The Sword and Laser discussion

I guess I fall in the mundane Lawful Good square. Here are decades of bookmarks, not including the bookmarks still inserted in books I never finished and possibly lost forever...

That made me smile. I guess I'm chaotic good, I've never seen the point of "official" bookmarks, unless they came free from the book store. But I would recycle old envelopes, or magazine subscription cards (personal favorite), or other random scraps of paper for this purpose all the time. However, I would not be so callus as to use three dimensional items for this. I think the folks that use fruit for bookmarks are worse then page folders.

Not keeping track at all since my Kindle and Audible app do it for me.

Silvana wrote: "Not keeping track at all since my Kindle and Audible app do it for me."

The alignment chart I posted doesn't say anything about ebooks or audio books, but most ebook readers have a bookmark tool. I buy a lot of Kindle books and often switch between reading on a Kindle and reading on my phone. The bookmark tool has been useful for those occasions when switching back and forth confuses Kindle.

Does the Audible app offer any sort of explicit bookmark tool?

When I read paper, I was True Neutral. I never had an issue remembering where I was, partly due to reading consistently - I didn't put a book down and come back to it weeks later.

I read ebooks now and an ebook will open where you left off if it's on the same device. If it's on a different one, you can sync positions. In either case it's a non-issue.

I grew up with a Chaotic Good reader mother who used scraps of anything; and I am normally a Lawful Good, but in times of panic, I have bounced around that chart.

If I'm reading a physical book, chaotic good. Receipts being my favorite, but I'll use whatever is handy.

Let’s see...

Using a bookmark in Bystanders, so Lawful Good.

Just remembering for Spectrum 26: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, so True Neutral.

Using a pen for Ultimate Comics: X-Men, by Brian Wood, Volume 2, so Chaotic Neutral.

Bookmark for Mission: Critical, also Lawful Good.

Folding a corner for Engineering Infinity, Neutral Evil.

Not keeping track in This Alien Shore, Chaotic Neutral.

Open face down for Astro City, Vol. 17: Aftermaths, Lawful Evil.

I think I might be a minor god. Or a book psychopath. Bookopath.

If it was my own book, i'd just rip out each page after I read it and throw it away. That way you always know where you are.

For a library book, or someone else's book, I'd make a huge dog ear, half a page at least.

I kid, I kid ;-) There is a special place in hell (which I don't believe in) for people who dog ear or rip books (on purpose). It's right next to the section for people who film videos on their phones in portrait mode and post them on social media.

When I was a kid I used to make my own bookmarks. As an adult I just used pieces of coloured paper.

Now that I only read on my iPad I just use their bookmark.

Lawful and Chaotic Good aren't that far apart - I assume by "bookmark" they mean formally made bookmark - in which case I'm 99% Chaotic Good because my bookmarks are almost always theater / baseball tickets.

Tassie Dave wrote: "It's right next to the section for people who film videos on their phones in portrait mode and post them on social media."

Hey now, let’s not blame the user for poor design. That’s like victim-blaming.

Phones are meant to be held in one hand, and the camera is just a teeny little button. They could *easily* just let you pick the orientation, but nooo... you have to turn the whole thing and risk dropping it.

I love those old books that have the inbuilt bookmark attached to the book made out of material. I have a few of those still.

Trike wrote: "Hey now, let’s not blame the user for poor design. That’s like victim-blaming."

I bet that phone users our age think about the viewers of their media ;-)

The worse videos are the ones that get picked up by news outlets and shown on TV. Portrait mode on a widescreen TV looks terrible.

I was chaotic good for a long time. But now I'm lawful good. At least for the few physical books I still read these days.

I've been all over the place on this spectrum in my life. I mostly read comics & I try to use a real book mark if I don't finish one in a sitting.

I wish there was something good built into Libby & Audible where I consume most novels. I have to take screenshots of my progress because both have frequently tried to make me re-listen to hours of the book simply because I used other apps & came back to it later or the next day.

Tassie Dave wrote: "I love those old books that have the inbuilt bookmark attached to the book made out of material. I have a few of those still."

Some of the newspaper comic strip reprints that I've read have a built-in bookmark. The publisher, Library of America, has reprinted Star Wars and Star Trek newspaper strips, with this convenient book design.

I usually use a book mark (paper). I also use a scrap of paper if I cannot find a book mark and I will lay if face down sometimes for a very short period of time (a few minutes).

Am I the only one who has ever used another book as a bookmark?

Definitely not the only one, Trike! I’ve been lawful good, chaotic good, lawful neutral, lawful evil, neutral evil and chaotic evil at various times. Lately though it’s mostly digital bookmarks across book types (kindle and audiobook) and screenshots at a minimum.

When I'm in proper Academic Research mode, my bookmarks consist of holding the book open with a different book, which sort of layers up like that for 4 or 5, and then on top of that is my phone (the best paperweight of them all)

I'll use a bookmark if there is one close to hand when I'm reading (rarely). If it's "bathroom reading" I'll use a page from whatever "page-a-day" calendar I have in there. If it's a hardcover I'll use the flap of the dust jacket. If it's a paperback or doesn't have a dust jacket I just remember the page number (most common).

As someone who has engaged in the questionable practice of bookmarking a book with another book, I would like to say that placement matters. If you put the marking book far enough away from the center you don't damage the marked book. Don't hurt the spine!

Well I'll use a kindle bookmark. But sometimes it doesn't sync. If I lose place a lot I'll start writing down the page in the simplenote app.

I use a Ansel Adams bookmark. It is very nice and I kept track of it.

Mark wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Not keeping track at all since my Kindle and Audible app do it for me."

The alignment chart I posted doesn't say anything about ebooks or audio books, but most ebook readers have a..."

Hmmm I only use the bookmark tool to bookmark interesting stuff.

Kindle and Audible usually starts at the part I left off - even across devices so that's convenient.

And yes, you can also bookmark parts in Audible books and even write notes.

Anyway, I do read physical books, still, though very rarely, and I use various bookmarks which I got from stores/friends and sometimes brand tags I like. I like the old fashioned ones better (one piece of thick paper) than the clippy ones.

Sometimes actual bookmarks, most often my library check-out receipt for library books.

In my own books, if they have a dust jacket I often stick one edge of that into the correct page.

Every once in a while I get an advanced reading copy from my library and I feel free to dog-ear page-corners.

These days if I'm reading a physical book I'll usually be using a book dart -- a friend gave me a tin of them some years ago.



A trick I learned years ago (before the bookdarts): Take a sealed envelope, clip off the corner, then voila!, you have a bookmark you can slide onto the corner of the page you're reading and it won't be sticking out of the book and getting banged around in a backpack or whatever.

I've definitely moved between lawful good true neutral and chaotic good with chaotic good being the most frequent. Like Silvana though these days I'm using audio books or Kindle so I don't even need to keep track.

Heh: https://images.app.goo.gl/RtnPBRsFRWT...

Ha: https://images.app.goo.gl/NmbnhyCpQUJ...

Hoo-boy: https://images.app.goo.gl/BNg6jUecsxU...

Um: https://images.app.goo.gl/HMemxnM8EKk...

Dude: https://images.app.goo.gl/CZ2wfqtDHtm...

Genius: https://images.app.goo.gl/RpyRc9nbZoa...

Perfect: https://images.app.goo.gl/azh3chmc77t...

Fred: https://images.app.goo.gl/S9HrnWcyWcs...

Primarily lawful good and use a bookmark. But I also have been known to do neutral good, and chaotic good - usually buy using my e-reader to mark my place in a traditional paper book.

I also use the bookmark functions for my e-and-audio books. I've had a few instances where the apps don't remember where I stopped correctly or I flip pages upon closure if the e-book, so I mark just in case.

Trike wrote: "Genius: https://images.app.goo.gl/RpyRc9nbZoa..."

This should be the Authorized Sword & Laser Bookmarking Practice!

Sword: https://images.app.goo.gl/BQtYsvW1WEV...

No laser. 😕

Trike wrote: "Sword: https://images.app.goo.gl/BQtYsvW1WEV...

No laser. 😕"

One of these might do what we need https://youtu.be/n4fp89a-edo

Perfect

Mark wrote: "Trike wrote: "Sword: https://images.app.goo.gl/BQtYsvW1WEV...

No laser. 😕"

One of these might do what we need https://youtu.be/n4fp89a-edo"

Mark wrote: "Trike wrote: "Sword: https://images.app.goo.gl/BQtYsvW1WEV...

No laser. 😕"

One of these might do what we need https://youtu.be/n4fp89a-edo"

That’s real? Holy 13 grand firestarter, Batman!

Seth wrote: "Sometimes actual bookmarks, most often my library check-out receipt for library books.

In my own books, if they have a dust jacket I often stick one edge of that into the correct page.

Every once..."

I got a home-made version of the envelope bookmark design as a present, but it's a pikachu so it got ears pointing out and is looking rather banged up by now:

https://imgur.com/a/qG8pV0x

Trike wrote: "That’s real? Holy 13 grand firestarter..."

13 grand in New Taiwan dollars. Only $422 USD without any accessories. Let us know when you get one!

I use a bookmark. For physical books, I have a metal bookmark made from the roof of the Civic Arena. For kindle, I just tap the corner to mark my page.

A combination of Lawful Good and Chaotic Good. I gather postcards and other small advertising handouts with cute or interesting art at conventions, use them as bookmarks, and discard them as they get worn out. I actively dislike book clips and darts for some reason.

Dara wrote: "I use a bookmark. For physical books, I have a metal bookmark made from the roof of the Civic Arena. For kindle, I just tap the corner to mark my page."

So, like a 4-ton I-beam? Overkill, but I like it.

Tassie Dave wrote: "If it was my own book, i'd just rip out each page after I read it and throw it away..."
I have known a group, that was trying to get folks to read, use this as an option. Buy the book, tear out a page, read it over lunch, and keep going until you 'consume the book'. So the reader wouldn't be intimidated by the number of pages.

As a reader it's definitely painful to contemplate.

I think my most interesting bookmark is made out of layers of artistic duct tape with comic book sayings like BAM! POW! and HA!. layered on top.
Stays in place rather than sliding out at the worst moments and molds to the curve of the page nicely rather than being all uncompromising.

Melani wrote: "If I'm reading a physical book, chaotic good. Receipts being my favorite, but I'll use whatever is handy."

This.

Tassie Dave wrote: "If it was my own book, i'd just rip out each page after I read it and throw it away. That way you always know where you are."

I remember in the movie Wild when the protagonist is getting advice on how to lighten her load on the PCT, an old-timer tells her to rip out the pages she is finished with (especially the sections of the guide book for the part of the trail she has already finished). There is a saying among long-distance backpackers that goes something like "miles turn ounces into pounds" and dead tree books aren't light.

As much as the idea of damaging a book makes me flinch, something is intriguing about making reading an ephemeral experience: once you have read the words, they disappear and all you have left is your memory of them.

Can we please stop talking about the sacrilege of destroying books...please...8^)

I don't just use one method. I often use a bookmark, or anything nearby (pens/pencils are great, but I've also used wet oven mitts or dirty utensils while cooking, oops) and also tend to leave a book lying open face down, or just fold a corner when I'm in a hurry.

I am aware this probably makes me a bad person.

Ok, so I was wrong about Audible. There is a bookmark button. I just used it today for the 1st time while reading GtN!

Aaron wrote: "As much as the idea of damaging a book makes me flinch, something is intriguing about making reading an ephemeral experience: once you have read the words, they disappear and all you have left is your memory of them."

Reminds me a bit of recent "legacy" tabletop games where you permanently change the game by adding stickers to the board, adding or throwing away cards or components, etc.

On destroying books (those who are sensitive about this, don't click): (view spoiler)[I'm getting ready for a long-distance move, and offloading a LOT of books. The used bookstores in the area don't take cookbooks, books without dust jackets, travel books, etc. and there's no way I'm foisting this stuff off on friends. My reluctance to trash books is eroding quickly in the face of pragmatism. (hide spoiler)]

A food or water stain is a sign of love, Qukatheg. Just try to avoid doing that with your library books. :D (Maybe I'm a bad person, too.)

Beth wrote: "Aaron wrote: "As much as the idea of damaging a book makes me flinch, something is intriguing about making reading an ephemeral experience: once you have read the words, they disappear and all you ..."

I just donate them to a thrift store.

I have a reasonably fine tuned system that instantly brings me back to almost exactly where I stopped. Most bookmarks have one very printed side and one side blank or almost blank. The blank side always faces to the page I'm on. If I've stored the book with the spine facing out, I know to start at top of the page. If I've stored the book with the page edges out, I start at the center of the page. This system has served me well for many years.