I admit I have a weakness for paper. Printed matter of any kind (including the dollar bills and Gandhi thatha notes) intrigue me, draw me to them like a magnet and I am quite helpless to this addiction. Leave me in a book store and I can stay for hours just browsing. Genre does not matter – any book, any language, any cover attracts me. I can flip through the pages, enjoy the feeling of holding a book in my hand for hours. It is my obsession, my vice.

The past few weeks I have been on the hunt for the perfect journal. Sometimes I wonder why I need a journal when I blog but I realized I created an easy excuse to write because I want to buy a journal. I promised/resolved that I will think twice or more before buying books this year. The past year more often than not, the trips to the book stores to satisfy my lust and craving have left my wallet considerably lighter. So, after thinking over the prospect of buying a journal I convinced myself by creating an excuse that writing on paper with pen builds character. Yes, I know it is absolute BS but it convinced me and keeps me on-track with at least one of my 2009 resolutions.

The search lead me through Papyrus, Borders, Barnes and Noble and at each store I spent hours browsing but got no where closer to buying the journal that I could visualize in my mind so clearly. In my mind, my journal reflects me vividly. Every color, every image on the cover convey something close to my heart. I was of course ready to compromise somewhere but none of the journals I looked at where even half-way to what I wanted. I did end up buying one which was kind of what I wanted but I would have been happier if I had different colors and had different images on the cover.

Custom-made journals may be the solution. Anyone like me around? Anyone knows where to find custom-made journals in US or in India? Or do you know a store that has a huge collection of journals?

Meanwhile, the hunt for the perfect journal continues….