Our Favorite Stationary Products

Désirée Worrall-BélangerAugust 24, 2024

Buckle up, readers, because we’re talking stationery today. If there’s one thing about me – other than the fact that I’m a reader and have a serious book-buying problem – it is that I am a HUGE stationery fan... and might also have a serious stationery-buying problem, but anyway, I digress. Back-to-school season has been my favorite time of year for so long. I was always eager to get a new set of pencils or a new pen and notebook to kick off the new school year. So obviously, I’ve gathered some experience over the years. That said, here are some of my favorite stationery products that I’ve used throughout middle school, high school, university, and now as someone who works a 9-5. And a little bonus? These are also great for annotating if that’s your thing!

Pens I recommend

There are two pens that are my absolute ride-or-die: 1. Pentel EnerGel Liquid Gel Ink Pens in 0.5mm (for my fellow annotators, beware of this pen as it might show through if your book pages are super thin! Although I haven’t actually had any bleed-through experiences with this one). 2. MUJI Gel Ink Ball Point Pen in either 0.7mm or 0.5mm, preferably the “click” type. For annotators, I would recommend sticking to the 0.5mm ones.

Highlighters I recommend

1. Zebra Mildliners are a CLASSIC for me. I’m especially fond of the brush pen ones as they’re great for making calligraphy headers, but regular highlighters as well. For annotators, you might deal with some bleed-through with these ones, although I’ve had better chances with the brush pens than the regular Mildliners. 2. UNI Propus Window Highlighters. These have the little clear windows to help you see what you’re highlighting, and they are SO smooth. I’ve used these to annotate multiple times, and they work like a charm!

Planners I recommend

Hear me out... It is a PAIN to find a decent planner for me. I’ve gone through the cycle of buying a planner in August, using it for the first two months of school, and then having to find another one because it just didn’t work for me – until this year (talk about perfect timing, right? Literally found it A WEEK after I graduated uni). Of all places, I found it on the Urban Outfitters website. It’s the “Oh Deer Daily Planner.” The pages are undated (A DREAM), the left side has a massive To-Do list + a timetable that ranges from 6 am to midnight, and the bottom of that page has sections for “Urgent, Not Urgent, Important, and Not Important.” Over on the right, you’ve got a HUGE notes section and a place for doodles. Of course, this is not for everyone, but for my type of scheduling system, this planner is pure GOLD!!

Stationery supplies to use

Fable readers shared their favorite stationery supplies on the Fable For You feed.Tell us about your favorite stationery supplies in the Fable app!

"I love Golden Coil notebooks and journals." - Nicole

"I was introduced to Muji pens last year and they are the best pens I've ever used!! I am obsessed!!" - Sammy

"Team Muji all the way!" - apple pie

"I am obsessed with the Staedtler triplus roller and fineliner. All other pens pale in comparison." - Ellen

"Stone and a chisel." - Vikings Can Read

"Muji, Zebra Sarasa, Zebra Blen, and Pentel Calme pens to write on highlighting tabs and post-its." - JoannaMarieCurie

"I use Mr. Pen bible pens and highlighters. Since they are made for bibles' thin pages they don't bleed or show through." - Heidi

"Being a wannabe librarian, I love me some archival ink." - mak

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