Thursday, May 31, 2012

Forgotten Bookmarks: A Bookseller's Collection of Odd Things Lost Between the Pages, Michael Popek

It's happened to all of us: we're reading a book, something interrupts us, and we grab the closest thing at hand to mark our spot. It could be a train ticket, a letter, an advertisement, a photograph, or a four-leaf clover. Eventually the book finds its way into the world-a library, a flea market, other people's bookshelves, or to a used bookstore. But what becomes of those forgotten bookmarks? What stories could they tell? By day, Michael Popek works in his family's used bookstore. By night, he's the voyeuristic force behind www.forgottenbookmarks.com, where he shares the weird objects he has found among the stacks at his store. Forgotten Bookmarks is a scrapbook of Popek's most interesting finds. Sure, there are actual bookmarks, but there are also pictures and ticket stubs, old recipes and notes, valentines, unsent letters, four-leaf clovers, and various sordid, heartbreaking, and bizarre keepsakes. Together this collection of lost treasures offers a glimpse into other readers' lives that they never intended for us to see.

That pretty much sums up the book. It was quite an interesting idea for a book, too. I certainly sometimes pick up random cards and use them as bookmarks, so I could relate. Different unfinished stories unfold throughout the book, which is divided into five sections: Photographs; Letters, Cards, and Correspondence; Notes, Poems, Lists, and Other Written Ephemera; Receipts, Invoices, Advertising, and Other Official Documents; and The Old Curiosity Shop: From Four-Leaf Clovers to Razor Blades. Some sections were more interesting than others, but it was fun book to read. The pages were high-quality, and the photographs of the different objects were good. It was also interesting to see what book each object was found in. 

Read Forgotten Bookmarks:
  • if you're interested in strange stuff found in books
  • if you like old stuff
  • if you're looking for an interesting book of photographs and letters
181 pages.
 
Very Good! I would recommend this book!

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