Literary décor

For as long as I remember, I’ve never really been one for unnecessary* frills and fancies. And in my vocabulary, unnecessary means things like pen holders (I kept everything in my pencil case, until I started my current job and a stainless steel mug full of stationery was part of the welcome wagon on my very first day), paperweights (my cell phone works just the same, and I don’t like having plastic dolphins filled with purple water sloshing around on my desk), and bookmarks (I use things like rulers, the occasional postcard I receive from subscriptions like Chanel and Anya Hindmarch, and, at one point, even an old envelope folded in half).

And then, just this past weekend, as I was walking past the stationery section of 1Utama’s MPH, I spotted this:

In a sudden bout of girly-girl excitement, it took me less than a minute to decide that I wanted it, not in the least because it looked so pretty hanging on the rack, and also because Afham finally dared to voice out that, given how much I read and carry my books around, it was high time I moved past using nondescript objects to mark my pages (“It’s very pai kua (unsightly), baby,” he patiently maintained when I said there was nothing wrong with the postcards, taking care not to try justifying the envelopes). So I finally got my first (as far as I can remember) real bookmark.

And just in case you’re curious, this is the book it’s currently serving.

* Contrary to what some might argue, these unnecessary things are not to be confused with other functional objects like makeup brush holders, because such brushes are fragile and worth several paperweights, therefore requiring proper care and maintenance.