"Why pay a dollar for a bookmark?
Why not use the dollar for a bookmark?"
~ Fred Stoller
When I was little, the bookmark rack was one of my favorite things in a bookstore. Perhaps this is only because it was usually located near the checkout line and was something to look at while waiting, but even now I tend to browse bookmarks before leaving a bookstore and often include them when giving a book as a gift. I rarely buy them for myself as I've collected some fun ones over the years. My favorites are a few from The Lord of The Rings, a promo one signed by Heather Webber, and a beautiful bamboo one painted with herons that was a gift from a friend in Japan (which I almost hesitate to use because it's so lovely!). I also have several others which I've picked up from the library, booksellers, or book fairs. And yet, even with these lovely page holders, my current read almost always contains an expired train pass or transit card sandwiched between the pages! Usually when I pull a book off the shelf to take with me in the morning, I rarely grab a bookmark to go with it and end up pulling out whatever is handy in my purse to mark my spot resulting in a receipt, an old coupon, or any random scrap of paper taking the place of honor that should go to one of my pretty bookmarks. So the question of the day is, what do you use as a bookmark? Do you have a favorite item with which to hold your place or does any random scrap work for you? Ever use a dollar to mark your page?
Posts
July 7, 2010 at 11:31 AM
I'm all about remembering (and then forgetting) the page I'm on...post-its, receipts, gum wrappers have all been used.
I hardly ever use my pretty bookmarks.
When I worked at the library, we'd flip through EVERY book that came in and pull out all sorts of markers. Store bought, photos, boarding passes, you name it. And we'd hold them all in the lost and found. So if you ever forget to remove your book mark before you return a book, chances are it's waiting for you!
July 7, 2010 at 12:51 PM
I have never used a bookmark till now. I will just see the page number and tell it twice or thrice to myself before closing the book.
July 7, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Great bookmark photo!
I have a ton of bookmarks and I use them! The bookmark I'm currently using was one I purchased on a field trip in 6th grade. It says, "A woman must do twice as much as a man to be considered half as good. Fortunately it isn't difficult!"
July 7, 2010 at 1:28 PM
I have a whole box full of shiny bookmarks; some small, some big, some that I've bought, some that I've been given, some home-made, some from BookCrossing, some with pictures of fluffy animals, some book strings and some with advertisements for bookstores. How many of them do I ever use? One. There are two reasons for this: 1) I very rarely read more than one book at a time, so I don't need more than one bookmark, and 2) It's quite long and made of plastic, so it fits in all my books and doesn't get ruined easily. But I do love bookmarks, and have trouble staying away from the bookmark stands in bookstores. They're so pretty!
July 7, 2010 at 2:36 PM
i tend to sadly use recycled pieces of paper for bookmarks. even sadder though, won't bookmarks go away once we are "all" using kindles etc? :(
July 7, 2010 at 2:44 PM
last folded corner.. alright alright don't lend me your books :(
July 10, 2010 at 8:21 AM
I've never used a dollar to mark a book, but then our smallest notes here in the UK is a £5 note and that's quite an expensive bookmark! I usually use a proper bookmark, usually one that I've been given by a bookshop or publisher, but sometimes I'll use a business card or postcard.
July 10, 2010 at 10:19 PM
Ellen - I'm sure I've left plenty of crazy pseudo-bookmarks in library books. Actually my library prints a due date receipt when you check out books so I usually use those and every once in while I find one in a book I'm reading - I always think it's neat to look at what other books were checked out by the person who checked out a book before me!
Selva - Great memory! I'd have to read books in one sitting if that was my method!
CNS - Love the quote!
Hilde - That's true, I usually only need one at a time but even one seems too much to remember to bring along.
Bryan - Awww. I loved bookmarks as a kid though and even if digital reading does take over, I think paper books will still be around for the kiddies, no?
Vishwas - Dog-eared pages??? I shudder at the very thought....
Niki-ann - Well, I have seen some pretty pricey bookmarks but it wouldn't be practical for my budget. ;) I like the idea of using a postcard, especially if it had a pretty picture or was sent from a friend or loved one - a happy little note every time you opened the book!
July 11, 2010 at 7:50 AM
Bookmarks, yes, they always fascinate me. I love the ones with a tassle or a metal dangly thing on the end. SOmething ancient or old-fashioned.
But I never buy them. I never use them. I have several magnetic ones with Art Nouveau prints on them, but they rarely get used. Sad, I've developed the bad habit of dog-earing.
July 14, 2010 at 1:22 AM
My favorite bookmarks tend to be a piece of paper such as a flashcard lately. I know - that's not very pretty - but I love that I can write on it. I'll write just about anything on it. I love bookmarks with tassels and such but unfortunately, my cats love them, too.
July 14, 2010 at 12:19 PM
mwo - I like the idea of old-fashioned looking bookmarks and ones with prints sound very neat as well. I think I might be more okay with dog-eared pages if I read in longer spurts. I feel like I get interrupted a lot so if I was folding corners there would be sections of my books with every page marked!
Kerian - Actually I used to use index cards as bookmarks a lot! It was helpful when I came across a quoteable passage, I could copy it straight out of the book onto the card. And (although I'm sure it's not very fun) it's kind of cute that your cats like tasseled bookmarks too! Maybe they learned an attraction to books from you!