Patricia Sargeant

That’ll Leave a Mark

I’m obsessed with bookmarks. I don’t know why so please don’t ask me to explain. I don’t have an allegiance to a particular type or style of bookmark. Pretty pictures, patterns or simple words. Cardboard, fabric or plastic. Fancy or simple. Big or not so big. If it’s a bookmark, I want it.

I especially like the bookmark on the right. In case people were unclear on what it might be, it’s labeled, “bookmark” in helpful red, capital letters.

Whether it’s a bookstore, a stationery shop or a variety store, if it has a display of bookmarks, I’m drawn to that section as though I’m caught in a tracking beam.

The bookmark in the middle is from one of my favorite nonprofit organizations. The Ohioana Library Association collects and celebrates literature written by people who are from or who’ve made their home in Ohio. I think the bookmark is made of aluminum. Love it.

Quick correction: If it’s a bookstore, the books call to me first. I’ll spend quite a while perusing the new releases, then move on to mystery, romance, fantasy, history, business and magazine shelves. Then the bookmarks will lure me like a siren’s song. I may stop by the coffee shop afterward.

Holiday bookmarks! So fun!

Vivid colors capture my attention. I have a fondness for bookmarks with quotes I can connect with. I like quirky and unusual. Seasonal bookmarks are special, like the ones shown here that celebrate Kwanzaa and Christmas. So are homemade bookmarks, which I’ve also shown here.

A friend sewed the bookmark on the left. I crocheted the one on the right. It was my first attempt with this pattern. Please grade on a curve. I’ve improved with practice and now give them away at book signings.

Note: These are only some of my bookmarks not my entire collection. And I realize some people are thinking, “Patricia! Bookmarks? Really? Are you stuck in a time loop? We don’t need bookmarks. We read ebooks.” I love the way ebooks pop you right back to the section at which you logged out. But I rarely read ebooks. When I turn off my laptop after a day of writing, marketing, promoting, emailing, etc., I’m desperate to get away from electronics.

This bookmark quotes Francis Bacon, “Some books are to be tasted. Others to be swallowed. And some few to be chewed and digested.” I borrowed it from my sister without permission when we were in high school and never returned it. We don’t need to make her aware of that now.

I have another confession. Although I have a fondness for bookmarks, I rarely—very rarely—use them. I don’t usually go through my collection of bookmarks to choose one for my new book before I start reading.

I’m impressed by books that come with their own bookmarks. The book on the right is a journal. I use it for notes on mystery plots in progress. The book on the left is 100 Years: Wisdom from Famous Writers on Every Year of Your Life, selections by Joshua Prager. It was a gift. I haven’t yet read it. Don’t be judgy.

Once I get a book, I tend to dive right into reading it, which means I use whatever is near to hand to mark my place in my book. That could be the sales receipts or library receipts for the book. It could be a napkin from a drive-thru restaurant, envelopes from paid utility bills or sticky notes. I like using sticky invisible tabs because some of them are long enough to mark the paragraph on the page where you left off.

Some of the items I’ve used as “bookmarks” in the past: mail, sticky tabs, facial tissues, sticky notes. While taking this photo, I realized I’m missing my orange, medium-sized sticky tabs. Note-to-self: Search husband’s home office.

Readers, do you use bookmarks? What’s the strangest thing you’ve used as a bookmark?

43 thoughts on “That’ll Leave a Mark”

  1. I love bookmarks, too! I work in a public library, and we have lots of bookmarks available for people to take. I have so many different ones, some were gifts, some I bought. My favorite bookstore (in New York) ships my ordered books with a free bookmark. I have two large plastic cups filled with bookmarks at home, and another one at my work desk in the library. And yet, with all these bookmarks, I sometimes end up using a scrap piece of paper or the library checkout slip.

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    1. Oh, my gosh! Reading your response, I feel as though I’ve found my soulmate! Ha! Thank you so much for sharing your love of bookmarks with me. I love your response so much! And I love library bookmarks. My local library prints events and library services information on its bookmarks, which is so convenient. I love it.

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          1. Oh, my gosh. I feel like I could spend hours, perusing your collection.

            Regarding your library’s bookmarks featuring student art, I’m going to suggest that to my local library system. I think that would be empowering for students. And perhaps further encourage them to use the library.

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  2. Ah bookmarks, I have hundreds. Many from authors whose books I enjoy, some from libraries and bookstores, some pretty, some homemade. The ones I miss these days are from my years of travel when we actually got paper boarding passes with those stubs you kept when you boarded. They were the ones I used most often. Mostly because they were handy, but they often stayed in the book when I finished so they provided a reminder of when I read the book!

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  3. My house is littered with bookmarks, either ones I’ve picked up at places like Malice, or left overs from book promos. Because when you need a bookmark, you need one, right?

    But I tend to use one until I lose it or it falls apart. I am especially drawn to magnet bookmarks these days because they don’t fall out. My current one is a cat that makes it look like it’s peeking around the page.

    In a pinch I have used scraps of paper, receipts, old sticky notes, the flaps of hardcover dust covers, scraps of fabric and once even a dollar bill.

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  5. I think handmade bookmarks are so cute! Kudos to you for crocheting them, Patricia!

    I’ve done receipts, sticky notes, etc. My most unusual ones involved money and gift cards. I’ve since stopped that practice because I used to lose those “bookmarks” after finishing the book.

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    1. Oh, Jennifer, too funny! I can understand why you’d stop using money and gift cards as bookmarks. Ha! Good call. And thank you for your kind words on my crocheted bookmarks. I love the instant gratification of finishing a project in a couple of hours. It lifts my spirits when it feels like it’s taking me ***forever*** to finish a manuscript. LOL!

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  6. I do use bookmarks when reading a physical book. (I’m about half ebooks and half physical, although recently, it seems like the ebooks are ahead.) I had one I got as a kid with my name and its meaning on it I used for years. It was covered in plastic, and the plastic was breaking. The tassel had fallen out years ago. But I lost it, I think when I went to Malice in 2017. I had another copy of that bookmark, but it just wasn’t the same.

    About that time, my niece had made me a construction paper bookmark. Yes, I used it for a bit, but when I stopped because it was getting worn. I still have it.

    Now? I use the free bookmarks that authors hand out. Yes, they get used, at least by me. I have a ton of my on my nightstand, and I cycle through. I’m always anxious to see whose bookmark is going on the book when I start to read it.

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    2. Mark, I remember those bookmarks that featured names and the meaning of those names. So cool! And I love that your niece made you a construction paper bookmark. Wow! I bet she loved that you used it. Oh, my word. All the feels.

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  7. Bookmarks make the greatest souvenirs! When we lived in England, we picked up those leather embossed bookmarks from every historical site and stately home we visited. Every time I mark a page, it’s like a little walk into a memory.

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  8. I love bookmarks, too, and I’ve used lots of random things – post its, napkins, New Yorker subscription cards, library receipt. I just got one from the library with a child’s artwork on it, and I love it. I’m learning to crochet, so I tried crocheting some, and I love those, too, but mostly I just look at them because they’re too thick to put in a book. 🙂

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  9. I love this subject so much, Patricia! I don’t “collect” bookmarks, but I do seem to have a whole lot of them I’ve picked up over the years. (Not including the boxes and boxes of bookmarks I have made for my own books.) But when I sit down to read a book–real, never ebooks for me–it’s amazing how seldom I have an actual bookmark at hand.

    So it ends up being scraps a paper, shopping lists, or those blow-in magazine inserts. Or in the old days, it would be bus tickets and boarding passes.

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    1. Boarding passes, yes! Ha!!!! I love that so many of us have similar “bookmark” memories. This tickles me.

      And thank you for your kind words on this subject. I’ve wanted to post about my bookmark obsession for a while but I was afraid people wouldn’t be interested in this topic and I’d be embarrassed. But then I realized it wouldn’t be the first embarrassing thing I’ve ever done, so…

      I don’t know why I love bookmarks so much but I’m loving all the memories people are sharing with us. It enhances the feeling of community and belonging for me. Happiness.

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  10. My favorites are from fellow authors or favorite bookstores — although the bookstore ones never seem to be quite as high quality. I did pick up a lenticular bookmark at an airport bookshop once… but most of the time I grab whatever piece of paper is handy. I’m glad to see bookmarks getting this much love!

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  11. Patricia, love this post so much! And I also love your debut crochet bookmark (and that St. Catherine is next to Taz). I have a ton of bookmarks in my house, but (I am not being sappy here at all) my favorites are from my friends’ series! I also have a decrepit bookmark of my grandmother’s that has a few real 4-leaf clovers pressed between some kind of early plastic layers. But my most current? A holiday coaster from our local tavern that says, “It’s the most wonderful time for a beer!”

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    1. Oh, Lisa! I hadn’t realized I’d put St. Catherine next to Taz. Ha!!! Hilarious! Oh, my. Oops. LOL!

      “It’s the most wonderful time for a beer!” ROFL!!! I love that so much!!! I’m bent over, laughing. I would never, ever lose that. I might tape one of those airtag trackers to it to make sure I never misplaced it. Ha! I also love your grandmother’s four-leave clover bookmark. Oh, my word. What a treasure!

      Thank you for your kind words on this post. It’s so wonderful that so many of us have such fun bookmark memories to share. I love it!

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  12. I love bookmarks as well. I collect them and maybe because I have no more room for books,(well, that’s a lie…..there is always room for more books) bottom line bookmarks take up less space.

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  13. Patricia, I love your collection!! It’s so cool. You’ve inspired me. Now I want to collect bookmarks! It’s such a smart, simple collection and doesn’t take up the insane amount of space that my vintage cookbook collection does.

    The thing that cracks me up is that I have so many bookmarks – including hundreds of my own for swag! – but I can never find one when I need it!

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  14. It’s hilarious that you can’t find a bookmark when you need one despite having tons. Ha! And thank you very much! I love my bookmark collection, too. And that’s not even all of them. Bwahahahaha!

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  16. Love all your bookmarks! Yes, I still collect some cute and unique bookmarks. I have a drawer full of bookmarks that I collected since I was a teenager! When I don’t have a bookmark near me, I would use napkin, receipt paperclip, a tear from a scratch paper/soft cardboard, (movie/bus) ticket stub, etc. – Emily

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  17. Sorry to be so late! I love bookmarks too. When I was growing up, I had the best collection of bookmarks that all had tassels. I loved them dearly and have no idea where they went.

    Spent a ridiculous amount of time making the one for my last book launch. Like: simply ridiculous.

    Thanks for sharing…and these pictures are gorgeous!

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