s/o What's the neatest thing you've found used as a bookmark?

[Seasider]

I got a book from the library and found that the previous user left a Godiva chocolates gift card in it. Haven't checked yet if there's a balance still on it, but just the hope of chocolate is pleasant.

 

Once I bought some very old Outdoor Girls books. There were flowers pressed between the pages that were likely there since the early 20th century. Scope for the imagination, that is.

 

I also once found a $5 bill but soon realized I had stuck it there myself, so it was not a true bonus. But at least I hadnt lost the cash.

 

What NICE fun surprises have you found?

[Gil]

Uh...reciepts, receits, recipets? (how do you spell that word?!)

I have found bills

news paper clippings.

Greeting card envelopes

Business cards

photos of adorable little kids

very personal photos that probably weren't meant to be left behind

and...

a grocery list that had been torn

Oh, and leaves.

[Goldilocks]

Foreign money!

 

[Anne in CA]

A picture of a little girl holding a dog. Very cute.

[Ivey]

I recently took out a library book with a $1 bill in the middle, with a phone number written on it. I left it there for the next person, but I sort of wish I'd called the number. Maybe they wanted to discuss the book? 

[Belacqua]

A Starbucks card (this was stuck in a physics book I found on the library's free books shelf; double bonus!)

 

A postcard written in what I figured out was Ukrainian (and still pretty much said "having fun; wish you were here," according to the lady who translated it for me)

 

A 30-year-old bookmark with pictures of public art in my town

 

A really excellent recipe for shakshouka

 

A second-grader's report card (I always wondered if she stashed it in a library book so her parents didn't find out that she needed to "let others have a turn answering questions" :))

[Incognito]

Around our house it is not unusual to find hair binders and a small doll pillow used a bookmarks :)

 

[Farrar]

The kids once found a Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire book release bookmark and they thought that was nifty. And, for them, historical, which is pretty funny.

 

I have several times found foreign train ticket stubs, which us always interesting.

[kubiac]

Someone who volunteers at a used bookstore near our house makes "chandeliers" out of the interesting stuff people leave behind in books:

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/bard-street-bookstore-hermosa-beach?select=wNduk9UWefikE_A73ldktA#wNduk9UWefikE_A73ldktA

[Seasider]

Someone who volunteers at a used bookstore near our house makes "chandeliers" out of the interesting stuff people leave behind in books:

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/bard-street-bookstore-hermosa-beach?select=wNduk9UWefikE_A73ldktA#wNduk9UWefikE_A73ldktA

That's terrific!

[Tap]

My sister found a $10 or $20 silver certificate (historic money).

 

Otherwise it is just like others:

bookmarks

photos

notes scrawled on paper

[ocelotmom]

Am I the only one dying to know if there is a balance on the card?

[LostSurprise]

I love buying books that have articles about the topic pasted in the front. I've owned a few older books ('30s-'60s) where the owner of the books was the subject or related to the subject. That's interesting. One of them left commentary in the front with their own memories. 

[Kareni]

I once found three five dollar bills in a book at a thrift store.  The irony is that as we were approaching the book section I told the friend with whom I was shopping that I had never found money in a book.  My husband found a twenty dollar bill in a used textbook.

 

There is a book on this topic that I read -- Forgotten Bookmarks by Michael Popek.  It was a quick read which I finished in less than an hour.  It was a visually interesting read (or perhaps browse is a more appropriate word choice).  My favorite find was one the author recounted in the preface -- a marijuana leaf pressed between the pages of a microwave cookbook. The author made a remark about imagining someone with the munchies trying to make a quick meal and using the nearest thing for a bookmark.

Regards,
Kareni

[Seasider]

I once found three five dollar bills in a book at a thrift store. The irony is that as we were approaching the book section I told the friend with whom I was shopping that I had never found money in a book. My husband found a twenty dollar bill in a used textbook.

 

There is a book on this topic that I read -- Forgotten Bookmarks by Michael Popek. It was a quick read which I finished in less than an hour. It was a visually interesting read (or perhaps browse is a more appropriate word choice). My favorite find was one the author recounted in the preface -- a marijuana leaf pressed between the pages of a microwave cookbook. The author made a remark about imagining someone with the munchies trying to make a quick meal and using the nearest thing for a bookmark.

 

Regards,

Kareni

Thanks, Kareni, I just checked my library and it's actually on the shelf! Looks fun!

[prairiewindmomma]

I received some books from pbs this year that had photos of someone's Dutch ancestor from around 1900 and 1930. I was able to return them!

[Onceuponatime]

I found a copy of McGillicuddy McGotham (about a leprechaun) in a thrift store. When I got it home, I found it was full of pressed four leaf clovers.

[Seasider]

I received some books from pbs this year that had photos of someone's Dutch ancestor from around 1900 and 1930. I was able to return them!

It was very thoughtful of you to take time to return them!