Bookmark Wednesday: Borders

Borders Books

Today's bookmark is from the now defunct Borders bookstore.
I remember when Borders opened in Boston, I was very excited because they were big, vibrant had a great selection of newspapers from outside the region as well as a massive book selection. The only other "superstore" that I was aware of was Barnes & Noble who I didn't much care for aesthetically. I didn't like the stuffiness and the dimly lit stores (well the few I was ever in).
Borders simply outgrew themselves and just prior to going out of business they operated more than 500 stores in the US.

The bookmark I found was inside a copy of Robert B. Parker's "Edenville Owls". Perhaps in hindsight they tried to just do too much.

The Big Morning Special

I don't know about you but I can't get my day going without ingesting some caffeine. I love the aroma of a nice cup of coffee but sometimes the task of making it is trumped by the ease of a tea bag and a cup of hot water. My preference is a nice hot cup of Barry's Irish tea with some milk and sugar.
I can usually go without breakfast for a while but for sure I need something in my belly by mid morning.

Today's find is a flyer that I found in a 1st edition copy of "A Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi. It is a simple flyer for a Ferguson's restaurant that I can only assume was located in New York City.

The flyer is for a free cup of tea or coffee at Ferguson's with the purchase of a muffin between 7am and 11am. 

I googled the address but didn't come up with anything related to a Ferguson's but maybe someone will know of it. I seems like it would be the perfect place for me in the mornings as I love a honey bran muffin and I could get it just at the right time too.

Do you remember a Ferguson's ? What's your morning ritual? I'm curious to know.

Bookmark Wednesday

One of the most common findings for me is bookmarks. People tend to leave bookmarks in their books from when they begin to read a book all the way to the end.
Initially I wasn't too interested in including them in this blog but I do tend to keep them in a little stash because some are kind of fascinating.

I haven't added anything to this blog for a while but I want to get back into it as my wife, who is a writer, recently mentioned that she likes to see the blog and finds it interesting.Who knows maybe others will find it interesting too.

Most of the bookmarks I find hidden in books are from the bookstores where the books were originally purchased and without people buying new books in bookstores I would never get the opportunity to do what I do. So I wanted to return the love.

I simply ask that if you are thinking of purchasing a new book, please try to purchase it from one of the stores I link to from the blog or failing that seek out your own local brick and mortar bookstore and help to keep independent bookstores alive.

And so every Wednesday I will add a new bookmark that I have found. Some will be still in existence and some will not. Some will be simple and others will be extravagant. Where possible I will include a link to the store and urge you to purchase a book or two from them. These will not be site sponsors or advertisers and I will not make any money from the links so do not despair.

To kick off the "Bookmark Wednesday" idea, I will start with my local bookstore: Porter Square Books. They have a great following my area and it is well deserved. They provide fantastic customer service in a very clean and well curated book store.

Their red bookmark contains their motto "Eat, Sleep, Read"
You can find Porter Square Books on the web at http://www.portersquarebooks.com
Twitter: @PorterSqBooks
Facebook: Porter Square Books

A Mothers Support For Her Son

I was going through today's books and found an old Alcoholics Anonymous book. It looked to never have seen any use and I know from my past sales that there is a strong demand for these books. My heart sank when I saw the inscription from a mother to her son inside the front cover. It reads:

"Dear Ernesto,
I've always been very proud of who you are. I know that it takes a tremendous amount of courage and faith to do what you are now doing. You are not alone, God is always with you and I am here to help you as well. Only one Day at a Time

Love, Mom "

The fact that the book has seen very little use makes me wonder just where Ernesto is today and if he managed to win his battle. I hope he did and that he is somewhere living a successful life and that his mother remains proud of her son.

WE, the people

One of the items that I like to keep when I find them are bookmarks.
I have a nice little collection which are mainly of bookstores where the last owner purchased the book. It is interesting to see if the bookstore is still around or if they have gone out of business.
I also wonder sometimes, depending on where the bookmark is located, if the previous owner ever got a chance to finish the book at all.

One of my favorites is this one: It's a simple leather fringed bookmark, probably mass produced and contains the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America. it's just a reminder of the freedom people have to read books not just in the United States but around the world and I mean the freedom to write books too. There have been many times throughout history when this could have been changed but luckily for most of us those attempts were stifled.

I would love to hear what your favorite item is to bookmark pages.

"Hey Good Looking ... Whatcha Got a Cookin"

This morning I was flicking through a number of cookbooks when I noticed that one still had a piece of wrapping paper attached to the rear cover. Usually a sign that a book has been given or received as a gift. Perhaps as a Christmas or Birthday present. Maybe a housewarming gift or a gift from a parent to a child who has recently grown and moved into their first apartment. The possibilities that surround the gifting of books are endless but I bet that Hallmark have come up with a card for each possibility.
My interest was piqued and I flipped through the pages of this particular cookbook noting that it was in perfect condition. I was looking for a dedication, so often inscribed in the first page or two that identify that unique event that would solve my self-created puzzle.

I found no such inscription but I did find attached to the cover inside a gift card. I will head to the store that issued the gift card later today as I have to mail some books that people have ordered and I will update the blog with the value if any of this gift card.

I would normally contact the owner of the book but in this particular situation there is absolutely no way for me to determine who the owner was.

Very curious today :-)

Plastic money

No real update today except to say that I went to my local HomeGoods store with the gift card I found in the cook book and low and behold it was worth a whopping $20. Not enough to retire but still fascinating to find it inside a used book.

I found this fascinating video on youtube that shows what $20 would get you around the world to feed whatever vice you may have. Personally I spent it on clothes :-)

A Comedy of Errors

 “If the skin were parchment and the blows you gave were ink,
Your own handwriting would tell you what I think.”
― William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare tells the story of two sets of identical twins that were accidentally separated at birth.

Today's find is a ticket to the 2011  run of "The Comedy of Errors" by the Huntington Theater Company of Boston (@huntington) I hope that the owner of the ticket managed to enjoy the show because Shakespeare managed to write some fantastic comedies and it would have been a shame for them to pay more attention to the book than to the play. After all, while there is a certain amount of emphasis placed on "Reading Shakespeare", we must remember he originally wrote it to be performed in the theater and watched by an audience.

You have to love the internet. I managed to find small little review online from someone that attended the play 2 days after the owner of ticket I found. You can read that here.