Marketing ploy aside, I like the feel of this journal, and the quality of the paper.  I write mostly with a fine capless Pilot fountain pen, and the paper just lets the pen glide across it with no bleeding or splotching.  There is some see through on the opposite side of the page, but not enough to bother me.  The binding is firm enough to write on the first few left side pages without needing a desk underneath it, and it has a nice feel to it.  There are about 20 or so pages of Hobbit material to wade through until you reach the first page, but if you're nerdy like me and chose this journal over a plain one, you won't mind that at all.