Portable Magic: Tell me you're not a corner folder: a few thoughts on bookmarks.

Hi, hi.

I know that many of you reading this are book lovers. Me too. Hence this ...

... and yet, although we may share that same 'bibliophile' label ... there are areas where our reading habits no doubt differ.

• Some of us will enjoy reading big books [hello, that'll be me]; while some might prefer a book they can carry in their handbag without the handbag having to be a suitcase.
• Some of us will have a shelf bulging beneath the weight of their book collection; while others will save their shelves [and pockets] by draining their local library shelves dry. 
• And some may use a bookmark; while others, although I can't believe you would do such a thing, some ... mark their place in a book by folding over the corner of the page! 

Oh the horror.

I may very well chop books into tiny scraps for the sake of my collage and mixed media work but that's usually damaged books and books which have been gathering dust for years and which deserve a new lease of life.

You'll never catch me creasing a virgin corner into submission ... not on a book I'm currently reading!

So yes, I'm claiming the moral high ground with this one, but, just because I'm a smug bookmark user it doesn't always mean I have one on hand. And, as I absolutelywillnot fold a corner over ... I do find myself resorting to almost anything else almost to keep my spot.

Despite being a crafter in possession of any amount of paper that could easily be used as a fancy bookmark I tend to just reach for what's nearest; which usually means tearing off straggly corners from newspapers or magazines [unlike books, these corners are fair game when I need a placeholder! In fact, they're such a familiar sight in my house that James even has a pet name for them: he calls them my 'mingy bits of paper' which just about sums it up.]

And recently, in the library at work, I even resorted to using a packet of Monster Munch crisps to keep my place.

Roast Beef flavour, if you're interested.   

But if this glorious illustration by Grant Snider of Incidental Comics is anything to go by ... I guess I'm not alone in my creative bookmark improvisation:

Come on ... admit it ... how many of those have you used to keep your place?

[p.s: if you're new to Grant Snider's work before I urge you to visit his Incidental Comics site as it's an absolute treat.]

I'll admit to 3 of those ... plus the aforementioned 'mingy bits of paper' and beefy flavour corn snacks and yet ... this year all of my library books have been spared the indignity of having any of these things inserted into them because ...

 ... in what may yet turn out to have been some kind of bookmark-'intervention', two of my friends gifted me 'proper' bookmarks for Christmas/ my birthday.

Kirsty made these origami-folded lovelies for me:

Which I've been slotting over my non-folded corners ever since ...

If you'd like to make some for yourself then check out Kirsty's instructions by following the link on her blog.

 

I'll leave it up to you whether or not you choose to believe the rumour that I select which one to use based on how well it matches the book cover ...

 

And then, for my birthday, my friend Jean gave me a pad of these: 

And they too have been gracing my pages lately. Although I've yet to make notes directly on to one it would definitely be a fun way to keep track of what I've been reading. Imagine these, with all the details filled out, fixed to a scrapbook page or tucked inside a reading journal ... certainly something to think about and a fun way to combine my love of reading with my fondness for memory keeping.

 

If you quite fancy the look of these - I'm sorry but I don't know the manufacturer, I threw away the packaging, but if you Google: yes i'm actually reading this bookmark pad you'll find lots of places that stock them. 

 

So ... that's what's currently keeping my pages ... but what about yours? It's true-bookmarking-confessional time ... 

• What do you regularly use to keep your page?
• Are you one of those delinquent corner folders? Dare you admit to it here?
• What's the strangest things you've used or seen someone else use to mark a place?

Who knows ... maybe one day I'll compile all your responses into a book. And you can use whatever you like to mark your place in it ...

Julie :-)

[p.s: if you enjoyed this post or think it would strike a chord with someone you know ... please do share, save or Pin it. Thankyouinadvanceyoulovelypersonyou.]