I really need to find my collection of bookmarks

[Pixelated]

This is a very minor oops, but it was funny.

I went to a small diner for brunch today. I've been there often enough that many of the staff recognize me. I always bring a book. Today's book had a bookmark in it ... and the bookmark was an old receipt from this same diner.

You can see where this is going.

My server, who was NOT familiar with me, went up to her supervisor and told her worriedly that "My customer has an old receipt from here sitting on her table ..."

I'm guessing she was worried that I would try waving the receipt at her and claiming I'd already paid. It would've been a tough sell, since what was on the receipt was not at ALL what I'd ordered for brunch. But of course given some of the stories we've heard here ...

The supervisor, laughing, told me about it. She'd told the server "Oh, she always brings a book and that's her bookmark!"

Given that I've got a few dozen actual bookmarks ... it would probably behoove me to start carrying some of them. (I recently pulled a book out of my locker at work ... and found a $10 bill in it. )

[RealUnimportant]

At least you use bookmarks, rather than dog-ear the pages But yes, that's a fun one!

[Ironclad Alibi]

(I recently pulled a book out of my locker at work ... and found a $10 bill in it. )

May I borrow that book (mark) when you're done with it?

[greek_jester]

I have never been able to keep a proper bookmark. I've had some lovely ones over the years, and they've all either been lost or destroyed.

Random bits of paper, however (such as a flyer sent home from 6th form for an event in 1995) are still around.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Most of the bookmarks I use are Post-It-Notes folded in half lengthwise. I have several scattered around my desk, and they get reused a lot.

[Nunavut Pants]

I also use the subscription cards from some of the magazines I subscribe to. Evidently it costs more to produce two groups of magazines, one for subscribers without the cards, and one for retail with the cards, than it does to just have the cards in every copy. They tend to be close to my other reading material, so I use them as book marks.

[Mental_Mouse]

At my used-book store, we get all sorts of things used as bookmarks. Other stores' bookmarks and receipts, natch.

The whole wall next to the boss's desk is covered with photos found as bookmarks, excluding some of the NSFW ones. I've found a $20 bill, the boss says he once found $100. Shop receipts from 1935, plane tickets from 60's-era Berlin. And greeting cards, of course. Class notes, thank-you notes, love notes. Occasionally, assorted vegetation.

[Ironclad Alibi]

... Occasionally, assorted vegetation.

Speaking of which, I have a 1926 mill supplies catalog I got from my grandparents house many years ago. As I leafed through it marveling at all the antique (and not so antique) tools and such I found paper doll cutouts from 1920's catalogues and a bunch of pressed flowers. These items were put in the catalogue by my aunts (I guess).

I took all the pressed flowers and mounted then in a frame, which I gave to my grandmother. I got it back when she died.

As for all the paper doll cutouts, they are still in the catalogue.

[Terza]

I've started using the tags from clothing that come on pretty ribbons - put the tag in the book, ribbon dangles out!

[Arcus]

I gave up on using a normal bookmark. Without fail I would lose them before the third chapter. Random scraps of paper always made it to the end. Sometimes I wonder if the nice ones were taken because someone liked them.

[Edwina]

The best bookmarks that i have been using is the cutoff corners from old envelopes. Just draw an arrow on one side to indicate the page where you stopped reading and slide it over a few pages.
Some ads comes in colourful envelopes and they often get turned into bookmarks since its easier to see that the book is being read atm (so that i dont steal hubbys book or he mine)

[greek_jester]

I've started using the tags from clothing that come on pretty ribbons - put the tag in the book, ribbon dangles out!

I thought I was the only person to do that!

[Nunavut Pants]

I just remembered: Another source of bookmarks are airline boarding passes. I always read on flights, so those are very convenient for bookmarks. And when I'm home, I will often find them in my books, and I use them over again. They are usually reminders of happy vacations...

[SpyOne]

My usual bookmark is the receipt for the book itself: a tiny slip of paper that is otherwise trash but happened to be with the book when I started reading it.

[CyberLurch]

I decided to dump... er, DONATE a number of the books I've been hoarding for 40-odd years. As I was boxing them up, low and behold, something fluttered to the floor from the pages of one of the books.... solving a 30-odd year old mystery.

In 1982, my original driver's license turned up missing. I tossed the house looking for it, and when it stubbornly remained on the MIA list, I went to the then-DMV (now BMV) for a new one.

Evidently I'd used it as a bookmark and forgotten I'd done so.

Mein Gott.... I didn't recognize the picture. The fellow in the photo was skinny, clean-shaven, and had hair! No resemblance to the face I see in the mirror. Who was this imposter whose photo adorned MY license? He looked so happy and optimistic, almost like he had NO idea what the world was going to do to him. I wonder whatever happened to that guy...