Monday, November 21, 2011

Lost and Forgotten



I'll admit to using all kinds of strange things to mark my page in a book: envelopes, pictures, a popsicle stick.

 I featured the blog Forgotten Bookmarks about a year-and-a-half ago and also follow on Twitter.

Michael Popek is a used and rare bookseller who blogs about the personal, funny, heartbreaking and weird things he finds in books.

Some examples:


(Mrs. Eisenhower's Fudge recipe)


(a check from 1940-something)


(A checklist of names, some crossed off with the word BAD next to the name)


I'd say he has one of the coolest jobs EVER! 


And now he has a BOOK out called FORGOTTEN BOOKMARKS (another GREAT holiday gift idea!):





What do you use to mark books?

28 comments:

Sarah said...

This is extremely cool! I'll have to check this out. But I ... I don't mark books with anything, because nearly all my reading is done on an e-reader. Hmmm.

Christina Lee said...

I hear ya, Sarah! A large percentage of mine is too and the thought of that makes me melancholy! But then there's magazines and chapter books I'm reading to my child. We use things in a pinch to mark our pages.

Stina said...

The bad list is funny. That must be Santa's list.

I hope the popsicle sticks are clean, Christina. :D

Unknown said...

This post sent me to some place magical!!! I was imagining myself sitting there experiencing his findings with him! Too bad that couldn't be my job. I suppose now I'll just have to imagine it. Thank God for being a writer. The creativity never leaves!

Have a fabulous MONDAY!

LisaDay said...

I love it. What a great book. I am glad to hear a book full of others don't dog-ear their pages. My current bookmark is a receipt for my oil change supplies.

LisaDay

Christina Lee said...

Stina--LOL!!!!

Joanne said...

What a fascinating look at people's lives. I've found interesting markers in library books over the years, and they sometimes get you thinking. One that comes to mind is a Prayer card in a nonfiction book on immigrants. You just wonder about the story behind the marker.

Weaver said...

Those are delightful! Who'd think that some little note or recipe, that's stuffed into a book and forgotten can have meaning so many years later. I love it.

Stacy S. Jensen said...

I've been using the "hold" slips from the library. I can see now I need to step up my game. This is an awesome book and I'm checking out that blog ...

Pamela Gold said...

I "Like" his Facebook page. I love seeing what treasures he comes by. Lately? If I'm reading an actual book vs. using my Kindle, I use a photograph that says "It will be okay in the morning". It's quite colorful and so very true!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

What a totally cool idea for a book! I have used so many different things to bookmark a book. I should make a list...

Slamdunk said...

Thanks for the link to Michael's site. As a fan of history, this would be right up my alley.

My mom passed away almost 2 decades ago, and a few years after her death I was happy to find a handwritten Sunday school lesson from when she was in hs--something she was randomly using as a bookmark.

Liz Mays said...

That really would be a fun job! I love that!

I tend to use those magazine insert cards for my bookmarks.

PS. My BF snagged himself an agent. :)

Meredith said...

That's so cool! I love finding other people's bookmarks (or post-it-notes or postcards or whatever they used to mark their place) in library books. What a great idea for a book!

Kim Van Sickler said...

I use anything handy to mark my place that fits, such as: candy wrappers, ripped off pieces of newspapers, envelopes, letters, library due date slips, leaves, segment of an orange peel, pine needles, old to-do lists.

Unknown said...

That's so cool. I found a $2 bill in an envelope from the bank marking my spot in my childhood copy of A Wrinkle in Time

Karen S. Elliott said...

I use a piece of lined paper - I take notes on every book I read. "Forgotten Bookmarks" looks very interesting!

JEM said...

I'm the same way about bookmarks, I'll use anything that's thin and at hand. I'm reading an old book right now that has a built in bookmark, and it's so much easier! All books should come with built in bookmarks.

Lourie said...

Well now that is just cool! haha. I have used receipts the most I think. Envelopes. Bills. Post-its. I think I even used a gum wrapper once or twice. haha.

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Proof of Santa! That's great!

I'll use just about any old piece of paper for a bookmark, or else I (gasp) dog-ear the page!

Christina Lee said...

Jem-- the ribbon kind? Yeah they're great!

Kelly Polark said...

THat is so cool!
I have plenty of beautiful or cool bookmarks, but I usually end up using old receipts or torn pieces of paper to mark my page instead. I don't want to lose my bookmarks! Silly!

mshatch said...

I used to be bad and fold down the corners. Now I have my own bookmarks.

Sarah Tokeley said...

I have lots of lovely bookmarks, but I usually end up using bus tickets or folded over post it notes.

K. M. Walton said...

Hey!! I'm a post-it gal. They're kind of my most favorite obsession all around.

Matthew MacNish said...

I remember discussing this. I think on Facebook. The strangest thing I've marked a book with (that I can admit to online) is probably another book.

Len Lambert said...

I was smiling as I read this. I guess all of us do this. I use receipts, paperclips, ripped cardboard, anything I could get my hands on to use as bookmarks...it's not that I run out of good bookmarks...I just get what's the easiest and the nearest to me! LOL! Thank you, this is a lovely post! I'm now a follower :)

Peggy Eddleman said...

How very cool! I love that!