I’d like to talk about a solid brass bookmark that I use pretty much every single day. Visually, it’s quite sleek and slender, with an intricate geometric pattern etched into the top half, whilst the bottom is polished smooth. It has a tiny dark green silk tassel attached to a loop at the top, which hangs out over the spine of a book. Right in the centre, there's a delicate engraving of a brief quote about perseverance, which really adds character to it.
I actually received it as a parting gift from a close friend a couple of years ago, just before I moved flats. We used to spend hours browsing second-hand bookshops together, so she knew I had a habit of folding over page corners, which she absolutely despised. She gave it to me specifically to cure me of that habit, and it definitely worked.
Nowadays, I tend to reserve it for hefty, long-form fiction, the sort of thick historical novels or sprawling fantasy epics that take several weeks to get through. Because it’s made of thin, sturdy metal, it slips neatly between pages without tearing the paper or warping the binding, which often happens with bulkier wooden or leather markers.
To be honest, it’s quite special to me for a couple of reasons. On a practical level, it keeps me grounded in a lengthy narrative and stops me from losing momentum when a plot slows down. More importantly, though, it holds strong sentimental value. Whenever I pick up a novel and see that familiar brass shine, it instantly reminds me of my friend and the shared conversations we had over a warm cup of tea.