I’m somewhat of an unlikely nerd. Well, it doesn’t seem unlikely to me, but often seems to come as a surprise to others. Apparently, if you’re blond and wear red lipstick, you cannot be one. (Feminist is the other thing you cannot be with characteristics like these. And guess what…)

It depends on how one defines a nerd, of course, but if you take your cue from Wikipedia that says a nerd “may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, obscure, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical or relating to topics of fiction or fantasy”, I certainly qualify. I don’t think that social awkwardness and glasses are necessary for being a nerd, but I used to be/have both, AND to represent my school in mathematics, physics and chemistry competitions.

So my nerd credentials are – or at least used to be – impeccable. I have been a massive science-fiction and fantasy reader since childhood, but these days I feel my perfume interest to be more nerdy, as SF has gone so mainstream (which I applaud). Being interested in proper perfume – as opposed to only the trendy Le Labos and Byredos – seems to be far more niche. Incidentally, when I was visiting Now Smell This in the beginning, it reminded me a lot of SF/F forums, with all the acronyms and insider jargon.

Anyway, to come to the subject of this post, I have been searching for the perfect notebook for a long time. I will confess, I wanted to buy something expensive, in buttery leather and in an exciting colour. Maybe this Smythson in Nile Blue or that Hermes is orange. But somehow, I never came to the point of actually buying anything, nothing seemed quite right. Until yesterday, when I saw this beauty in Brussel’s Cook & Book.

This is Moleskine’s Star Wars 2015/2016 weekly notebook diary/planner and I cannot wait to take it out at my next meeting. I absolutely love the design and I like Moleskine notebooks in general, although I’m not quite as crazy about them as seems to be the norm lately. I thought this was the perfect notebook for me, until I say this Alice in Wonderland one on Moleskine web site. “We Are All Mad Here” would work even better at the meetings I frequent.