In honor of World Book Day on April 23rd, we’re “marking” the day with a conversation about bookmarks.
Over my brief career as a fiction author, I’ve discovered that everyone loves bookmarks. Things not originally designed as bookmarks often end up being used as place-keepers because they’ve either become mementos or just have a good bookmark feel. And often, non-bookmark bookmarks come with a story. Here’s an example.
As I was signing books at Barnes and Noble last week, a woman told me how, on her sixtieth birthday, she was enjoying a quiet moment reading a new book when her husband brought the mail to her. She opened a card from her son who had enclosed a generous check, then went back to reading her book. Her phone rang and she used the check to mark her spot in the book. She closed the book and had a lovely birthday conversation with a friend, after which she fixed herself a cup of coffee, took another birthday call and talked while wandering around the house, tidying here, putting something away there. And so it went. The next day, she was looking forward to snuggling in and finishing her book—but it was nowhere to be found. Apparently, during all the wonderful birthday conversations, she had unconsciously put her book “away” somewhere, and to this day, has never been able to find it again. She not only didn’t get to finish her book but lost a very expensive bookmark!
Rather than dogear pages—because obviously only barbarians would deface a book—when no actual bookmark is handy, I know people who have used paperclips, a book of matches, receipts, a coaster, a golf tee, a feather, an Emory board, an unused Band-Aid . . . . All well and good when it’s your book, but sometimes we forget and leave these things in library books. 😳 (This is such a common occurrence that many public libraries maintain Found in a Library Book pages on their websites.)
My big question for you is: what do you think Philip and Genevieve, Lord and Lady Crosswick, would use for a bookmark? I’d love to hear your thoughts, and my two favorite suggestions will receive my latest bookmark!
Cheers, Santé, and mark the day with a good read!
