u/DIYYYner

Hiya, psa friends!

I've been out of the psychoanalytic field since roughly 2013, and I'm heading back in, knowing I'm out of the loop when it comes to current writing on a various topics I'm interested in. I'm wondering if folks have recommendations for authors and/or articles/books to check out on the areas listed above.

I'd love a mix of writing by clinicians and those in the humanities, if possible. (My dissertation was about feminist queer theories of utopia and everyday activism and their promise for informing clinical practice. In other words, I'm a big fan of interdisciplinarity in psa.) It's ok, though, if the sources come from one or the other area of study only.

In case it's helpful, I'm particularly interested in what psychoanalytic writers are saying these days about Freud's work on the death drive and lay/wild analysis, as well as the status of drive theory in general, as it relates to the role of psa in alleviating individual suffering and making the wider world a freer, more capacious place to live.

Any suggestions at all - or just ideas about where to start looking - would be deeply appreciated. Either way, thanks for reading this!

p.s. I do have a copy of On Freud's The Question of Lay Analysis, edited by Sandler and Costa back in 2019.

Hiya, Dallas friends! I searched but didn’t find anything recent on this and wondered if someone might have an idea for me.

I write non-fiction essays and would love to find a friendly group - facilitated or not/paid or free - to help me get better at it. The topics I typically focus on include feminism, psychoanalytic theory, queer political affect theory, relational trauma, and moral injury. Yes, these are super specific subjects, but I thought I’d mention them just in case there’s a random group out there with vaguely overlapping interests. I usually incorporate autobiography into what I write, so a group focused on memoir could be a good fit, too.

FWIW, I’m kind of old now (51), and I live in Uptown. I’m not picky about the ages represented in a group or where it meets, though.

Any suggestions at all - even ones you think might not be helpful - would be very much appreciated. Either way, thanks for reading this :)

UPDATE: THANK you to everyone who responded! The answers weee really helpful.

In case someone else has a similar question and sees this, here’s what I’ve learned about the options currently available - at least in the US. (I’m looking at A5-sized books, but some of these - Sterling Ink and Odyssey brands, specifically- come in other sizes.)

1.) Clairefontaine Age Bag Notebook - only the thread bound “essential” version, not the cloth bound, has numbered pages, comes with 192 pages, 7 mm ruled or dot grid (not sure what size grid.)

2.) Leuchtturm1917 Notebook - aim for the 120 gsm version if you want to use broader nibs/wetter inks, comes with 203 pages, ruled, blank, or dot grid (not sure of the grid sizing or ruled spacing.)

3.) Sterling Ink Notebook (52 gsm Koji paper) - comes with 272 or 520 pages, but only in a grid version, and the grid size is pretty small (3.7 x 3.9 mm.)

4.) Odyssey Notebooks (68 gsm Tomoe River Paper) - comes with 48, 200, 300, 400, or 500 pages and 7 mm ruled, 5 mm graph, or 5 mm dot grid.

The least expensive in terms of initial cost are the 48-page Odyssey booklets ($8) and the Clairefontaine notebooks ($22.) Sterling Ink is probably the best value in terms of price per page, though, with Odyssey coming in second.

I’m likely going with Odyssey, since it meets all the criteria I had and will be long-lasting.

Hi commonplace friends,

After several months of feeling too intimidated to get started, I’ve made the decision to set aside my fears of getting it wrong and tiptoe into the world of messy commonplacing.

One thing that would really help me get going is a notebook with pre-numbered pages that’s fountain pen friendly - and, ideally, lined instead of gridded. (I’m post traumatic brain injury and have dysgraphia that makes my numbers, specifically, somewhat hard to read.)

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I’d be super grateful for them. Either way, thanks for reading this and look forward to getting to know this sub better :)

UPDATE: Thanks so much for all the helpful replies! I managed to get approved to join the FC Facebook group and got the latest news.

She’s planning to release more 2027 planners at the end of September and then again in late October/early November.

Only the preorders come bundled with a pencil board and planner tabs, but she’s going to put up what she has left of each of these as separate listing for purchase in late September, too.

In the meantime, I’ve seen a few people post their preordered planners for sale - not a lot, but a few.

It’s definitely worth joining the Faded Chronicle Facebook group if you’re interested in their 2027 planners!

Hiya, planner friends! I don’t know how I missed it, but I just discovered that the Faded Chronicle A5 setup is exactly what I’ve been looking for in a planner for next year. I want one so much.

Alas, the preorder’s all sold out. Does anyone know how likely it is that I’ll be able to get my hands on one once they’ve finished shipping what’s already been ordered? Also, any sense of the timeline for ordering as part of that second round? I just want to make sure I don’t miss the remaining ones when they’re released.

All insights, including from last year, would be much appreciated!

FOUND ONE! :)

Hiya, pen_swap. I'd like to get a Waterman Carene with a medium nib in amber with gold trim, and I thought I'd check here before ordering online. Does anyone have one of these that they'd like to sell? If so, I'd love to hear from you.

All sub rules apply. Please comment here before messaging me directly :)

I think I'm probably going to have to just sacrifice the space inside my TN and get a regular A5 notebook cut to size, but I wanted to check before going this route:

Does anyone make a TN-sized insert with 120ish pages of *lined,* or ruled, TRP? I see lots of options for plain or graph paper but nothing with lined sheets.

Is there someone who offers these that I've overlooked?

Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated :)

I currently have a Sneaker Weeks Mega in a regular Weeks plastic cover. I got it because I wanted to keep my Weeks as slim as possible/not put anything bulkier on it. It's working all right, but the plastic gets scratched up, the book doesn't slide in and out of spaces as easily with the plastic on, and I've also been wanting to reduce my reliance on plastics where I can.

I recently discovered Midori MD's paper notebook covers (see THIS one, for example) and love them. They add no bulk and are surprisingly sturdy. Also, they're not plastic.

I'd love to put my Hobo Weeks in the same type of cover and wondered if anyone knows of someone who makes them? Or something like them - like, something made of cloth, maybe?

Any ideas for where to look would be much appreciated! Either way, thanks for reading this :)

I’m using a Cousin and a Weeks this year but am trying out various layouts and setups for next year. Do other people do this? And if so, do you keep filling out the planner you’re already using or abandon it while you test out something else?

I’m using a Cousin and a Weeks this year but am trying out various layouts and setups for next year. Do other people do this? And if so, do you keep filling out the planner you’re already using or abandon it while you test out something else?

Currently, I'm rocking a Hobonichi Weeks Mega and a Hobonichi Cousin. I'm in both multiple times every day, but I'm not using all of either planner. The sections I use in the Weeks are the yearly tracker in the front (for logging migraines and seizures), the horizontal weekly pages (for events and to-dos) and the notes pages in the back (for, umm, notes.) The only section I use regularly in the Cousin is the daily one (for daily priorities, logging what I'm up to, and brief memory-keeping/journaling entries).

It would be really nice to have everything in one place instead of juggling two separate books, but I haven't come across a planner that combines a horizontal weekly section with daily pages and a large number of blank pages.

Does this exist? I'd love to have it be B6-sized, but I'm open to all other sizes.

Or alternatively, is there some sort of Traveler's Notebook setup that would accommodate a tracker insert (maybe I could use a monthly for this), a dated horizontal weekly insert that spans 12 months, a dated daily insert (which could be part of the year only), and a notes insert? I've been tempted to try to lash a Weeks and a Hobonichi A6 techo or Cousin together into some kind of cover, but I don't know what size cover would work without it being awkward to write in one or the other book.

All ideas/suggestions/thoughts would be super appreciated. Either way, thanks for reading this long essay.

So I've reached what some folks might call the "one in, one out" stage in my FP journey. I have lots of good - and some fantastic - pens in my collection, and I want to hone it now so that it includes only those that truly accommodate the way I write. This will involve getting rid of some pens, yes, but also replacing them with options that work better for me.

For context, I'm a lefty (underwriter) who was diagnosed with dysgraphia as a child. I am also a brain injury survivor. Fountain pens have been integral to my recovery from the latter and have helped me overcome the former.

While my handwriting and grip have improved, I still tend to rotate the nibs of my pens to the right, especially when I'm fatigued. This means that I frequently struggle with skipping when I write with pens that have really specific sweet spots.

For some reason, Asvines have been falling into this category for me, along with some of my vintage pens, like my Lady Sheaffers and Parker 45. I don't struggle with this with the Platinum 3776, Pilot Kakunos, or Sailors I own.

I'm wondering if people on here have other recommendations for pens that are forgiving when it comes to sweet spots - either because they have a large one or none at all. Any pens you've found that fit this description? I'd love to hear about all of them.

Thanks for reading this and look forward to any comments :)

Hi, you all! I'm currently stuck in notebook limbo and could really use some help. I love my Hobonichi lined notebooks for journaling, but I want to be able to use all my fountain pens in my notebook and can't right now because some of my inks bleed through the paper pretty badly.

I almost went back to Midori MD notebooks, which is what I was using before and which don't bleed, but after trying this out, I realized that there's just no comparison between Midori and TRP when it comes to showing off ink qualities. It hurt my heart, for example, to write with Diamine Lady Grey in my Hobonichi and then in a Midori and realize how differently the ink flows and looks between the two.

I'm wondering whether I should try to track down a 68 GSM TRP notebook to help with the bleeding? (I'm in the US and don't know where to find one so could use some recs on that front, too.)

Does anyone have experience with the two weights and know whether the 68 GSM would make a substantial enough difference to solve bleeding issues?

Or is there another paper I'm not thinking of that's accessible to someone in the US and might fit the bill of both showing off ink qualities really well and not bleeding. (I've tried Rhodia and found it didn't show off ink qualities very well, but it is smooth and doesn't bleed, which is nice.)

Any thoughts, suggestions, etc. would be deeply appreciated. Thank you so much for reading!

Hi, planner friends! I’ve been using a Hobonichi Weeks for appointments, tasks, and note-taking and a Hobonichi Cousin for daily logs, tracking habits, and memory-keeping this year. The system’s been ok, and the paper is great for my fountain pens, but I would love to have everything in one place and portable enough for my purse.

In an ideal world, the daily pages for each week would follow the weekly pages, but that’s not essential. I have no preference when it comes to horizontal or vertical weekly pages. I just need space on those pages for adding weekly tasks.

Any recommendations?