Take notes!
The cheapest notebooks get much nicer and personal if you dress them with a piece of oilcloth.
First plot of the book’s cover on the oilcloth. Be extra careful so that the transition at the back doesn’t become scarce amount. If it does it gets hard to dress the book with the oilcloth.
Cut out and glew the oilcloth on the notebook. Make sure it sticks.
To make sure that you can hold the book together and to have something to put your notes under, it’s a good idea to sew an elastic band on to the notebook.