The little things you leave behind

 Posted by on 26 July 2009  Vintage/Retro
Jul 262009
 

An old photo found in a used book

This past May, after a gruelling semester of reading six novels, I was unable to pick up a book to read on my own time. Focusing on anything longer than two pages was a definite challenge.

Finally, it passed, and I was able to pick up a book after the several failed attempts to do so.

What I decided to read was Grant’s copy of The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen. After a dozen or so pages, I came across a yellow post-it with a little note written in it to his sister that he, or someone else, had decided to use as a bookmark. I thought it was very neat to see such a minor little note be kept as a bookmark.

Which is why I got a kick out of the site Forgotten Bookmarks. It’s run by a guy who worked at a used bookstore, and who would find little pieces of history tucked in between the pages.

I mostly seem to use scraps of paper as bookmarks, but I have in the past used photos, or notes, and I wonder how many of them are still in the books I’ve read, and how many will be found by lovers of used books in the future.

(via metafilter)

Amy Breen

  • Matt Goerzen

    This is nice. I once found a maple leaf bound up in a book of Sir Walter Scott I purchased at some book sale years ago. The leaf looked most as old as the well-worn century-old book itself.

  • Colin Corneau

    This is one of the joys of used bookstores or flea markets.

    I always notice little notes people write in the front of a book — the date, or who it’s for, etc. especially if it’s a gift.

  • Trent

    This is really cool. Because of my suckery, though, I use an actual bookmark. Though my pages are filled with notes.