Forgotten Bookmarks: A Bookseller's Collection of Odd Things Lost Between the Pages by Michael Popek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I found out about the Forgotten Bookmarks website from my sister. She had won a giveaway the author was having. And since I love finding forgotten bookmarks, I decided that I needed to start following the site as well. I've read lots of interesting items that Michael Popek has found and it made me want to know more.
When I found out that he was publishing some of the items that he'd found in a book, I knew it was one that I'd want to read. The hardest part was waiting for it to get to me from the library. But it was so worth the wait.
The book is separated into chapters based on what the bookmark was - pictures, letters, lists, etc. It was fun to look through each item, wondering about the people that left the bookmark inside. Were they missing the picture? Was what they'd written in the letter resolved? Did they mean to take those four leaf clovers out of the book before selling it? Most of the questions would have to remain unanswered, but there were a few instances in which the author was able to tell us a little more. Sometimes the author was someone famous and it didn't take much research for him to add to the story. And that was always an added bonus.
But the best part, for me, was being able to relive some parts of my childhood. The family bookstore that Michael Popek runs is 45 minutes from where I grew up - Oneonta, NY. Being local, there were a lot of bookmarks, as well as a few books, that brought me back to my small town upbringing. I recognized cities and businesses, names of streets and times gone by. It made me look harder at each picture, wondering if it was someone that I knew. I didn't find anything definitive, but it still warmed my heart.
If you love finding ephemera from the lives of others, to find yourself partway into someone else's story, then I highly recommend picking up this book. It is well worth the read.
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