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I have a friend who I no longer lend books to because the one time I did, my book was returned in terrible condition. The cover was creased and many of the pages were too - and the binding was so limp, it was almost falling apart. She told me that she dogears pages to mark her spot and she bends the book backwards (so the front and back covers are touching) so she can hold it easier with one hand. I was horrified. I wouldn't have minded (most books I give away with the intent of not expecting them back) but this was one of my all time favorite books! I don't care how she treats her own books but I really thought she should have had more respect for someone else's property.
On the other end of the spectrum, my husband can read a book and leave it looking completely untouched. He barely opens the pages, I don't know how he can even see the text near the binding because he opens the book that slightly.
Personally, I do wind up with some creasing in the binding but it is still firmly intact and I would never even think to bend it completely in reverse.
So where are you in the spectrum? And if you are one of the "use and abuse" book readers, do you try to be more careful and respectful when someone lends you a book?
I'm thinking of putting some of my books in storage or a safety deposit box to protect them from my constant re-reading. Recently I accidentally tore the page of a library book and contacted the library to let them know of the damage so they could fix it or replace the book. THAT's how I feel about my books and why I only lend them to people I trust to respect them equally.
I treat my books well and cannot stand to lend books out only to have it torn up. I even had a friend highlight and underline stuff all throughout one of my books. It is beyond irritating.
I have a friend who I no longer lend books to because the one time I did, my book was returned in terrible condition. The cover was creased and many of the pages were too - and the binding was so limp, it was almost falling apart. She told me that she dogears pages to mark her spot and she bends the book backwards (so the front and back covers are touching) so she can hold it easier with one hand. I was horrified. I wouldn't have minded (most books I give away with the intent of not expecting them back) but this was one of my all time favorite books! I don't care how she treats her own books but I really thought she should have had more respect for someone else's property.
On the other end of the spectrum, my husband can read a book and leave it looking completely untouched. He barely opens the pages, I don't know how he can even see the text near the binding because he opens the book that slightly.
Personally, I do wind up with some creasing in the binding but it is still firmly intact and I would never even think to bend it completely in reverse.
So where are you in the spectrum? And if you are one of the "use and abuse" book readers, do you try to be more careful and respectful when someone lends you a book?
I'm with you in believing that books - particularly ones that belong to someone else - should be handled carefully. Some of the ones I own are so thick (700-1,000 or more pages) that it would be impossible to not damage the spine. Those are the ones I usually buy two copies of - one hard cover, one paperback. The hard cover goes on my bookshelf and the paperback is the one I pull out when I want to read or reread it. If someone wants to borrow a book from me, they usually get the paperback. As I prefer to have books handy for rereading, I don't usually borrow them except once in a great while from the library.
I don't generally keep books around. Once I've read it, I have no reason to go back to it again. It all ends up *up here*.
Yeah, I'm like that with most books but I like to keep my all time favorites around because I do occassionally re-read them. Still, even with the books I don't plan to keep, it feels disrespectful somehow (even if it's my book, not someone elses) to damage it. Just last night, I accidentally bent a tiny corner of a page and immediately thought "Oh man!" and tried to flatten it out. I don't even plan on keeping this one.
I treat the books carefully. mostly, I get library books. However, the few books that I do buy, I don't eat etc. while reading and never bend the pages!
I do a "first open" of hardbacks I intend to keep. The glued binding of a new book is all one piece and can be severely cracked if the book is opened up wide. I place the closed book on its spine, then slowly lay down one of the covers, then the other one. Then take a few pages from one side, then the other and open them up, flattening them on the open covers. And repeat the process until reaching the center of the book. This produces many small cracks in the binding instead of one big one right in the center. The binding is then flexible and intact and ready for a lifetime of reading.
I buy mostly paperbacks and even though I read them more than once (some many, many times) most of them look like they were just printed. I hate when a spine gets cracked or creases start showing up... specially on the covers.
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