The Atoma system consists of a set of discs and punched paper. The paper slips onto the discs and, crucially, slips off again without any unclipping or tearing. This makes it simple to reposition sheets of paper or take them out to scan. Our notebooks feature a blank, customisable box on the front cover for labelling and recording your musings.

If I wasn’t using my Roterfaden (which I’ll come to in a moment) then my perfect system would be Atoma discs and covers with Staples paper, plus a Staples hole punch if I wanted to get even more customised. This is almost perfect.It turns out the Arc and Atoma systems are identical in function. The sheets can be mixed and matched because the hole punching is exactly the same. When I first discovered this I thought I’d be buying a Staples Arc hole punch so I could make up my own notebooks using Rhodia paper and the Atoma discs. Mushrooms are having a moment. Be it because of the aesthetic trends of cottagecore or dark academia, a real passion for all things earthy and natural, or the fact fungi are just damn cool, mushrooms are everywhere. You can find mushrooms both outdoors in fairy circles or garden beds, as well as inside on tote bags, wallpaper, and indeed, bookish goods. First, some differences between the Atoma and Arc systems. The Arc discs are plastic. The Atoma discs are metal and feel a much higher quality. Atoma make some very interesting and beautiful looking covers; Staples have a good range of functional, yet far from ugly, covers. There’s no doubt that Atoma are going for the luxury part of the market and Staples are going for the budget and middle parts. I’ve written about the system I’ve been using. There’s nothing wrong with this except it’s rather ungainly. I’m a tinkerer though and always on the lookout for the next best thing. There was a distinct possibility the Atoma system might be it. When my illustrious United Inkdom colleague Mr. S Monboddo sent me a customised Atoma/Rhodia notebook, my interest was piqued. Here was a notebook system that had the potential to be everything I needed it to be for work.