Secret notes!

I've been meaning to do a post about things I find in books for a while. As a library assistant in a college (UK equivalent of 11th and 12th grade, though my college has some degree students and adult learners too), I've found a few interesting things in books during my day-to-day shelving and sectioning (putting sections in order). You get the usual sticky notes with frantic scribbling: social stratification, dependence v autonomy, misogyny!, and then you get funny things used as bookmarks: a bank statement, a brochure for a sexual health clinic, a collectible card for a character called Mr Pricklepants (I looked that one up; it's from Toy Story).

A few months back, sticking out of a social science book, I found a note informing me of the following:

You will die in seven days! Sorry! :)

Needless to say, this information was incorrect, but it did provide a source of amusement during an otherwise mundane (and annoyingly dusty) task.

On Wednesday I began reading An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. The first thing I saw on opening the book—which has been sitting in my massive TBR stack since Christmas—was this:

Fans of John Green may recognize the acronym: Don't forget to be awesome (as they say in my hometown).

I opened it up, and:

A note from someone else who just happens to really like this author and (and his actually pretty cool online community—see http://nerdfighters.ning.com/). How awesome is that?

It's sort of made me think of doing something similar. I've often thought of leaving notes in places students will find them. Things along the lines of subvert the patriarchy, don't let media control you, you're beautiful the way you are, etc. I thought I could leave them on Post-Its on stall doors in the restrooms, or something similar. But why not leave notes like this in books by authors I love, or in books about topics that are important to me? After all, reading creates communities—communities of people who love Shakespeare, or John Green, or Judy Blume; people who love 20th century art or genetics or the work of Friedrich Nietzsche. So why don't we try to connect a little more over the things we love?

So my question for you today, Dear Readers: have you ever discovered a secret note? Have you ever left one to be found? How did it make you feel? Let me know in the comments!