Levenger Circa Notebook Review: Why I Didn’t Like It

Levenger created the Circa Notebook, and most people love it. I found it cumbersome and didn't like the covers.

Each HSP has different areas of their life where they are more sensitive than others. For me, I find sound and touch are the two important ones. Everything must feel a certain way, or I will find it bothersome and distracting. Hence my love | hate relationship with paper.

I continuously buy different notebooks depending on how the paper feels, how the cover feels, and how soothing the lines are. Will my writing go through to the other side? Is this light enough that it won’t annoy me to carry it around? Will my pen feel good on the paper? I could go on and on about the sensory importance of getting the notebook right.

HSP Approved

PROS

High quality paper, no bleed through, and lots of options
Great organization
Multiple page & disk sizes

CONS

Difficult to write on the left page due to the position of the disks
Cover are bulky & cheap looking
Pages come loose

Levenger notebooks look wonderful; their interlocking disk system is genius. The covers they offer come in various colors and textures, from high-quality leather to imitation leather, plain plastic covers, and folios that also hold your iPad. They have a sampling kit that you can order with samples of their different pages. You will also receive a gift card equal to the price of the sample kit purchase, which you can put toward the whole circa system if you choose to buy it.

I might have found a notebook that will cover all my requirements! In a burst of exuberance, I ordered their entire notebook system, which was somewhat expensive.

I spent a lovely evening putting it together on receiving all the above. I ended up with a very professional notebook that I thought would help me organize my life. I wanted to corral everything in one place hence the diary | notebook idea.

Circa® Sliver Fold-over Notebook Junior with 1” Disks
Circa® Sunday Start 2-Year Monthly Calendar Refill
300 Circa® Multicolored Annotation Ruled Refill Sheets
Circa® Vivacious Tab Dividers (set of 5)
Circa® Wafer Pocket Dividers (set of 4)
Circa® 1-2-3 Portable Punch

Levenger Paper

Levenger paper is top-notch, and your pen will glide along with the paper easily, allowing you to write quickly and neatly. It is important to me for two reasons, I love the feel of expensive paper, and the other is that my writing is large and tends to go all over the place when I need to take notes quickly. I purchased the junior set because I wanted something I could carry, and the large one, although probably a better idea, just seemed too big.

By the end of the first week, I found the entire thing annoying. I have realized that being highly sensitive and minimalism go hand in hand. I must go through my whole life and declutter, take all the extras, throw them away and keep everything basic, which equals less sensory distraction. That principle seems to apply to notebooks as well.

The paper and organization were wonderful, but it was bulky because I had so much paper in the notebook, and it didn’t move easily.

I had to pull at the cover to fold it back, and the disks got in the way when I tried to write on the left page. To get around this, I pulled out the diary altogether ordered the small size rings so that the notebook would have a slimmer profile. It was easier to carry around, but it was still somewhat awkward opening the cover and dividers, the entire thing didn’t flow, and I found the disks annoying as I could not write freely on the left side.

If you look on the Levenger website or Amazon, nearly all their products receive five*, with the odd cranky person complaining about something silly and giving it less. I would also give their system five* if I were not HSP and had different criteria. Movement, sound, feel, weight, layout – I think we look at everything differently, and others may not notice what we believe is an issue. Due to how this notebook system moves, I would not recommend it to highly sensitive people.

What I Would Recommend Instead?

Here are two inexpensive notebooks that I love and would recommend. After spending all that money on the Levenger system, I ended up back with the cheap reliable ones that feel good.

Little More Notebook

Minimalist layout with 328 no date pages where you can write daily & monthly goals
Soft cover is made of high quality vegan leather
Premium quality paper, smooth to write on & fountain pen friendly
Great for bullet journal or mind mapping
Size: 5.5”x8.5″; 328 pages; page layout – dot grid

Little More Notebook - Amazon

Notebook by Poluma

Notebook includes elastic closure, inner pocket & ribbon.
Each journal is opens flat 180°for easy note taking.
Acid-free paper with round corners, thick enough to avoid bleeding & ghosting
Size: 5″X8.25″; 128 pages; page layout: dot grid

Notebook by Poluma - Amazon

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