Thursday, May 19, 2011

Forgotten Bookmarks

Ran across a wonderful site yesterday called "Forgotten Bookmarks," in which the writer catalogs (with text and pictures) all the stuff he's found shoved inside books he's acquired over the years. These unexpected traces of ownership are really pretty charming, even touching. Reminded me that stuff falls out of my own old books from time to time. Here's the latest, a newspaper clipping found inside "In a Dark Garden" (Paperback 410):

Perma107.Bookmark


~RP

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4 comments:

JamiSings said...

Better than the things I find in the library books. I've found peoples' bill payments, a (thankfully unused) pantyliner, airline tickets, concert tickets, and many, many library cards. (Honestly, don't use your library card as a bookmark! They're $2 to replace!)

Deniz Bevan said...

Hey neat! I found an obituary for Yeats once. Hmm, I should think back, see if I can remember what else I've found.

Deb said...

When I worked in an elementary (K-3) school library, I almost fainted when I found a DVD of "Saw" in the back of a Clifford the Big Red Dog book. Who lets their young child have access to a movie like that?

Years ago, there was a magazine feature (or perhaps just a standalone article--don't ask me where) called "Found In Books." The most astonishing find was a handwritten letter from Jackie Kennedy that someone (the recipient?) had placed in a book and forgotten to retrieve before donating the book to the Friends of the Library.

Michael Popek said...

Deb, I'm not sure if this is the article, but this is one of my favorite essays on my favorite subject:

http://www.believermag.com/issues/200511/?read=article_atkinson