{"id":5585,"date":"2025-06-22T16:03:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T16:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/5585\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T16:03:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T16:03:09","slug":"weird-shaped-notebooks-make-me-want-to-write-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/5585\/","title":{"rendered":"Weird-shaped notebooks make me want to write again\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andru Marino is an audio and video producer at The Verge. \u201cI make videos on our YouTube \/ TikTok \/ Instagram channels, and have produced our podcasts like Vergecast, Decoder, and Why\u2019d You Push That Button?\u201d He also keeps a lot of notes, and his latest favorite places to keep them are the Triangle and Sidekick notebooks. I asked him about them.<\/p>\n

Where did you first hear about these notebooks?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t really remember when I first saw the Triangle Notebook. It was probably an Instagram ad. I had kept a link to the notebook\u2019s website in a browser tab on my phone for a few months and kept thinking about it. <\/p>\n

When did you buy it, and what went into the decision?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I bought it in April, and what really attracted me was how weird it was. Why does the notebook need to be a triangle? Oh, it opens up into a square! Wow, I love that! The main reason I use paper is to doodle, and I thought this shape would inspire me to doodle differently. <\/p>\n

And then I saw this company also made another notebook called the Sidekick that basically looks like an L when opened, so it is angled alongside your computer keyboard. That was so wacky to me. So I bought that one too. <\/p>\n

What do you like about them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This seems more like an art experiment than anything. I love objects that make you rethink how they are used. I typically have Post-it notes or a spiral notebook on my desk so I can write something down or doodle during a meeting. The Sidekick doesn\u2019t take up a ton of space on my desk either opened or closed. <\/p>\n

The Triangle Notebook is actually great for using on your lap or other unconventional surfaces, as it is pretty sturdy and lays flat on its spine. <\/p>\n

Both notebooks also encourage me to use my handwriting more, which was a New Year\u2019s resolution I had. <\/p>\n

Is there anything about them that you dislike, or that you think could be improved?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am not entirely sure if it makes sense to take notes on an L-shaped piece of paper, but that is just what makes the Sidekick different. <\/p>\n

The Triangle Notebook could have a few more pages in it. It is nicely bound and sort of expensive ($33), so I would like to get more use out of it. Also it is so long! I don\u2019t know where to store it. <\/p>\n

And the pages don\u2019t tear out very easily. I\u2019d love to give someone a note on a weird-shaped piece of paper. <\/p>\n

Who would you recommend it to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d recommend the Sidekick to an artist who wants to doodle during meetings \u2014 which is why I bought this. But I can also see it working for someone who draws on a tablet and wants to briefly write down some notes about what they are working on. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know who I would recommend the Triangle Notebook to besides someone who likes weird objects. I\u2019d love to know if someone feels like they do their best work on a triangle-shaped notebook. <\/p>\n

You started this by saying you hoped these notebooks would inspire you to doodle differently. Have they?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So far, no. My notes look the same mess as ever, but it has encouraged me to doodle more and write more, so that makes me happy. <\/p>\n

\"Three<\/a>\"Three<\/a><\/p>\n

$33<\/p>\n

Triangle-shaped notebook that opens into a square.<\/p>\n

Read More\"Keyboard<\/a>\"Keyboard<\/a><\/p>\n

$24<\/p>\n

Notebook shaped like an \u201cL\u201d to wrap around your keyboard.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andru Marino is an audio and video producer at The Verge. \u201cI make videos on our YouTube \/…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5586,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[242,158,67,132,68,7078],"class_list":{"0":"post-5585","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-tech","9":"tag-technology","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us","13":"tag-verge-favorites"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114727865809248948","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}