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Admin
Posts: 4004
Location: Dallas, Texas | I read this piece titled The Pleasure of Destroying a Good Book and it got me thinking about how I treat my books. I'm a little more particular with my books than is the author but I totally get what he's saying. How about you? Vote in our Twitter poll and don't forget to follow us if you aren't already.
The Pleasure of Destroying a Good Book https://t.co/SLGSshjVA2 How do you treat your books? — Worlds Without End (@WWEnd) Poll - July 6, 2016
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Uber User
Posts: 794
| I treat them well. Sometimes I've even been known to sign a pre-nup. | |
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New User
Posts: 3
Location: Germany | It kind of depends on the book. For example I have a few books from the Folio Society which I treat which extra care (I was devastated when some slipcases broke when I moved into a new city), on the other hand I buy lots of used books which I treat corresponding to their condition (for a long time I did not buy former library copies because I don't like the markings etc. but I kind of changed my habits and now also buy books in poorer conditions). Then there are used books who almost fall apart but which I handle with extra care because they are special to me like Asimovs End of Eternity.
What I was never able to do, not even in books for school or university, was to make markings or highlighting text it somehow feels so wrong to me.
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Uber User
Posts: 613
Location: New Zealand | I like my books to look well-loved. A book with no creases on the spin does not look read, let alone loved. You can tell the books I love the most - they are falling to pieces and yet I can't bear to replace them with a new version because there is a whole history of reading there. | |
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Uber User
Posts: 1465
Location: The Netherlands | I try to keep them in decent condition but some of them have moved with me six or seven times no. No matter how careful you are, it doesn't do much for their shape. | |
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Regular
Posts: 83
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania | Thanks for the link to the article, Administrator. That was a fascinating read. Sort of like Voerdus up above, I have a sort of hierarchy of treatment. I buy most of my books used, many in big bagful lots from library book sales. Some are in nice condition, some aren't. I have what I call "travelling books"; paperback books that are already heavily creased and worn by previous readers. These are the books I will take out of the house, usually tucked in my hip pocket, to work, to appointments; these are the books I read while eating or in bed at night; these are the books I don't mind if they get dropped on asphalt or down behind the headboard, I don't mind if they get dribbles of oatmeal or sauce on them. Then I have better books, books in nice condition that I will only read while sitting up or reclining and not doing any other activity, for fear of damaging them further. Then finally I have my treasures: vintage pulps and new books and prestige books, such as my collected, massive, hardbound Calvin & Hobbes. For these rarities and most precious collection items, I will minimize my handling of the book: I will set-up a special table and rest the book there, sitting strictly upright, handling only with a piece of paper or plastic between my fingers and the book's covers and pages, bending the pages only as far as they will naturally bend, sometimes peering into the dark inner margin with a flashlight, if necessary, to see the beginnings of lines. I cannot bring myself to write in or mark up a book (I usually won't even buy a book, even a cheap one, that's been marked up), which is why I have notebooks full of hand-transcribed quotes and favorite passages. | |
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How do you treat your books? Twitter poll...