Comment on On Notebooks and Pens by Robert Breen

In reply to <a href="https://robertbreen.com/2025/03/07/on-notebooks-and-pens/#comment-1041">curtismchale</a>. Hey, that's great to hear about the bolt action pen. Let me know what you think of the Pentel Energel when you get it. It's been a game-changer for this lefty.

Comment on On Notebooks and Pens by curtismchale

I have the bolt action Big Idea pen and it's great. Also going to try out your ink as another lefty.

On Notebooks and Pens

Despite a love for digital tools, I think best with pen and paper. This post shares the analog tools I use along with a surprising new purchase.

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Comment on Read Better with Craft and Readwise by Elevate Your Online Reading with Matter - Robert Breen

[…] have long been a fan of Readwise, a reading app and service for organizing book highlights and notes. About three years ago, Readwise launched Reader, its own read-it-later app that integrates with […]

Comment on Why Blogs Matter by Robert Breen

In reply to <a href="https://robertbreen.com/2025/02/06/why-blogs-matter/#comment-1028">Steve Mitchell</a>. Thank you, Steve. How many hours have I spent poring over your blog posts when I was outfitting Indiscretion? So many! I still remember meeting you for the first time in Poulsbo after reading your blog and Instagrams. Some of the best friendships start from a blog!

Comment on Why Blogs Matter by Steve Mitchell

Bob, Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and your "Why a Blog" section in particular. I think one thing I've struggled with, and I see in many other people, over the last 10-15 years is meaningful connections. As the internet has grown, and social media has dominated a lot of how people interact, I feel as if those platforms have reduced the quality of a connection to something less valuable. A blog, or a newsletter in many cases, has a much more personal connection in my mind. You're writing something and just hanging it out there for someone to read, ingest, and process. The hope is that they get something from it, and my personal hope is that they form a connection with me and communicate with me to let me know how it affected them. I've appreciated your posts for a number of years, and love seeing the comments, the links to other places, and falling down good rat holes in exploring new subjects, new apps, new ways of reading. Don't stop!

Comment on Elevate Your Online Reading with Matter by Robert Breen

In reply to <a href="https://robertbreen.com/2025/02/27/elevate-your-online-reading-with-matter/#comment-1002">Patrick</a>. You’re so right about the lame access you get with Matter without committing to a subscription. I am 100% positive it is holding back new customers. That’s one of the reasons I wrote the post. I read your post on GoodLinks back in January. I love everything about that app, except its lack of Readwise integration. The GoodLinks developer has his act together. I wouldn’t be surprised to see RW integration added as a new feature at some point. Cheers!

Comment on Bear 2 for Writing and Thinking by Richard Earney

In reply to <a href="https://robertbreen.com/2024/02/23/bear-2-for-writing-and-thinking/#comment-537">Robert Breen</a>. A few things can be used to hit those Apple Notes negs *NotesCmdr:* https://smallest.app/notescmdr/ Notion like commands *ProNotes:* https://www.pronotes.app adds more Word Processor type features Exporter: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/exporter/id1099120373?mt=12 For backing up Apple Notes

Comment on Elevate Your Online Reading with Matter by Patrick

I'd tried Matter in the early(ish) days, but couldn't see anything special about it. After reading this I downloaded the app again (of course I did!). You're not kidding about the free trial limitations Robert: they're shooting themselves in the foot. It's made even worse by the fact that their on-boarding 1) forces you to subscribe and 2) doesn't mention any limitations on the 7-day trial. And: when trying to access those unavailable features (they tell you to swipe down to see suggestions) the app pops-up the same subscription panel you've already filled—urging you to subscribe...again? If I hadn't read your account (and wholeheartedly trust your judgment), I'd think it was a buggy app asking me for $99 CAD/year. I love the idea of Readwise integration (and feel the same way you do RE their Reader app), but I'm sticking with GoodLinks for now. Great post though—made me look :)

Comment on Why Blogs Matter by Elevate Your Online Reading with Matter - Robert Breen

[…] few weeks ago, I wrote an essay about why blogs matter. In it, I described the long-pull value of connecting with others through writing and sharing […]

Elevate Your Online Reading with Matter

After living with some frustrations with Readwise Reader, I looked around for a new read-it-later app. Matter emerged as the top choice for its design, functionality, and unique content discovery features.

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Comment on Why Blogs Matter by Weeknotes #313 — Recovery – Andrew Doran

[…] Robert Breen on Why Blogs Matter. […]

Why Blogs Matter

Reflections on the importance of blogging after ten years of writing for robertbreen.com.

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My Year of Reading in 2024

A look back at the best books I read in 2024, progress on some long-term reading projects, and an update on the tools I'm using in my reading workflow.

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Celebrating Three Years of Sobriety

I passed my third anniversary of giving up alcohol today. I thought I would share some background on this milestone and why I decided to stop drinking. I have a long history with alcohol.  Maybe it’s the genetics mapped deep in my Irish blood or an inheritance from longstanding tradition, but alcoholism runs in the […]

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How A Hidden Feature in Bear Changed the Way I Review Notes

This is the second of what might become a series of posts about how I use the Bear app to improve how I leverage notes in my reading and thinking. This is not a topic that will interest many, but writing a blog offers its indulgences. Unless your interests lie in the nerdier aspects of […]

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The End of Private Libraries

There seem to be two kinds of people on this earth—those who love books and everyone else. The bookish have always been far outnumbered, and the gap must be widening in this age of endless digital entertainment. I count myself among the proud minority, but a book, of all things, has brought into question my […]

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Bear 2 for Writing and Thinking

For the past six weeks, I’ve been evaluating an app to replace Craft for my reading notes.  This post shares the reasons I’m moving away from Craft and why Bear 2 might be the best app around for writing and thinking on the Mac and iPad. Craft and the Value of Connected Notes I use […]

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Reading The Story of Civilization

In the spring of last year, I started reading The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant. This is no quick undertaking. Spanning eleven volumes and 10,000 pages, it will take me the rest of this year to finish. The first volume was published in 1935 when Durant had just turned 50. He published […]

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My Two Journals

I surprised myself a little over a year ago by writing in a paper journal every morning. The surprise wasn’t that I was keeping a journal but that I was doing it by hand. I had been using the Day One journaling app to record my private thoughts for over a decade. But this was no […]

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