Messages

I’ve checked out 129 books from my local library since 7/22/22. I get books that are funneled in from all over our area. The library network includes dozens of libraries. I only live here six months out of the year. That’s a lot of books from all over southeast Wisconsin!

A couple weeks ago I found a laminated bookmark that someone left in a book. It was about 3 x 5 inches printed in pastel colors with a border of roses. On one side it said “Daily Prayer.” You can see the other side in the photo above. I treated it as an angel message telling me to calm down—a reminder that I can always use.

Yesterday, I found the other two items in another book. They were references to a couple obscure facts in the narrative. Strange! Each item had been carefully copied and cut precisely. They were edged with transparent tape to preserve the edges. I began to wonder if this was a thing—leaving messages in books like the old message-in-a-bottle trick. I’m still trying to determine the significance of these recent “messages” for me.

I Googled, curious about finding things in books. Apparently, people leave things in books fairly regularly. Some maybe on purpose, others simply forgotten. One enterprising librarian even had a social media site with over 20,000 followers interested in the things she found. People leave grocery lists, love notes, drawings, gum wrappers, leaves, poems, photos, recipes, money.

I used to love the old library systems that recorded people’s names on the checkout list attached to the book. Especially in a small town, it was fun to see who had read the book before me. It gave the book a history and was proof that others shared my taste in certain reading material.

In all the books that I’ve read over the years, these three are the only items that I’ve found left behind. Now I’m considering what I might leave for people in the books that I read. Little notes of encouragement, favorite quotes, funny sayings?

Please comment if you’ve found something of interest in a book you’ve read. And, if you’ve found money, I probably forgot it. Please return.