Last Friday, we talked about Bibles and notebooks -- and I promised to say more about the ultimate notebook, the Allan's Journal. Let's take a look ... Allan Journal 2

This is the Pocket Journal. It measures 5.75 by 4 inches, has 192 pages, and is bound in Morocco goatskin with a single ribbon marker and art-gilt page edges. A larger Standard Journal, which measures 7.75 x 5.0625 is also available.

Allan Journal 1

It comes in a slipcase, too, which is nice. Right now, only the Standard Journal is listed at Bibles-Direct.com, where it sells for £10 -- about $20 in play money. The Personal Journal listed for £8, which works out to about $16. For some perspective, a large Moleskine journal, which measures 8.25 x 5.25 retails for $15, and last time I checked it was not bound in goatskin. Or slipcased. It probably can't do this, either:

Allan Journal 5

Don't get me wrong, I love Moleskines, but one of the things I can't figure out is why I don't have more Allan's Journals. I ordered one and loved it -- but it was so nice I couldn't bring myself to write in it. (Which is good for you, since you get to see the pristine article.) This stockpiling instinct is a habit of mine. When Moleksines were re-introduced in 2001, I bought out every stock of them I could find, figuring something so good couldn't possibly stay on the market. I was wrong, but as a result I have a long-since-paid-for supply of notebooks. Still, I need some more Allan's Journals. They are splendid, just like the Bibles.

Allan Journal 4

The pages are lined, and as I mentioned before, the edges have the red-gold art-gilt treatment familiar from Allan's Bibles. The quality is really impressive. Not long ago, I was at the bookstore looking for leather-bound journals with sewn bindings, since the Moleskine hardback isn't as flexible as I'd like for pocket carry. I had a hard time finding any -- most of the offerings seem to be glued, even when the covers are touted as quality Florentine leather. Then I remembered the Allan's Journal, quietly slipcased on my shelf. "What am I doing?" I said. I already had what I was looking for.

Allan Journal 6

These journals even have head and tail bands like the Bibles. Not too shabby, huh? To give you a real-world idea of the Personal Journal's size, here it is with the Allan's Crystal KJV:

Allan Journal 7

And here's another image, this time coupled with a red Moleskine journal, which measures 5.5 x 3.5:

Allan Journal 8

Now I'm not saying we should trade in our Moleskines, but last Friday's post was about what journals go best with our Bibles, and it's hard to imagine a better match than an Allan's Bible with an Allan's Journal. The Standard Journal would be a great match with an Allan's ESV, for example. So next time you place an order with the the glorious ones in Glasgow, maybe you should include a journal or two. That's my plan.

Allan Journal 3

J. MARK BERTRAND

J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.

Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.

Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

http://www.lectio.org
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