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?
