2008: Booking Thru Thursday – Conditioning

I haven’t done one of these in several weeks! Months, maybe!

Mariel suggested this week’s question.

Are you a spine breaker? Or a dog-earer? Do you expect to keep your books in pristine condition even after you have read them? Does watching other readers bend the cover all the way round make you flinch or squeal in pain?

When I was in high school, I had a friend (Hi Anna!) who was definitely not a spine-breaker.  Borrowing a book from her was stress-inducing as I tried to read it very delicately.  Because I am a spine-breaker.  Not purposefully, mind you… I just don’t care if the spine is broken or not and take no steps to prevent it.  I figure that if a book looks well-read and well-used… well… it must be a pretty good book!  My personal library is full of books that I got second-hand, whether through used book sales, family members, or Paperbackswap, and as long as the book is still readable I don’t care what sort of condition it is in.  I am mindful of other people’s preferences and don’t swap anything that’s in horrible shape, and I’m always careful with books that don’t belong to me.

I have tried to break myself of the habit of dog-earring. When I was younger, it used to be the only way I kept my place.  Now, I try to use a bookmark (right now I’m using some Mini-Moo cards I got for free when I signed up at Flickr), but if it’s a bookmarking emergency, I’ll still dog-ear.

The way I see it, people can love their books however they please! Bend or don’t bend, it’s up to you!