How do you treat your books?

[Purple*Lotus]

I am not talking about library books, or books borrowed from someone. Those I treat very gently so they are in the same condition when I return them.

I am talking about books that you own?

I can admit it, I have been known to dogear a page and write in the margins I try really hard to use a bookmark and keep a notebook nearby, but I have written some of my best poems in the margins of books

So how do you treat your books? Am I alone in making them "comfortable" or do you keep them in pristine condition?

[JessicaS]

I have dropped a couple in the bathtub.

Books I love I read 50000 times. My copy of Good Omens was dropped in the tub, bitten by a dog, has spaghetti sauce on it, was placed in chocolate syrup by dd while she was cleaning off the table, left in the dirt when I was reading outside and playing with the kids.

One can tell which books are not my favorites because they are not beat to hell.

I don't borrow books from people because I am worried about mucking them up. I do get a lot of books from the library but I am more careful with those.

I guess it is like the Velveteen Rabbit, they are "well loved"

[Purple*Lotus]

Ah, yes, one of the worst parts about being overweight- I can't read in the bathtub!! How I miss those days!

I am relieved that I am not the only one. I exchange books with a coworker a lot and mine are always well loved and hers come to me in perfect condition

[JessicaS]

There is an essay in Good Omens about trashed books and how those are their favorites to sign

[tinybutterfly]

I dogear pages, carry them around with me in my purse, fall asleep while reading and drop them or roll over on them in my sleep, carry them with me from room to room, I have underlined, I eat while reading, I used to read in the bathtub frequently and yes, have dropped books in the tub...I will shove on them to flatten the spines.

I am on my third set of Tolkien books. The others just fell apart after awhile.

Some of my books are in great shape, but those aren't the ones I read over and over.

I am very careful with library books or other people's books, but would rather not borrow books from someone as I worry I will be too hard on them. Library books usually already have a certain amount of wear, but another person's new, nice book...scary!

I like getting used books that are already partially broken in. But there is also something satisfying about a brand new book and I am the first person to read it and I get to break it in...

The books I love are well-loved.

P.S. Will someone come after us for book abuse?

[ollyoxenfree]

I have cherished collectibles that I am very careful to treat well.

I also have books that get fairly careless treatment - not library or borrowed books. I don't dogear pages - at least not routinely. We always seem to have paper lying around - business cards, sales receipts, old homework, newspaper - so finding a bookmark is never a problem. I don't hesitate to leave a book lying flattened open to the page though. I know it's bad for bindings. I also eat and drink over them, so the pages get crumbs or splattered.

I don't mind books that have notations in the margins. I enjoy a sense of communing with a past reader. In 84 Charing Cross Road, Helene Hanff writes an amusing passage about this link between readers.

I really dislike getting a library book that is dog-eared, dirty and food-stained though. A double standard perhaps, but there it is.

[Arduinna]

I treat most of my personal books as library books. I do write notes in cookbooks, and selected books I will highlight but that is pretty rare. I hate loaning out books because I am picky at how they are treated.

[limabean]

I dogear pages and have been known to crack a spine if the book takes too much effort to hold open otherwise. I usually read at least 50 pages at a go, so when I dogear the pages, it only ends up with a few pages with crease marks, which is no big deal at all IMO.

I never do either of those things with library books or books I borrow from friends, and truthfully I don't enjoy those reading experiences as much -- I can't stand straining to see the words near the center of the book because I'm so concerned about keeping the spine intact that I won't open it all the way.

[LaLaLaLa]

Since I married DH, I treat books much more carefully! We are both big readers, but he is super careful about not wrinkling, folding, creasing, "ruining" books. I can now see his point a bit--he reads a lot of sci-fi and fantasy stuff that goes out of print quickly; it's sometimes really hard for him to replace damaged books. He's been searching for copies of a handful of books for ages now and just can't get them.

I used to write in books and dogear the pages and such, but it drove DH so crazy, I gave it up and now mostly treat my books nicely. He cringes when we buy a picture book for a small relative (a frequent occurrence) and I insist on writing an inscription in the front cover.

Last week I was making biscuits from an Alton Brown cookbook, and the guy insists on writing out the amounts of stuff (flour, sugar) in ounces instead of cups like a normal person. After spending far too long on the internet looking up the actual measurements, I wrote them in the margins. I called out to DH as I was doing it, too: "hey, don't look, I'm writing in my cookbook! You can't stop me from doing it! The things I write will be there FOREVER! "

[HappilyEvrAfter]

My books are very well loved. I love to dogear, read in the bathtub, eat while I read, sit outside with them (where they sometimes get left), take them wherever I go, highlight profound lines, etc...
That's why I used to always buy hardback...they stand up to abusive behavior better.

I ALWAYS take the cover off a hardback and put it on a shelf till I'm done reading it. I abhor destroyed book covers if they come with one.

I don't tend to read books more than once, but they still get beaten up pretty badly the first time through.

But, like some PP I can't stand when all those things happen to library books. Kind of like mutual reader respect. If you want to abuse a book, please go purchase it. I don't need to be distracted by your mustard stain.
I understand accidents happen, but it still irks me.

I love to get thirft store books that have been written in...

[tndixiemom]

My books all look unread. I am so carefull with all of them. I cannot imagine writing in them or dogearing the pages. I never lay them flat. I always have a bookmark ready as soon as I sit down to read. When I am done, they go back on my bookshelf. I have over 500 books and only a handful have any wear. It is one thing I am anal about.

[paintedfire]

Originally Posted by abimommy

Books I love I read 50000 times.

One can tell which books are not my favorites because they are not beat to hell.

This is exactly me. I can read the same book, listen to the same song, watch the same movie, over and over again and never get sick of it.

I try to be careful with them, but something usually happens to them - covers torn in side my purse, dropped in something, forget where it is and then find it when I step on it and tear it and my butt up at the same time (this exact scenario has happened more times than I care to admit.)

I also collect rare books, and those I am EXTREMELY anal about. I don't even let anyone so much as breathe near them. I knew that I was serious about my now-fiance then-boyfriend when I didn't so much as flinch when he pulled one rare book of their shelf and started to examine it. I guess it's true - love makes you stupid.

[Owen'nZoe]

Originally Posted by LaLaLaLa

Last week I was making biscuits from an Alton Brown cookbook, and the guy insists on writing out the amounts of stuff (flour, sugar) in ounces instead of cups like a normal person. After spending far too long on the internet looking up the actual measurements, I wrote them in the margins. I called out to DH as I was doing it, too: "hey, don't look, I'm writing in my cookbook! You can't stop me from doing it! The things I write will be there FOREVER! "

Ha! I had to laugh at this one. All of my recipes by Alton Brown are scribbled all over, too. What is wrong with that man?!? Seriously

As for my books, it really depends on the book. In college, I dated a guy who treated every book like a holy relic. I respect that. However in the decade and a half since, I've decided that some books just don't call for that sort of treatment, so I have some books that are used and abused (cookbooks, cheap paperbacks) and others that I am super careful with. I still can't bring myself to ever break a binding or dogear a page, but I will sometimes pencil in the margins when needed, and don't freak out if a page gets smudged or creased.