After confessing about how I treat the books I buy and freaking most of you out, I decided to write another post that may freak you guys out, this time about how I treat books I borrow from the library. Personally, how I treat the library books I borrow also freak me out a little.
I’ll sum it up with this simple sentence: I treat the library books I borrow badly.
When I go to the library, I borrow tons of books all at once. By tons, I mean at least five books. The bag I usually bring with me isn’t really big, so it’s pretty hard for me to stuff all of them in. Sometimes, paperback covers may be folded or wrinkled by accident during this tedious procedure. This sadly has happened more than once.
I usually go to the library to request and read the latest releases. I’m usually one of the first ones who gets them and when I do, I always crack open the spine, all the way, without any mercy because as you know, new books are hard to crack open. Sometimes, okay, a lot of times, I purposely do it. I just can’t help it, I love the cracking sound and I read the pages better when the book is wider.
When I’m lacking a bookmark, I (guiltily) bend the page from the top right-hand corner to keep track of where I am. (I can already imagine how many of you will hate me for doing this.)
I also throw library books all around the place. Like, when I’m finished with one, I just fling it onto the table…and sometimes miss. I only do that if I’m feeling ultra lazy though.
No wonder there is such a thing as library binding. They are used to protect books from evil people like me.
But hey, I have one redeeming quality! I never, ever, eat while reading a library book. I mean, have you ever opened a library book, only to have crumbs fall out on your lap? (Shudders.) I have. The main reason why I don’t ever eat while reading is because I tried to and it just didn’t work out. I always end up getting tons crumbs on myself while reading, so I had to quit doing so.
As you can see, I definitely treat my own books a lot better than I treat the library books I borrow.
Now, I want to know, how do you guys treat library books?
To be honest, I’m a bit – okay, a lot – appalled. You break spines (broken spines = completely useless in bookstores and must be thrown out), bend pages, and don’t give a second thought about shoving paperbacks into a bag and causing them damage?
While I don’t mistreat my books, I take extra care when it comes to library books. They aren’t mine. They don’t belong to me, I didn’t pay for them. I treat them the same as I would treat a book I borrow from a friend. I would never even think about bending pages or hurling books onto the floor!
Leah @ The Pretty Good Gatsby recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: Evergreen
-hides guiltingly-
Yeah, I feel guilty when I do that. I try not to treat them that horribly and I know I have no excuse for doing it. :l
And really, books with broken spines are useless and thrown out in bookstores? I saw a book with a broken spine once in Barnes & Noble and the local bookstore I went to has some books with broken spines too. They both sell the books as if they’re new too. o:
Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [48]
THE CRUMB THING YES. UGH. It’s so gross. Like did you have to Ritz Crackers and crush one into the pages so that I could have your gross crumbs fall into my lap? (I’ve got some minor germophobe tendencies.)
I’m not quite as careful with my library books as my own books, but I’m not quite as evil as you. ;) I have thrown one or two. Once I got a library book that had a whole CHUNK out of it (not on the words part, but on the side), which I was then perversely excited to read because I thought “if this book has been checked out so many times that it’s in this bad of a condition after 4 years, it must be AMAZING!” And it was – The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss!
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You’re not the only one with germophobe tendencies. I’ve seen cracker crumbs, rice crumbs, Cheez It crumbs, SO MANY CRUMBS fall on my lap.
A book with a whole chunk out of it?! If it was me, I’ll be too scared to check the book out because what if the librarians thought I did that and made me pay for it?
Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [48]
Honestly, I don’t treat library books the same I treat my own, cause you know, they aren’t my own and I’m not going to be sad that I find something written in it. While I take extra care of my books, I don’t break spines, bend pages or damage them in any ways, I actually do damage the library ones, but just a little. When I find a quote I really like I just take my pencil and write something there just to remember about the quote (! though I write it really light) and sometimes, just sometimes I bend pages. But that usually happens because my dad takes my bookmark while I’m reading and I’m too lazy to get another one. And none of this happens to my OWN books because I simply can’t stand the idea of actually doing something like this to them.
But apart from that I don’t do anything else.
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Looks like we all treat our own book more carefully and more preciously than library books. o:
And ohh, I can never write in books (except for textbooks). That’s just ohh to me.
Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [48]
Oh, I do HATE you for bending the corners of pages – since I am the kind of person who treats each book like a treasure. Sometimes, I even sit and open up those dog-ears to keep the pages properly again. No bending of the spine, either. I remember the one time I had managed to get a brand-new book – I barely bent the spine enough for me to read – I revere books that much.
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When it comes to library books, I just too lazy to grab a bookmark upstairs. ):
I don’t bend the spines with my own books, but with library books, I just can’t help it.
Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [48]
That is kind of appalling. I’m generally careful with library books and treat them about the same as my own books because I know that libraries have limited budgets and need the books to last a while, especially if they’re popular.
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Yeah, I realized that while I was writing this post. :l
Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [48]
I eat with all my books, no exclusion to library books. But I’m generally a much cleaner eater when I’m reading a book while eating so I NEVER get crumbs or stains on my books. If only I could be that clean all the time?
I wouldn’t say though that I treat library books and my books any different. I mean, I wouldn’t think twice about shoving my books into a bag and I don’t with library books either. I wouldn’t FLING a book on the table – I’m not that evil – but I do admit to sometimes dog-earing a page when I don’t have a bookmark at hand. Oops. But like I said, I’m no worse with my library books than I am with my own books. I love books but I never really worried about keeping them in mint condition. That’s not to say I’m going to chuck a book in mud but I won’t be touching it as if it were an ancient artifact.
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Wow you have some major skins Annie! I’m always a messy eater, a crumb there and a crumb here.
Yeah, I should treat the library books I borrow like they’re my own books like you do.
Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [48]
Well, I don’t treat library books as good as if they were my own, but they are still books so I try to be good to them. I dislike it when I borrow a copy that is water damaged, the pages are missing, it has bad stains, or it’s just very roughed up in general. The first half of the last page was missing once! Can’t tell you how furious I was. So, yeah, I try to be careful.
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Wow, I’ll be furious if the first half of the last page was missing. I avoid borrowing books that are water damaged or if it has bad stains. Thank goodness I don’t treat library books that badly. -shudders-
Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [48]
I live in a tiny town with a library that doesn’t get any new releases (even if I ask) so I really don’t go to the library a lot. But if I do, I go get books that are “classics”.
I don’t actually treat library books as well as my own but I don’t treat them bad. I do tend to open them a little bit more then my own (but hey, the ones I get have been read like 100 times already). But I do treat them a lot better them most people I guess.
Ones thing I hate about library books are if the people who read it before me lived a smoking household. The smell of smoke just pours out of the book. Eck.
You are merciless. I wouldn’t want to pick that book after you. Just imagine what the book would say if it can talk. Lol.
I do not treat library books like you do, that’s for sure. ;D I treat them like any other books. While I’m more careful in handling the pages and covers of the books I own, I’m not as much with library books because it has protective binding that gives me freedom to open the book wider than I would my own. Though, with older books, I hateeeee touching the cover because of the stuff on it (the dust, the grime, the icky germs of past library borrowers). I usually hold it with two fingers, trying my best not to touch the stains and whatnot.
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I’ve become a lot more cautious with library books. When I was in middle school I used to bend the corner on school library books, it wasn’t till I was older that I realized how bad it was, so I can never bring myself to do it now. I also avoid checking out paperbacks if I can cause I’m always afraid the cover is going to come off.
Jess recently posted…2013 Title Twins
I will never let you borrow my books hahaha. I treat any book as precious as my child.I never bend a page,I use tissue or whatever is handy.
Wow I felt like I wrote this post. Because I LITERALLY do all of those things to my library books. Bend the covers the pages you name it. And the wrost thing is that I would never do that to a book I buy with my own money. I know I’m a horrible person…I should be band from librarys everywhere :(
Chloe Lee recently posted…Early Review: The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
When I go to the library I never fail to go and use up my limit and then hog some books from my family members if they haven’t used up their limit yet :P
I don’t really treat library books roughly or nicely, since I usually only borrow hardbacks and they’re already wrapped so anything I do to them doesn’t really matter since they’re protected and library books are going to be battered.
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I don’t borrow books from our library because it’s not updated. The books there can already qualify as obsolete. But let’s say, I am borrowing books from the facility. Maybe I will just treat it okay. I am afraid that someone will sue me for damaging the books. What if I’ll be forced to pay a fine or worst, buy a brand new book to replace their stock? That would be scary.
And why are you doing that, Kelly? Don’t you have pity for all those poor poor books? Huhuhuh.
I treat my library books the same way I treat my own books – with tender loving care. To me, books are precious, precious things that deserve to be treated with the utmost care. I guess that’s just the way I am :P
I cannot eat whilst reading books, ever. Mainly for the same reason as you. I either end up not concentrating on the book, and only concentrating on the food, or the food gets all over me, or my fingers get all icky, and just NO. I can’t do it.
I HAVE HAD CRUMBS IN LIBRARY BOOKS. I seriously think it is one of the most disgusting experiences. Ick, ick, ick.
Ohmygosh! I can’t handle seeing little doggy ears in library books. I don’t do that to books I own either. I do crack spines. I don’t know how to read a book without doing that… sorry! I bent back the spine on my husbands copy of a Game of Thrones and he almost had a heart attack! and ew, crumbs are nasty. They are especially bad in YA books. I’ve come across greasy smudges of melted chocolate. It’s gross! I shake back books before I return them. People should do the same.
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Yeaaaaah, I’m not really careful with library books either *whistles* I’m very glad our library doesn’t do paperbacks though. Even the books that are pb in stores, are hb in the library, which is awesome. Usually the books I get are already pretty wrecked, so I feel like I don’t really *have* to be careful with them. I don’t dog-ear UNLESS I can’t find a book mark. Which is, um… often. I don’t go to the library very often though :)
I think every book deserves to be treasured, it’s so much hard work and many of them have been created just because someone loves and cares. It’s not that libraries have lots of money to replace those books. I’m sad to see this post actually.
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I’m a little bit more careful with my library books; I don’t eat with them, I (usually) don’t throw them. However, I can never keep track of bookmarks, so I just fold down the corner of the page, regardless of the book being mine or the library’s.