Donnie, I felt the same way you do. What's the big hoopla? I looked and looked for a Moleskine, but couldn't find a shop local to me.

Yesterday, I happened to walk into a Utrecht art supply store, and there they were at the front counter--on sale, even! The minute I saw it and picked it up and felt it, I understood what everyone was talking about. It just feels nice. I picked up a regular size one and a mini one.

My problem now is that I don't feel like I have writing instrument that respects the notebook enough. How silly is that?

But, seriously, go find one and take a look at it. I think that's the only way to determine if you're going to be bitten by the bug. You can certainly get by with any other notebook (I know I have until this point), but there's something about these that speaks to me....and, obviously, a lot of other people, too. :)