Okay, Listen Here

Okay, Listen Here

Friday, April 13, 2012

Book Deeds of The Dog…..

Ears, that is. Dog-ears. It’s an age old controversy. To use a bookmark or dog-ear the corner? (Gasp! Says the Librarian in me!)

I believe bookmarks are an art form all their own. I found a brief history of the bookmark on Wikipedia.com that was fascinating. (Though I’m sure there’s way more information on them somewhere. Imagine a coffee table book on the art of the bookmark! Love it!) Anyway, the article brought to mind a beautiful ribbon bookmark I use in my Bible that has 5 ribbons of different colors attached to a thin stiff cardboard bookmark that slides down into the spine of my bible. I can’t tell you how handy it is to have more than the standard 2 ribbons for such a big book!

Momma B (Painter Girl’s mother, who long ago adopted me and made me her very own youngun) makes the most beautiful bookmarks in the world. They’re designed with heart and love and imagination. And as much as I love her artistic endeavors, I can’t seem to bring myself to use them. They do however sit in a sparkly LOVE vase arrayed like the most beautiful bouquet of art. Sometimes I gift them to share their extension of love with someone who might need a little somethin’ somethin’ for their heart. (Momma B’s really a heart surgeon, not an artist.)

Some of my other favorite bookmarks were the ones Clair and I collected over the years at the library near our north Texas home. Every week when we went to the library, Clair would ask Ms. Liz for a bookmark and bring it home like it was the most beautiful gift in the world. I wish I’d had the sense to preserve them like a stamp collection or something. But sadly, they’re gone. MIA. Never to be seen again. What remains is an indelible love for books, and that’s good enough for me!

When I was in Austria, I found the cutest bookmarks ever. They’re bookworms handmade of fabric and threads. Each worm is wearing a tie, kind of like they’re all business about reading. The juxtaposition of fun, form, function and attitude made me laugh, so I bought as many as I could and brought them back to my kids and the library kiddos too.

Bookmarks are also functional. I often designed bookmarks at the library for the purpose of announcing book clubs or special events. Of course we had a bookmark with the library hours and circulation details on it. Romance authors utilize bookmarks for announcing their titles, too. They’re always fun to find at the library checkout desk! Of course, any bookmark is fun to find on Friday the 13th! Sorry y'all. My bookmark photos refuse to make an appearance today. :/

So, if I don’t use my bookmarks, how do I mark my place in the book? Ha! A piece of junk mail, a paperclip, a stray ribbon I found handy…and that’s just it…it’s whatever I find handy, because it’s likely all of my wonderful bookmarks are in their right place and that’s not where I can be found reading! I know right? I frustrate even myself. But for the real question, do I dog-ear the precious page of a book? Well……hmmm……maybe? If I have to? Okay, rarely. But I have been known to do the “D”eed.

So what do you use to mark your spot in the book? Bookmarks? Feathers? Leaves? Post-its? String? What? And be honest… Do you, you know……“D” the book?

9 comments:

  1. I mostly read on my Kindle these days so there is no bookmark. When I do read a real book, I use whatever. Sometimes a bookmark sometimes whatever piece of paper is lying around. If I am reading a series, sometimes I type up a list of with the titles and hero and heroine, and use that.

    But for my cookbooks I do something haphazard and special. I place in the pages postcards, invitations, greeting cards, programs from plays, sports events, graduations, etc. Though it's been a long time since I received one, I even have some handwritten letters. Sometimes it will be years before I unearth one of these little treasures.

    I guess it's my answer to scrap booking.

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    1. I love that Jean! A personalized take on scrapbooking. Imagine the fun you'll have over time finding those treasures. I think Mother did that too. I remember this one cookbook she had that was always full of random mail and pieces of paper. I wonder if she ever went through it like you do? Curious.

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  2. I usually use bookmarks, mostly. Sometimes I grab a sticky note or, gasp, I use the book jacket to mark my place. I have, true confession, dog-eared a page but only on the books I own, never someone else's. Go ahead have at me, every one else does. LOL

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    1. That's it Cheryl! We're gonna have to send the big guns after you!

      Tehe...!!! Nah. I figure if a book is so precious you can't make a mark on it then it should be in a vault somewhere. Besides, a good book is meant to be held, read, and enjoyed, re-read. The markings prove it's been loved, right?

      And like you, I don't dog-ear anyone else's books. But mine? Hmm...

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  3. Oh, I love this post! Probably because I love bookmarks. Like you I have tons of them. My favorite one right now is pink and says, "Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake."

    I also teach my students to use a bookmark and use them for special rewards. I am doing my part to stamp out the dog-ear problem for future generations!

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    1. Oh yes....they also carry words of motivation! Cupcakes MUST be encouraged! :D And what better way to reward the kiddos, right? I love that, Stephanie!

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  4. I LOVE bookmarks, which makes the use of Kindle or Nook a sad replacement. Sigh. Bookmarks are a thing of art. I can't help myself, especially when Captain Jack Sparrow is on one. ;)

    I've got so many the kids made me when they were young. I've saved them. Just can't part with them. But again, I don't use them as much anymore. I normally dog-ear when the many bookmarks I have aren't near. Then I remember I have them and go find one.

    Couple of my favs, besides Cap'n Jack, Keep Calm And Carry On (a gift), Wherever You Go, Go With All Your Heart by Confucius, The Free Spirit Follows The Path of the Wolf (with wolf), and a silver Australian cut-out bookmark that Annie West sent me. Yay!!

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    1. Ooh! Annie West, you say? Scrumptious, emotional stories there. I love the cover of her Greek Affiars Anthology...it's pretty!

      And Kathy, you reminded me of another bookmark I have...I keep it at my desk in full view, now. It reads, "Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else." It's a quote from Gloria Steinam. No truer words were spoken~

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  5. Bookmark is artisticks thing that i like.So i love this post.

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