bookmarks that enhance your reading experience
This copy of The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks is the hardcover editions and in PERFECT condition. If you are interested in purchasing it, send me a message on Instagram – @italicbookmarks. I only have one copy so the first one to message me will get it.
$9 including shipping (cover price $20; Amazon listing $13.25)
Check back often; I only list books that are in perfect condition.
I came across this perfect condition used copy of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. If you are interested in purchasing it, send me a message on Instagram – @italicbookmarks. I only have one copy so the first one to message me will get it.
$10 including shipping (cover price $26; Amazon listing $15.45)
Check back often; I only list books that are in perfect condition.
I am a great advocate of the public library system. Our local Salt Lake County library system is a great resource for research and electronic media as well as my favorite fiction books. I was excited to pick up two brand new books there over the weekend: Becoming by Michelle Obama, and A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne. Each of these titles was released just a few weeks ago, and now I have my hands on a copy. Absolutely free of charge (as long as we get them back before the due date)!
Using most library systems is fairly simple. Here are a few general tips for how to use your system to the fullest:
1. Use the HOLD system. Each library system might be sightly different, but every location will have an option where you can look up a title online (or even on your phone), reserve a copy, and have it delivered to the location nearest you to pick up. These HOLD titles are reserved in a special area of your library and only you can check them out with your card number. For new titles you may have to wait in a queue if there are a lot of other users who want that title, but I have a tip for that too (BELOW). I have even heard of some cities where you can have books delivered right to your door when they are available!
2. Check out the NEW RELEASE section. In many branches of our library system there are special shelves and displays where they have additional copies of very popular titles. This is a special feature to increase your chance of being able to read some of those hot items. In some cases these might be available to check out, in other cases those special copies might be reserved just to be read on-site. If you like reading at coffee shops or bookstores, try the library reading room. PERFECT!
3. Reserve titles before their release dates. In most cities you can reserve titles online before they are even released. If you read a list of upcoming releases from a website or news publication, don’t wait until you see those on the shelves. You can put a hold on those items and they will be reserved for you as soon as they are published. For example, my wife was excited to read Michelle Obama’s book Becoming. I put a hold on the book two weeks before the release date and we ended up 35th on the list even though it wasn’t yet published! When I checked again a few days after the release date there were 345 people that were on the hold list! Needless to say it was a very popular title, so I was happy to be pretty early on the list, otherwise my wife wouldn’t have gotten that book until next summer!
4. Reading library books helps your favorite authors. You might think that if you check out a book by your favorite author they don’t see any benefit from that because you don’t have to pay anything for the book. I have spoken with several authors though, who say that checking one of their books out at the library can help them out as much as actually buying the book. A library will buy several copies of a new title in order to have it available for everyone who might want it. The number of copies they buy is related to the popularity of the book. One of the most important factors in determining how many new books to purchase is from how many of the authors previous books have been checked out in the past. Want to help a writer? Check out their book at the library.
5. The age of the internet. The library might seem like an old school institution, but they are very up with the times. You can find books and audiobooks online through Overdrive, electronic databases and learning resources, and many other cool things on your library’s website or smartphone app. All you need is a library card number.
Here they are! When all of our previous styles sold out suddenly, we first considered just producing more of the same designs. On second thought, however, the thing that drives us is the desire to create new and beautiful things that readers will enjoy. We decided to retire all of the past designs and come up with two brand new items! These items are currently in production, so we just have the art files to show off at this point, but these will soon be available to order through our home page. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
New Flower Bookmark: 
With the popularity of our previous floral designs, we had to make another flower bookmark. This pattern was created to show off the beautiful colors of our materials, and to incorporate some smaller details that add to the tactile element of the bookmark. You will love looking at and touching this bookmark!
Wake Up! Bookmark: 
We intended to create a design that middle grade and high school readers would find interesting and fun. We ended up with one of our coolest designs ever. This bookmark provides the tactile perception that makes these items unique through several small icons in a repeating pattern. The design is primarily black, white and red, but we added detail work in color to catch the eye as well. These make great gifts for any student or young reader that needs a little bit of encouragement reading, but is also a cool item for those you know who are already bookworms. Once you see the pattern and feel the texture, you will want one for yourself too.
If you would like to receive an update as soon as these items are available for order, just leave your contact info on our homepage: go to home page
I asked this question earlier today on instagram, and as always the community had a lot to say. There were so many readers who chimes in to answer this question, which can sometimes be a difficult decision to make. There were a few familiar titles, some that I have been wanting to read, and even a few that I haven’t heard of before. Take a look:
Getting kids excited about reading books can be a challenge. There are more things than ever that compete for our attention, and some parents struggle to get their children to read a book. One of the things that works well in my house is… essentially bribery. We load up on treats, we find a stack of books, and we pull out every blanket that we own to build “nests” for the kids. They love it!
Our kids are pretty young still: six, four, two, so they are fairly easy to bribe and manipulate. Do you have any tricks to help young children, or older kids to spend time with books?
I came across a nice little info graphic on the web that illustrates some of the advantages of reading books.
And all of these are true, or at least they “might be” true. There is one that I can’t relate to personally. (See below). I can never seem to get out of a bookstore without dropping twenty or thirty bucks! Ha.
I bought this book at a signing in Boston last week. The author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah read a selection and gave some thoughts on his experience as a new writer. The book is a collection of short stories with deep, impactful themes but told in digestible and entertaining settings. These stories each mix an aspect of fantasy or surrealism with a message that we can relate to today. These stories are significant and meaningful, but easy to read and hard to forget. I blew through the book in less than a week.
Plus the colors are just right for fall. Ha!
I had a chance to hear this hot new author read from and sign his new book Friday Black at Harvard Bookstore in Boston.
This writer is exactly the type of person that you truly want to find great success. While the subjects of many of his short stories are dark and foreboding Adjei-Brenyah was upbeat and funny during his discussion of the writing process and while answering questions from the audience.
I have had a chance to read the first 100 pages of his book Friday Black and I am finding it very enthralling. These stories each have a definite edge, and some even have aspects of fantasy or science fiction, but they are each relevant and meaningful for the modern day.
Read Friday Black, and if you have a chance to see Adjei-Brendan in person, don’t miss it.
Summer is finally and most definitely over. We had our first snow in the mountains of Utah this past week. We are preparing ourselves mentally for significantly less sunshine for the next six months… but it’s not all bad:
Hot tea and a good book. Although I just can’t seem to get into this particular book. Oh well, there are plenty more on my shelves to take its place.
italic bookmarks 