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February 20, 2012 by Travis Jonker

Battle of the Bad Bookmarks: Quarterfinals

February 20, 2012 by Travis Jonker   31 comments

Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | Winner/Loser

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What’s up with all these terrible bookmarks people use? Am I right?

(Gentle sound of crickets chirping)

While I’m all for marking a page by any means necessary, some bookmarks make more sense than others. This week in a bracket-style tournament based on your votes, we’re going to determine once and for all which bookmark is the worst.

The Competitors:

A Tissue

Any time a breeze can blow your bookmark away, you’ve got yourself a bad bookmark. A tissue also has potential gross factor if it has been used.

A Piece of Junk Mail

Come on, you really can’t find anything smaller?

Money

If you want your bookmark to mark your page, it’s not a good idea to use something that people are tempted to steal.

An I.D.

Look closely and you’ll see me at 18 years old. It’s never really a good idea to use something as important as an I.D. as a bookmark because the rate of losing a bookmark is (by my latest estimate) 100%.

A Tiny Scrap of Paper

Did you miss it? Here:

Marking your page with something you can barely see is like buying a highlighter in “paper color”.

Another Book

Really? The only thing you could find was an entire book? I would guess that folks who do this move also make those brownies that have Reese’s cups inside of them (side note: those are delicious and I would never knock anyone who made them).

A Pencil

The issue I have with this choice is that you can’t close the book. People who use pencils as bookmarks are also likely to leave car doors ajar.

A Bandage

(This one comes courtesy of @colbysharp)

Unused? A bit silly, but no big deal. Used? You need to read elsewhere, my (former) friend.

Let the Tournament Begin

Polls are open today (Monday, February 20) until 8:00 PM EST. Check back tomorrow to see the winners and vote in the semifinals.

Vote for the worst:

[polldaddy poll=5959327]

[polldaddy poll=5959334]

[polldaddy poll=5959342]

[polldaddy poll=5959346]

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About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jen says

    February 20, 2012 at 7:12 am

    This is awesome! I have a student who does the tissue thing and it does creep me out a bit. It also kills me when ki ds just don’t use bookmarks at all.

  2. Ed Spicer says

    February 20, 2012 at 7:35 am

    Ha! And I even voted! Want to travel to Flint with me? Flint Institute of Arts? Pinkney exhibit? Call and let’s plan a road trip. I’m posting this here because this is an open invitation to any of your readers.

    • Travis says

      February 20, 2012 at 8:48 am

      Ed – I’m totally in. I’ll give you a call.

      • Kristin McIlhagga says

        February 20, 2012 at 11:24 am

        I’m planning a trip to see it as well but haven’t nailed down a date…. would love to meet you both in person!

        • Ruth McNally Barshaw says

          February 20, 2012 at 4:39 pm

          Same here! Going, no visit date figured out yet, love to meet you both if it worked out, schedule-wise.
          As for bookmarks, what a fun post!
          Highlighter in paper color made me laugh.
          I’ve used all recently except the bandage. Also: nail file, Post-it note, penny, book jacket flap… (hmm. I have a stack of bookmarks for books I’ve created, but I never remember to use them for my own reading)
          Forgottenbookmarks.com has lots of fun finds.

      • Ed says

        February 20, 2012 at 6:58 pm

        I’ll wait by the phone.

  3. Lisa Jenn Bigelow says

    February 20, 2012 at 7:56 am

    Very funny. I confess my main consideration is what I’d hate to lose if I accidentally returned a library book with said bookmark (money, ID). I have been known to mark books with tissues… but only the most pristine, fresh from the box!

  4. Kell Andrews says

    February 20, 2012 at 7:56 am

    The worst is when I’m confident I’ll remember my page number, because I rarely do.

    • Travis says

      February 20, 2012 at 8:46 am

      Oh yes – I think you’re on to something there. “Nothing” has to be the worst.

  5. Erik Wittmer says

    February 20, 2012 at 8:46 am

    I love this competition. I have used most of these book marks during my reading life. The thing that kills me is when students flip the book over to run and get a tissue or need to use the bathroom. Just grab something to save the spine!

  6. Augusta Scattergood says

    February 20, 2012 at 9:39 am

    As a former school librarian, all I can say is Love This!
    Ugh to the (used) tissue. (Thanks for picking my book to display the money and not the Kleenex, by the way.)
    I kind of like it when I borrow a library book and it has a real bookmark forgotten inside it. I feel a kinship with the previous reader.

  7. Joanne Levy says

    February 20, 2012 at 9:40 am

    The pencil vs. I.D. one was difficult. The pencil is too bulky, so the functionality of it isn’t there. But yeah, losing I.D. is bad. I chose pencil, though, because at least the I.D. still actually works as a bookmark.

  8. Kate Coombs says

    February 20, 2012 at 9:45 am

    “…like buying a highlighter in ‘paper color'”–genius! I remember the days when I really did recall the page number. Alas, those days are gone. My favorite bookmark right now is a business card, but I’ve been guilty of using both small scraps of paper and junk mail on a regular basis.

  9. Cindy says

    February 20, 2012 at 9:59 am

    Funny! No crickets gently chirping here. As a school librarian I knew exactly where you were headed. Voting-wise I opted for choices that were easier on the books. I find all kinds of fun things in books – although, sadly, no one has left me any money. I’m just waiting for my first electronic-device-as-bookmark in the book return.

  10. Margie Culver says

    February 20, 2012 at 10:00 am

    What a wonderful idea, Travis. Do you care if I use this idea with my students, giving you credit of course? I have to admit, shameful as it is, that most frequently, now that I wear glasses for reading, to using them to mark my spot.

    • Travis says

      February 20, 2012 at 10:04 am

      Of course!

  11. shelly says

    February 20, 2012 at 10:42 am

    You missed my favorite! Several years ago I went to a demonstration on book repair and was given a booklet (by Demco) and inside was an illustration of a book with a piece of raw bacon sticking out! Raw bacon! I have tried again and again to imagine the scenario where one would resort to using a piece of raw bacon as a bookmark and why it would be such a popular situation that it would be featured in a book repair booklet.

  12. Kristin McIlhagga says

    February 20, 2012 at 11:25 am

    This made my day… I needed a good chuckle this morning.
    My daughter is a big fan of the tiny piece of paper… then gets annoyed because she can’t find it. 🙂

  13. Amanda says

    February 20, 2012 at 11:30 am

    This is epic. I have to admit, my head almost explodes whenever I see one of my students bookmarking their book with another book. Grrr… that’s why I hand out awesome bookmarks all the time, people! 🙂

  14. Charlene Irvin-Brown says

    February 20, 2012 at 12:31 pm

    A student was hysterical one day because used used the minuscule piece of paper and couldn’t find her place. Almost anything is better than when they bend the corner back. I am getting sick just thinking about it. I have to take several deep breaths before I call them on this or they might get a body part bent back. I supply tons of fun books marks too including fun scratch as sniff. They just don’t use them.

  15. Deb Marshall says

    February 20, 2012 at 12:36 pm

    Oh my word…I have used every. single. one of these. Just about spewed the coffee when I saw the little bitty bit of paper!

  16. Barb Rosenstock says

    February 20, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    still laughing. In the book piles on my desk, every single one of your examples (except the ID) is represented, most more than once. In sight are more than 5 perfectly good “real” bookmarks which just don’t cut it for some reason. Raw bacon? At least I haven’t sunk that low.

  17. Janet Thompson says

    February 20, 2012 at 2:48 pm

    It’s a good list. I’ve used all but the bandage and ID unless you count something like a conference ID or swipe card, then I’m also guilty of that. Okay, I don’t use $ either, but did use Monopoly $ recently. Let it be remembered that bookmark users are not folding down the pages. Guess I fall into the just-grab-something-to-save-the-spine category.

  18. David W says

    February 20, 2012 at 3:13 pm

    @Shelly – yes, I wanted to write in bacon: we’ve had that happen at our library. But the most interesting I’ve found – and I’ve found them many times – are snapshots, including – this would have to be a contendor for worst/best – compromising polaroids.

  19. Mrs. N says

    February 20, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    This post had me snorting! It is sooo true, so, of course, I just had to vote and then share it with my MS buds. Thanks for posting about this very real and serious issue. It made my day. 😀

  20. Betsy says

    February 21, 2012 at 3:27 pm

    I think the worst thing I’ve found is a used dental floss pick thing. Seriously, so gross. I really don’t get the tissue thing, though. We get a lot of books back with tissue bookmarks.

  21. Julie Cummins says

    February 22, 2012 at 7:37 pm

    You left out a slice of bacon!

  22. Laurie says

    March 9, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    So I’m not the only one who complains! I’ve seen pens, coupons, baby pictures and a tiny flashlight. Also a camera. According to a library myth someone found a (gasp) fried egg, but I can’t verify that one.

  23. Anne Marie says

    December 11, 2012 at 10:56 am

    Help!! I can’t figure out how to vote!!

  24. Anne Marie says

    December 11, 2012 at 10:57 am

    Oh, I guess that’s because this is nearly a year old… 😉

  25. wavefront says

    September 30, 2014 at 9:45 am

    Hey! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that
    would be okay. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new
    posts.

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