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How possessive are you about your books?

Kavitha

Kavitha

New Member
I cant stand it if my books get dog eared, soiled, marked or torn. It gets on my nerves if someone forgets to return the book I lent them, worse if they lose it :(

But I like the whiff you get from a new book when you first open it (weird?:p ), and the crisp feel of the pages. Also I like books that yellow with age: gives them an authentic look. And I don't mind the 'read' look it gets once you finish reading the book ;)
 
I'm super possessive like that too. I can't help myself. I take exceptional care of everything I own so books should be no different.
 
I am very fussy about looking after my own books and would take great care of any that I borrowed off someone else. I expect the same respect back. I once lent my MIL my copies of David Edding's Belgariad and when I saw the state that they had gotten into, I said she could keep them. I'd rather buy replacements if I wanted to read them again than have those dogeared, cigarette smoke impregnanted tatters back :(

Needless to say, I won't be offering anything else for her to borrow.
 
There are only certain people that I will lend my books and manga to willingly now. When lending out I also remind them they will be shot if they dare to dog-ear the pages. I don't like it when my own books are damaged, but since I have to buy secondhand most of the time, little tears and marks are something I have to put up.

But yes, I am very possesive. Someone once borrowed my issue 1 of a magazine I have recently started collecting and I haven't got it back and they moved away. Now that issue isn't available. :( I've also had a couple of partly folded covers and worst of all... cracked spines and deep fingernail marks! :eek: How can someone DO that! Those were my favourite books...

*crys in the corner*
 
Bovine_Belle said:
when I saw the state that they had gotten into, I said she could keep them. I'd rather buy replacements if I wanted to read them again ...Needless to say, I won't be offering anything else for her to borrow.
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tartan_skirt said:
When lending out I also remind them they will be shot if they dare to dog-ear the pages. I've also had a couple of partly folded covers and worst of all... cracked spines and deep fingernail marks! :eek: How can someone DO that! Those were my favourite books...
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yeah, I have come across situations like that, where I have got my books back with torn covers, coffee spills, oil spills :mad: and all sorts of madness!
And once I lent a couple of books to my coworker and she never returned them, but she claimed she had. I was fuming by the end of it, and vowed never to lend books to people who I dont know well enough! :eek:
 
I am a maniac. I cover them with glossy paper so they won't get too tattered because I often carry them with me almost wherever I go. I don't mind giving them away once I've read them, though.
 
tartan_skirt said:
There are only certain people that I will lend my books and manga to willingly now.
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I am the same way. Though actually there is only one person, my brother-in-law, that I will lend books to. I am fanatical about my books. If I bought the book brand new, you can bet it all that even after I read it, it will look brand new. My brother-in-law is the same way, hence why I would only lend books to him. Unless of course I got a ratty copy of something from a used book store. ;)
 
I used to be super-protective of my books, but now I don't care so much - although I never, ever dog-tag my books. I'm not going to make myself uncomfortable whle reading by only opening the book a crack so as not to spoil the spine (something which I used to do). I like my books looking used.
 
When I first get books, I'm very possessive. No one can as much as peer between the covers until I have read it. After that, I'm very lenient with them. I won't make a big deal over one or two dog-ears or a small tear on the page--that's normal wear and tear that it'll get from me. I don't think I own a paperback that doesn't have creases down its spine, and since I read in the bathtub, sometimes the botom corners get a tad water-swollen. If it gets lost or badly damage, I request that it be replaced, but that's only happened once that I can remember.
 
As a general rule, I don't loan my books out. I ESPECIALLY don't loan the ones out that have been autographed.
But if I happen to loan one out, it has to be to my mom or someone who I know will be SUPER careful with it and treat it like I would treat it.
 
I won't lend my books out anymore. The last time I did was to my sister. I found them stuffed in a corner, stomped-on and unread, so I snatched them all back!:mad: ai127.photobucket.com_albums_p142_pussywillow_photos_avatar_19851.gif
 
I don't mind lending out hardcover books to friends/family since they hold up fairly well. Paperbacks are easier to ruin so I'm a lot more hesitant about letting people borrow those.

When I first get books, I'm very possessive. No one can as much as peer between the covers until I have read it. After that, I'm very lenient with them.
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Same here... to an extent. I don't mind if people look at books I randomly decided to buy (provided they don't start reading the things, of course) but if the book is something I've really been looking forward to, then only I maybe able to look at it first. Only fair, right?
 
My oldest sister, father, and I all pretty much consider our books to be interchangeable, so long as they return to the rightful owner eventually. I'm not the best person to loan books to, though. Since I'm liable to take it everywhere with me, it might get hurt. I'm very careful with my oldest sister's books, though, because I know she'd do the same for me and that it's important to her. Not so much with Daddy's. He reads a book once, then tosses it aside, or sometimes gives it to the base library.
 
Wow..... and I thought I was possesive about books! :cool:

I'm not one of those that needs my books in pristine condition; I read in the bathtub, on the train, at the restaurant- anywhere really! My books generally look 65 and ready for retirement when I get through, but I like to really enjoy them. I know if a book has water marks or food stains all over it, it must be good because I was way too interested in it to put it down while doing those pesky necessities, like eating and bathing. (I once dropped a book in the bathtub on accident. I can't even close it all the way now!! But I finished it while it was still wet..... :p )

I can feel some of you cringing behind your keyboards now... LOL... but all of my friends think I'm weird because I demand books back after loaning them out. Strange how I will forget someone owes me money, but I will never forget who has my books!
 
I'm very possessive about my books, despite the fact that my mom likes to sometimes take books from them without my knowledge/consent.
 
Hmmm...well I am not overly possessive I guess. I like books to have a worn/loved/read look to them, so I don't impsoe rules like not bending the spines. I like people to see that the books are being appreciated. I lend to my mother, father and sisters, and sometimes my grandmother, if I have anything she is interested in reading. My only rule is not to dog ear the pages. If they get bent by accident, then that's just part of their charm.

I also read in the bathtub, but only paperbacks, because I can replace them cheaply if they get too ragged with mileage.

Oh, and if it's an expensive volume of something, I ask that people not lay the book face down to mark their place. That's what the book jacket flaps are for. :D
 
When I first get a new book, I am stupidly possessive and will tear someone apart with my teeth if they even dare (see that rage? Grrr), ruin it in a way that somehow takes away that "perfection." However, I tend to tear them up myself when reading, and all of my books have that raggedy torn someone-beat-the-crap-out-of-me look when I'm done with them. After about a week or two after finishing the book I tend to be quite lenient with them, and let my friends read them if they ask (which they usually do since I praise anything for about a week after reading it).
 
I am a little possessive over the books that are special to me, but my possession goes only so far as to make sure it goes back on my bookshelf. I don't mind letting others read them, so long as I know I can trust them to be responsible with them, and return it when they are finished as soon as possible. Old books, new books, it doesn't matter to me, if they are books, they get treated equally. No dog earing the pages, no stepping on them to reach high places.
 
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