Better Bookmark Than Your Current One

This Instructable is not about how to make yet another bookmark. It's a bout an idea how to create an improved version of a bookmark.

How come?

Regular bookmark tells You where have You finished reading. The accuracy is up to a single page only. But because a bookmark lays between 2 pages, an accuracy is up to 2 pages.

I want to present You a way how to increase the accuracy to a single line level.

I couldn't find any instructable which tackles this problem and also nothing searching the web. So I thought that maybe it will be useful for somebody.

Let's start.

Books have many dimensions. But we can say that a smallest book comfortable enough for reading is more or less a size of an A5 format - 148mm × 210mm.

Every page in book contains a margin. For 1cm margin, a text area is arround 128mm x 190mm.

We usually put a bookmark into the edge between 2 pages. It means we don't need to care about one of horizontal margins leaving a final text area around 138mm x 190mm.

The main concept is to create a bookmark which height is at most half of the text on a page - You will see in a moment why is it important. Then mark somehow one one of the edge of the bookmark - E.g. with a text You are here.

I've picked size of the bookmark to be a square 100mm x 100mm. Why? I just want to have some margin so it fit almost any book. And also because I've used a square image as a decoration.

I've printed front and back, I've cut them and I've glued them together. Done.

The usage is as obvious as it looks like. You just mark the line where You stopped reading.

Please note that "You are here" marker is only on one side of the bookmark. Thanks to this, we can mark every line on 2 pages in a book:

• If You have stopped reading on a page somewhere on top - put Your marker facing top.
• If You have stopped reading on a page somewhere on the bottom so the bookmark pops out of the edge of the book - turn the bookmark upside down so the marker is facing bottom.

I hope You will look for a regular bookmark in a way that it is not 100% useful - sorry to say that.

Because the bookmark is sometimes upside down, it's a cool idea to use as a decoration such an image which looks ok in both directions. As You can see, I've used "Relativity" by Maurits Cornelis Escher. Another idea from this artist is Drawing hands. I'm sure You can find something nice which fits You.

Room for improvement: You can attach a ribbon to the bookmark so it pops out from the book either on top or on the bottom. Then it works more like a regular bookmark so it is easier to jump into the page right away.