Confusion about what it means toown a book leads people to a falsereverence for paper, binding, and type—a respect for the physical thing—thecraft of the printer rather than thegenius of the author.

My magic trick (having faced a similar dilemma with many lovely notebooks over the years) is to turn to the first double page and write in large lettersDON'T BE AFRAID TO MAKE YOUR MARK UPON LIFE'S PAGE.And just like that the new notebook spell is broken and the pen is free to write again.