptical of claims that they're making "too much" money off the brand. How much is that? Do you have information about that? Because I'd be genuinely interested.

(Not aimed at vish) I have to say, I'm as skeptical of knee-jerk reaction against trends as I am of reflex action in the other direction, moleskine notebooks included. You don't like something because other people do? Wow. Great. You're still a fucking lemming.

I shell out for a $10 moleskine... once, maybe twice a year. And that's because, of all the sketchbooks and notebooks I've tried, it scans best, because it lays flat on the scanner, and it holds up under incredible amounts of abuse. This is not true of the composition book, the $1.50 spiral bound notebook, and the I-forget-the-brand sketchbook I've used over the last two and a half years.

Go ahead and sneer. If I find something better, be certain I'll say something about it.