Expensive? Yes. Pretentious? I reluctantly admit it. Useful? Incredibly so. I use notebooks all the time to document thoughts, ideas, drawings, etc., and I've used any number of brands of these small, nicely bound notebooks. But, alas, none has quite compared to the Moleskine. The quality of the pages of this sketchbook is high, and the stock is thicker than the standard Moleskin notebook. Unlike many other brands of notebooks, ink generally doesn't seep through to the other side with this, and the binding is also very strong, which is always a plus. Obviously, if you carry this thing around, you may appear to be quite the smug, obnoxious pseudointellectual-- but ultimately, I find it the perfect vessel for my "stuff, " and maybe that's more important than vanity. You gotta have priorities.