Reading in Reykjavík

I've mentioned this book in my last two Monday reading reports, and commenters have been showing some interest in it, so I figured I would review it. First, however, I thought I'd mention what I found inside it. The review will come once I have finished reading it. I buy most of my books second hand, at a rather marvellous charity shop not far from where I live. Since the shop lies between my home and the two supermarkets where I do most of my grocery shopping, I often stop by there on my way to buy groceries. Sometimes I come out empty handed, but occasionally I emerge with a stack of books, or a bag of yarn, a new-old handbag or some other "necessity" of life. Because most of the books are second hand, I often find stuff inside them. Most often it's a bookshop receipt, but sometimes I'll find a boarding pass or a handwritten note, a postcard or a purpose-made bookmark. On this particular occasion I found three items inside: a bookmark, a paper tag an...

I haven’t done a bookmark post in quite a while, but since I have found a number of good printable bookmarks online since my last bookmark post, I’m going to post some links. First, here are links to a selection of my other bookmark posts: How to make a simple origami bookmark DIY Bookmarks online More bookmarks online: printables   (I have updated the links on this one and removed one dead link) Collecting bookmarks These include my own bookmark designs: Printable bookmarks More printable Bookmarks Bookmark: Graffiti And now a dozen new links. Some of these are promotional, but nice nonetheless. DIY PAPER BOOKMARKS Several nice printables A large collection of simple printable bookmarks Lee Hansen Graphics Princess crafts   (some of these are very nice) Harry Potter bookmarks (these are very nice) 4 printable origami bookmarks Activity Village (meant for kids, but quite nice) National Geographic bookmark factory (assemble bookmarks online and print ...

I just discovered a great blog about bookmarks that is full of links to information about bookmarks and bookmark collecting and other things about bookmarks: Bookmark Collector . There are plenty of  links to instructions on how to make various kinds of bookmarks, which I am in the process of exploring.

I have been slowly but surely accruing a collection of bookmarks over the years. Some are plain and utilitarian, several are adverts for books, publishers or bookstores, some are library marks, others are works of art. I have never really considered myself a collector of bookmarks – but being an avid reader, I grab them when and wherever I come across them, especially when they are free. The reason, of course, is that I keep losing them, usually inside books. Still, I have managed not to lose some of them and I estimate that I have maybe around 40, tucked away inside books and in my bookmarks holder. A couple of years ago I got the idea of buying souvenir bookmarks when I travel, and the first ones I got are some lovely ones with panoramic photos of American national parks I visited last spring. This, however, is the farthest I have taken bookmark collecting. Perhaps it’s because I do not want to end up like my grandmother, whose postcard collection has taken over her larder and numbe...

After the book came along, the bookmark was an inevitable invention, and is probably as or almost as old as bound books. I don’t know how the ancients who wrote on scrolls remembered their place, but surely they had some equivalent of the bookmark. Many older, bound books, and some new quality editions have a built-in bookmark, a fabric ribbon that is sewn or glued into the binding. Very handy and not likely to get lost even if it falls out between the pages. Like bookplates, bookmarks are a collector’s item, and while some collectors use their bookmarks, others just collect them. You can get them in most bookshops and many souvenir shops. Some are plastic or laminated and will last for ages, while others are made from thick paper and will age along with your books. For some, the joy is in making and owning or giving one-of-a-kind bookmarks, for others, it’s having as many different ones as possible. Some prefer to use impromptu bookmarks. I have found several such improvised bookmarks...

I love books. Anyone who visits this blog can see that. But this is not about books. Rather, I would like to discuss book paraphernalia, namely two items that were created for the ease of book owners and readers: ex libris and bookmarks. Today it’s ex libris. Ex libris is a Latin phrase meaning, literally from books , but over time it has become a fancy name for bookplates or book labels because it is a common inscription on bookplates, there used to mean from the library/books of... . When books were rare and expensive commodities, their owners would declare their ownership by pasting an ex libris on the inside of the cover. These early bookplates would be specially designed for that owner alone. Typically, the bookplate would include the owner’s name, plus a crest or even a full coat of arms and a motto, and sometimes an admonition to potential thieves, books being precious and valued property. Bookplates developed over time and heraldic content became rarer and was often replaced ...