Just a few months ago, I hadn't ever heard of Moleskine, let alone know about the global fan culture that exists for these little notebooks. When I first saw them in a display in a business bookstore in London, I was taken by their design and functionality as much as by the evocative marketing. Now, about nine weeks later, I've bought my third Moleskine, this small squared "reporter" notebook.
I know some people take their Moleskines deep into the jungle, on exotic global treks, or journey with them to the very heights of imagination or contemplation. In that spirit, I take this notebook to the harshest environment I regularly encounter: the gymnasium. My previous gym notepad eventually ended up looking pretty thrashed. I'm confident the Moleskine will fare better, both because it's smaller and because of the fairly sturdy cover.
If I do have one complaint, though, it's about that cover. It doesn't flip fully over to the back, the way the cover on a spiral-bound notebook can, so when you're reading or writing in it, the top sort of flops around. (Maybe the top *does* flip over, and I just haven't brought myself to brualize the notebook that much yet. But it's not obvious it's designed to do so.) Still, it's a solid, attractive, functional, and easily portable notebook. And in a utilitarian environment like a gym, that's a very good set of characteristics to have.