Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Short review: This is a beautiful journal. It is 90% what you see in the pictures. A couple of things (not clearly explained) gave it a slight star deduction - but it might just be my copy. I give it 4 stars - it is just a really interesting and fun book to hold and look at even before you make it your own. I deducted a star for some very minor "QC" issues. I'll list them below. Minus 1/2 star: Not truly "full grain" buffalo leather - its just not. Yes, I know what full grain buffalo leather is like, and it is much thicker than what is being included here. If this is important for you, you may even want to give this a full 1 star deduction. It does not mean that this cover is bad. It is just not "full grain" as advertised. Considering the overall beauty of the book itself, it does not detract significantly from its overall appearance. However, in terms of durability, the current cover cannot match the durability found with "full grain" leather. Minus 1/2 star: The pages for my book were significantly misaligned. As in, there are several instances where the top of the page is off by around 3/4 inch and the bottom part of the page has been folded over by 3/4 inch because it is sticking out of the leather cover so much. I understand that the pages are supposed to look "uneven" but this is simply a case of misalignment. It is different. "Uneven" meaning the pages may differ in size, but you do not have a slanted and folded page in your book. Misaligned means your pages are bound in the book off center, and though it is a "rectangular page" it is completely skewed so that you get an angular fold in the pages that stick out. Think of it like: "Slightly uneven" adds to the interesting nature of this book. "Misaligned" just makes it feel cheap and hastily put together. "Longer review:" I say "longer" but this is not necessarily "longer." I'm just adding some further details and opinions about this book - it is not the basic skeletal structure of my "short" review, so if you are pressed for time, feel free to skip over this part. This just makes the review "longer than it has to be." So I really like this book. The texture, paper, coloring, artificial ageing of the book is all very interesting to look at. Super fun. Leather cover, I would like really liked if it were truly full grain buffalo leather - it is not. The paper on mine is askew - I do not think that every single copy will be like this, so you could probably ignore this if it isn't something greatly important for you. In terms of how many pages - there is 100 in the one I received. Ten larger sheets, folded into halves, and 5 sectional "halves" total in the whole book. It looks like they used leather strips to bind the pages. Use these pages wisely, as this makes the price of this book quite high for only 100 pages! Paper looks and feels really thick. There was a sticker on the plastic bag that says they used Egyptian cotton in its composition. Maybe. I haven't had any mileage with this book yet - just received today. Can't say if inks will bleed or feather, BUT, I will update if there is any interest in it (please let me know by clicking on the "helpful" icon). Until then, they are very thick sheets - I do not think ink will bleed through, although feathering could be a different story. I have known cotton "paper" sheets to hold up very well with water colors etc. BUT I do not know how these sheets were put together. They could just fall apart when they come in contact with water. Hopefully not though! As for the price, I do feel it is a bit expensive for what it is - It is important to note the number of pages you are getting in the other offerings here on Amazon. Now, you've read this far, and I don't want to leave you without any suggestions as I feel I owe you that much at least - Not a lot of paper? No problem! Amazon sells 100% cotton sheets of paper right here for around 20 bucks a box! Not as thick, but you kind of want that. Why? Because you can stick these additional pages into your book and they won't affect the "thickness" of the book itself so much - of course this depends upon how many sheets you are planning on sticking in. Not the right color? Sure... but it could be satisfying for you to let your own cotton paper "age" itself! Or maybe you can fill those pages with your marvelous artwork, and nobody will be the wiser as to what the base color of your paper was from the start! Just saying! Thanks for reading this far! If you got some useful suggestions or even just a chuckle out of my review, share the love and click on that "helpful" icon! I might have some more helpful insights going forward!