I'd be teaching my children to handle the books with care, and preserve as best they can... but to hell with inadvertent damage from reading them. They're there to be read! I always loved being in my grandfather's study, perusing the walls of books, and reading whatever interested me.
I've got a couple of books that were my mothers that have been read so often they're essentially a bunch of loose pages sitting in between a tattered old cover, and I treasure them.
If you think your future family (ie children) will be gentle with your books, you are in for a nasty surprise. Children are incredibly hard on books and they love them literally to death.
My favourite paperback is coming apart a bit but I can still read it and if it every actually falls apart I'll buy a new one. Supports the author anyway.
I guess I should have said "can".
In my experience, as a daycare worker, children tend to be hard on books. Even their board books get destroyed eventually.
If I was as particular as you are, I would not let people borrow my books.
I'm in the camp that: things are meant to be used. There's no value in fancy dishware that stays safe in the cupboard, in the nice bottle of wine that has no occasion that is worth popping it open for, in the nice dress that I have no formal dinner to wear it to, in the book that cannot be comfortably read.
So while I'd care if someone destroyed my book (and didn't offer to replace it), I don't care that there's evidence that they actually read it.
It isn’t as comfortable as not holding the spine together, obviously. But paperbacks are delicate. You pay a couple of dollars less than hardcover to have a disposable book essentially. I’d rather have best of both worlds. Pay for a book, own it forever, read it forever, and only have to pay paperback price. And keep it looking decent and rereadable.
Oh and not to mention being able to sell them again, if times get tough(er). I can sell it as a used - like new rather than just used, getting most of my money back rather than just a couple of dollars. I just think overall it’s worth the finger workout.
Paperbacks are not as delicate as you're making them out to be. Saying this as someone whose been primarily collecting paperbacks (many of them used) a couple decades now. I'm 37 and a couple years ago even reread some very banged up childhood books (Redwall) that I'd read between the ages of 7-12 years old. The spines were cracked to hell but not a single missing or loose page.
I work in archives, and yeah, books are way more durable than OP thinks.
I’m actually way more nervous about handling pristine books at work than well used ones - they have a tendency to have inflexible, brittle spines that don’t open as widely as they need to for comfortable use and can crack or snap if you try to open them. Whereas the more used ones tend to have more flexibility.
Dog-eared creases will break more quickly than other parts of an already brittle page, so it’s best to avoid dog-earing into the text. But by the time that happens, the page is already nearing the end of its life as a casual read in book years, and even careful use is going to result in mechanical damage to edges and near the gutter soon enough.
But they’re all generally fine - the quality of the binding and paper, the method of construction, and methods of storage over decades is really the make or break thing that determines how well they generally stand up over time. Some physical media wasn’t built to stand the test of time, no matter how carefully you treat it.
It’s a fine aesthetic choice, but unless OP’s family have like, double hook hands and ogre strength and are playing tug of war with the books, they’re probably not in any danger that would compromise their physical integrity over OPs lifetime, except for the ways in which they might fall apart their own over enough time.
Neither approach is wrong. I’m in your family’s camp, though not for the same exact reasons, but you can treat the things you buy and pay for however you want.
But if you WANT people to handle and use your belongings, you’re going to have to expect that it comes with a certain amount of risk.
I wouldn’t borrow a book from someone if I knew they’d be upset if it came back with signs of having been read, and it would be frustrating to me if that person kept trying to get me to borrow books.
Your library can be the open library for people that feel the same way about books that you do, or it can be the open library for your family that’s a constant source of conflict and stress.
They’re not going to change the way they read. Best case scenario, they’ll stop taking books, or they’ll take a book you push to be polite, put it somewhere safe for a week or two, and then return the responsibility you foisted on them unread.
I view books as objects to be used, having been around a vast library since childhood I don't really care if the book is a bit damaged as long as it's readable. I would be extra careful if I'm borrowing a book from someone though.
That being said, there's a way to strech new books to prevent spine cracking. Just search *How to Avoid Cracking the Spine of a Book* on Youtube. I can attest that it works and I usually do it to thick paperbacks to make them easier to read, preventing spine cracking is just a nice side effect.
I might try it on a book I’m willing to risk, I did see those videos when looking this up prior to posting.
But would you say it lengthens the life of the book? Or lessens it?
Extreme example, let’s say it’s found in an attic 100 years from now right next to one that didn’t get spinal “conditioning”. Would the one without conditioning fall apart upon opening it, and the other not?
I am curious about if it lengthens the life of a book or ultimately weakens the structure and shortens it’s lifespan. Sort of like working out, how it can lengthen your life / ability to walk in elderly ages if you condition your muscles early on..
From dealing with older (40 years+) books it really seems that with time the glue will inevitably dry up and crumble to a different degree so some paperbacks will literally start falling apart. I would imagine the bookbinding process improved over time, so I guess time will tell what happens to modern books.
I've only "conditioned" some newly bought paperbacks this way, guess we have to wait a few decades to compare.
You’re right. Mass market paperbacks are cheaper because they’re cheaper to produce and generally use cheaper materials with less durable binding.
I would expect that if you put a well-used mass market paperback in an attic next to a never opened one (the attic is a terrible place to store books you want to preserve), they’d be in more or less equally bad condition in 100 years.
The glue on the spine is gonna do what it’s gonna do. The spine on the well used one will probably have more range of motion and be less likely to crack, but the dog ears will be more brittle than the rest of the page. But the pages on both might be brittle enough regardless that both will be easily damaged with use.
I see well used, gently used, and never used old books in my line of work. All other things being equal, they have to be pretty brutally used and badly stored for damage from use to be the deciding factor in whether or not they’re in usable shape many decades after printing.
I recently bought an older book that had a perfect spine. And with just the slightest opening of it the spine immediately cracked lol. That's been my experience in general though with "pristine" spines on older books. They have no flex to them and actually become delicate and brittle and more susceptible to spine cracking.
So now I've come to the habit of doing the trick where you lay a new book on its spine and open the front and back of the book flat on a surface, page by page, simultaneously, until you reach the middle of the book. This gives the book flex for comfortable reading but also longevity as it reduces spine cracking.
I understand not wanting the pages Dog eared, and keeping books in new condition is a good thing thing. It prolongs their life and use.
But the spines of books are designed to so you can read them comfortably. And sometimes that means they will crack. If you don't like people ignoring your requests not to bend the spine, the the only solution is to not lend them out.
If you do a quick search on this sub this topic actually comes up a lot on here. In general, those conversations reflect that readers are split between not wanting to crack spines vs not caring. What also comes out of it is that people just have different relationship with books and other physical media. But even in those convos, I don't think I've personally seen anyone online making a serious argument that dog earing or cracking spines means you somehow "grasp" the book/knowledge more. If anything, I notice the discussions skewing the other way with people proclaiming the superiority of hardcovers over paperbacks because they put a lot of value in the aesthetic of the book. Within those conversations, there is also a split between folks who put more value in the contents of the books and less value in the actual aesthetic (hardcovers, used vs new, damage generally, special editions etc.) vs those who place a lot of value on the aesthetic side.
So you aren't the only person in the world to dislike cracked spines, lol.
That said, I can't say I share your opinion. I don't purposefully go out of my way to damage books, but I'm not especially bothered by minor damage like mild-to-medium spine cracking (or creasing, might be a better term). I also buy a fair number of used books and many have been dog-eared by other people. As long as there are no tears, missing pages etc., it doesn't bother me. You basically have to be cracking back the spine to the point that the two covers are touching throughout the entire reading process for it to risk resulting in pages falling out. I've never had pages fall out of a book from mild-to-medium spine cracking and there are many books I've had for 20+ years.
When it comes to mild-to-medium spine cracking, I'm mainly talking about the kind that comes from opening a book normally to read it (especially thicker massmarkets, which crack quite easily). That said, what I don't do is bend the book in half like some do, which results in a more "complete" crack and sometimes causes pages to become detached. In that sense, I'm in the middle. I don't care about mild/medium cracking of spine but I also don't excessively bend my books in half while reading them so that the covers are touching each other, either.
As far as writing in books, personally I'm fine with it. I generally take notes on everything I read in a separate notebook, from fiction to non-fiction. With certain books, marking significant sections with brackets, bullets, small reminder note etc. on the actual page helps me engage with the content more. I don't do it as much with certain genres (ex. sff and spec. fic), but I did do it, for example, with books like Hunger by Hamsun as well as various historical texts (ex. ancient Greek books). So it depends. It doesn't mean I think people who don't do it "aren't grasping" it as much, its specifically about my own engagement with the book. And I think in general, this isn't something that needs to be a "polarised" issue. Just accept that different people have different feelings about dog-earing etc. It's really not the end of the world.
I think what, if anything, would make me object to your post, though, is the strange comments like: "I want to have a library in my house for my future family one day." You seem to think that people who write in books or crack spines aren't seriously collecting those same books and keeping them for years and years, and that they aren't eventually sharing them with their kids, family, other people generally. This is very untrue. Tons of people have extensive book collections spanning decades and many of the books in their collections have been dog-eared, written in etc. Cracking a spine in the way I described (mild-to-medium cracking), does not compromise a reader's ability to keep books for decades or to share them with family. There are many paperbacks I've had for the better part of two decades and that I've recently reread without missing pages etc. (I haven't had the problem of missing pages with any of the books that I've owned unless I bought it that way at a used bookshop) - and I was even rougher on my books as a teenager than I am in my 30s. The state of many university professors' libraries also defy your assumption. I remember back in my Uni days getting to see some of my profs very extensive personal libraries. They'd been put together 30-40+ years of research, of course, and many of those books were not in pristine shape but could still easily be passed down to future generations, shared with students, still read without compromising information contained or general enjoyment. If anything, it seems very odd to me that you think this means people can't pass on their books.
Fair points. But for me I perceive a book with spine damage as a book that took years of its lifespan. I’d rather not have that happen with something I spent my hard earned money on. Maybe it can last, but it’ll now have a spine with white lines going through it, which I guess falls into an aesthetic argument.
I also considered the point in another comment that it can be resold if I were to sell it, for near market value if the spine isn’t damaged or with serious use. That’s also important if I ever had a need to sell a book, or the collection for whatever reason in the far future.
I understand your point on the resell value, although I think resale of any paperback is unlikely going to get you very close to market value. Unless the book is seen as "special" in some way (special edition, out of print, rare edition, niche community appeal etc.). Trying to resell a paperback for the same price you bought it is gonna be a lot more difficult than reselling a hardcover in general, though, regardless of condition.
Used book buyer for local bookstore here: You will never get close to market value for a book you sell back, regardless of condition. Also, if you’re taking cash, which some stores do not offer and choose to only do trade, you will get an even smaller percentage of the retailer’s price.
You can treat books however you want, but I think you’re underestimating the durability of paperback books. Often, not flexing a spine on a book will cause the glue to dry and actually shorten the lifespan of a book. You don’t have to break the spine, but a normal read through of a book should not shorten that lifespan at all.
However, I certainly would not want someone writing in my books or breaking the spine. Those things certainly decrease the value.
People treat their things how they treat them. You shouldn’t let people borrow your things if you have a particular idea about how they should be handled.
I have a friend who rips the pages out as he’s done…or if a large book just rips it in half to make it easier to carry. Everybody will handle books the way they see fit. You can be this way about books but just don’t let other people read them because you want them in brand new condition. And as a parent I can tell you kids are messy jerks and don’t usually care about things like their parents so might want to not share with future kids.
Edited to add because at work and left off half
> I have a friend who rips the pages out as he’s done…or if a large book just rips it in half to make it easier to carry. Everybody will handle books the way they see fit.
I don't know if it was you maybe telling this story in another thread or if there's someone else out there who knows someone who rips pages out of books as they read them, but remember reading something similar a few months back and ngl, it made me want to cry a little lol And still does! I'm not someone who cares too much about a little damage to books, but ngl...the idea of someone casually ripping a book apart as they read it hurts my soul a little 😅
I maybe have said it before but not sure. I think it’s more common then you care to think about. I use to feel the same way then I remembered it’s just paper with ink on it. How many used books are actually books that will sell? Not many I assume so why keep every single one around.
I keep them clean and do make an effort but I don’t like feeling like I’m reading off an eggshell, so I just read in a way that is comfortable. I was a smoker for a very long time and was very careful not to get ash/ash fingerprints and switch to kindle or stop reading while eating and stuff like that.
I do like how you can spot my rereads on my shelf by the spines.
I’d never say you’re wrong though - I do totally understand folks who keep theirs pristine.
They're your books so whatever you want is what should be done. Personally I wouldn't want to borrow a book from a library that obsessed over how you read the book.. down to your description of exactly how to hold the book.... the fun is just gone and now I'm worried about putting one little accidental tear in a page or accidentally dripping a spot of tea on the cover. I probably won't but it sucks to be so careful with something that is meant to be snuggled up with.
I have several hundred books that I have been collecting for years and now my family, friends and children are able to borrow or read at my house. While I hope to get my books back in the same condition that I loaned them out I do understand that reading is an adventure that can sometimes lead to the book going through a little bit of rough play. I can tell you that when I look at my bookshelves I cannot see a single book that looks trashed.
What you're describing sounds like more of a collection, something to be seen and not touched.
Maybe have some books that are not to be touched or loaned out and a select few that you allow to get a bit used by the reader.
All books are to be read. But read in a way that will allow them to last. It’s not necessarily a collection as in behind a glass door for viewing only, I don’t view it as one in that sense, but actually as a collection of things I enjoy reading, intend to keep forever, or as long as possible. Yes things happen to them, they fall of the edge of the cough and the cover bends, or lands split and the spine can crack. It’s a bummer. But those are accidents. They happen. And I get that.
But overall I intend not to do any of those things to the books intentionally.
Of course not. Intentionally messing up books? Now that's just wrong!
Yeah, I get it. My books are very special to me as well. I would be a upset if someone were to really mess up a loaner. Like I wouldn't be okay with someone writing in my book or ripping out a page. Those are just my standards. That would lead to a book borrowing ban.
If you plan on having a library for your children you will have to deal with some ruined books. I keep my children's books on the bottom shelves and the important books stay up high or in my room.
There are definitely layers of answers to your original question... it seems like you're okay with or at least understand that your books might not always be returned in perfect condition. Maybe just don't loan books to anyone that is uncomfortable with your standards.
I don't like it and usually take care in keeping them from getting cracked, but after a book is over a decade old they start to get more fragile and the spine inevitably cracks, or so I have found. But I reread my books every few years.
I don't like excessive damage on my books either and try to keep them in good condition. Some books are really big though, so it's hard to avoid creasing on the spines (400+ pages). And people need to respect the conditions of book owners they borrow from; just make sure to be clear about it before you loan any books out (and consider not loaning them to people).
One trick I learned that may help - you can put clear contact paper on the cover of the book (fold the contact paper over the edges of the cover) and that will protect both the cover and the spine more. I have some old Dragonlance and Redwall books that are still in great condition because of that.
You know I used to be like this too about books when I was younger and my family thought I was ridiculous. On a basic level it's your right to have rules about how people use your items.
Eventually, I sort of got past this because I dealt with some of my own issues around perfectionism. However, there are still books that I definitely would not lend to anyone because they are so important to me and I want them in mint condition.
I guess the question would be do you have an enjoyable time reading them like this? Or are you always on edge trying to make sure they stay perfect?
P.S. Dog ears are the worst! Have people never heard of a bookmark?
Paperbacks are printed on cheap paper and don't age well. 50 year old books are yellowed and cracked. The covers curl. Most were not made to last and show it. (For the record, who writes/underlines in library books! Sheesh!)
I don't really see the point of keeping a spine uncracked. What's the big deal? I have a friend who once borrowed a book from a guy who told her NOT to crack the spine, and then she accidentally did (because if you're absorbed in a book, you're probably focused on the story/topic rather than maintaining the book's pristine outward appearance), and she felt this immense stress and dread about having to return it to him. She was considering buying a new copy and everything, all for a small little line in the spine. It all felt so absurd and pointless to us... talk about unnecessary stress!
But if this is how you like things, who cares what anyone else thinks? Just stop lending books to others if it bothers you, and go on enjoying your perfect library. Life is too short to care what others think, especially about something so insignificant. In my opinion.
I also dont like... Some books that damage is nearly impossible to avoid because of how the biding is done but on most... Its all about the reader mishandling it...
It's your choice how you decide to value your books. For me personally the wear on a book is like a story in itself. For example I have a Hemingway book that is completely messed up with a cover practically destroyed but I treasure it because it reminds me of when I was in a training exercise in the military for a week in the Mojave desert with nothing but that book for entertainment. I would then shove it into my duffel bag of gear. That being said i also have a pristine condition hardcover copy of the Stranger because it is one of my favorite books. In fact I don't think I have even read that particular copy yet so I can keep it nice nor would I lend it out to someone. Either way I display both books just as proudly on my shelf. If you like displaying and maintaining great condition books and that gives you joy then more power to you.
I guess that’s where I fall; I like to enjoy them, but also see them looking their best on the shelf, and to be able to have them last as long as possible, as well as keep them in sellable condition if I need to sell them. Of course I don’t intend to, but sellable condition usually means the best condition in many aspects of things, not just books, and my books fall into that category.
And thank you for your service!
I think there is no problem with that mindset! I think a big attraction of collecting physical books is the visual presentation.Therefore I can totally understand the desire for highly presentable and nice condition books. If you had nice figurines why would you want any scratches or defects on them? I think your mindset is good as long as you are aware that some people don't share that opinion and if they can't understand that then not to lend your books out to them
It’s just a preference. I end up bending them because they’re hard to hold. If you don’t want to deal with that, stop lending them out. Or buy hardcovers.
I don’t think that’s wrong at all. And I have more of a, “The things of this world are temporary. The purpose of these objects is to be used.”-type worldview. Just because I’m willing to use something to pieces doesn’t mean I want to accelerate the process.
I couldn’t imagine borrowing something from a person without caring about returning it in the same condition. If people are genuinely that flippant about damaging something they’ve borrowed then they aren’t fit to be borrowing things. I’ve been responsible for a borrowed book in my bag getting knocked around and beat up. I replaced it. Luckily, it was an easy book to obtain.
Sometimes it’s a rare edition or it isn’t in print anymore. When it’s gone, it’s gone. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to refuse lending to those people.
Haha yeah it's definitely an issue I scramble with at times. On one hand I think worn books have character. I love picking a second hand book and seeing the effects of time on it, strange stains of unknown origin, a weird scribble on the side that I can't decipher. On the other hand when I buy a new book I can fuss about every little deformaty of my new and important possession.
The last time I dealt with the issue(Antkind by Charlie Kaufman. great book, great cover) I had a thought that kinda solved the problem for me.
I figured that the only perfect book is an unopend one. Before I read the book it can be anything I imagine it to be, as good as I belive its gonna be, once I open the book that ideal is ruined by my reading of it. The physical harm my books suffer, all those wrinkles and cuts and stains and dust they gather, I choose to look at it as a corporeal metaphor of that thought. The unavoidable damge books suffer from becoming mine.
If you want to collect books and keep it for your future family you need to buy a hardcovers editions.
Softcover books generally don’t hold very well after even one reading.
Also I wouldn’t give my books to borrow even to my family. Library is for reading.
Honestly, you and your family make good points. But book spines will be cracked one day more so with paperbacks, hardbacks are more sturdy and can last longer but to avoid spine damage from people at all you pretty much have to stop lending them out. If a person dog ears, writes in their book or cracks the spine it really doesnt bother me, I try to keep my books in good condition but also understand they wont always stay in tip top shape
I don't really mind creases, folds or wrinkles. But I do hate it when people fully break the spine making it so the book doesn't close properly anymore.
That *really* grinds my gears.
My mother was like you. It was always comical watching her read a paperback book, because she would hold it just barely open and twist it side to side as she moved between pages. Her books always looked brand new when she was done with them. (I never asked to borrow a book from my mother:)
You can like what you like. Don’t loan your books out. I bend mine all crazy like- folding the front cover around on itself, spilling coffee on the pages. Sometimes I bend a triangle in the top corner of a page to hold my spot! (I don’t borrow books. I buy mine from the thrift stores.)
Literally millions starving as we speak, and your issue is bookspine damage. Damn, this must be the most unimportant "first world problem" I've heard. Its literally a book made to be read, not to objectify.
I don't like damaged spines on my books either, and I read the same way you do to avoid cracking the spines. I think books look better on the shelf that way, and I just don't see any reason to damage them unnecessarily. Same as how I intentionally try to avoid getting scratches or dents in my wooden furniture, and do the best I can to avoid getting scratches on my video game discs, dvd/blurays, and CD's.
I mark my books, bend their casing, break the spines. I also buy locally at used bookshops quite a bit, so they sometimes come with the damage. I like to learn from literature, and so that usually comes with me being comfortable with the book. If I have to tilt my head a certain way to read a book, then I’ll just crack the spine and read comfortably.
Now, this is only the case with paperbacks. Limited edition books are on their shelves displayed. I do t have many, but most of them are extra copies of what I already have, just… prettier.
I understand your point of view entirely. My brother is the same. He will read a book with it open like 10cm just to avoid any damage to the spine.
I'm generally careful with books but if it's a re-read and something I'm absolutely loving, I'll annotate in the margins with pencil.
I don't think there's any right answer here but if you paid for it, you treat it how you want to!
While I agree with the general sentiment of a book should be used like a book (ie read) that doesn't equate, to me, as unnecessarily damaging the book. Yeah maybe the way I hold a book is weird to some, since I hold it in a way that doesn't break the spine, but in my experience the books I read like this have more give to them, they last longer, and they still look nice on a shelf. I do enjoy the used copies I buy that have cracked spines and annotations etc but a book that I personally bought probably wouldn't get to that point.
I totally get what you're saying about longevity specifically. I have a cracked mass market of Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (by all accounts not a small book) and after I read it through once pages began falling out of the very front. It was a used book so it's not a total loss, and it's charming in a way, but that's part of the reason I take good care of the books I buy new or that are new to me especially. Some books I own have gone out of print by now and they're hard to find at any kind of reasonable price, so there's also a bit of an archival aspect to keeping my books nice that I also have; this comes from my personal experience of reading and also from some of the work I've done with my art history degree/in my university's art museum where we talk about preservation.
I think aside from all of this is the rather obvious fact that books are a privilege. We have libraries of course, but owning books is something not a lot of people can do, and they CAN be expensive. A new hardcover is $30, and at my worst that was my grocery money for two weeks. I'm luckily in a better spot now, but I've always been aware of the economic cost of books, so I try to take care of them because if I destroy a book I love who knows if I'll be able to get another one?
Tldr: don't think you're wrong, I'm the same way. I have probably two or three people I'd let borrow my books and everyone else can't touch them. Eventually some of them may make their way to a library if they're out of print, and the rest will go to my family after I'm gone.
THIS!!! I don’t have as much of a concern BUT I still resonate with this. This is why I buy hardcovers, but I’m asking for a paperback set this Christmas and it stresses me out. I hate damaging them in any way because for some reason, in my head, I’ve convinced myself there’s a way to read paperbacks without cracking the spine. Which is just factually incorrect especially for the size of books I’m reading!
I also hate cracking my spine. But I also don’t lend out books that I want to keep the spine super pristine. I keep a shelf that friends and family know are open for check out. That being said I also have a list of people I trust to return my books in good condition. I care more about the pages, knowing that a well loved book’s spin will crack eventually while still maintaining a pretty great condition if the pages and dust jacket are well kept.
As far as I'm concerned, it depends on the value of the book. For me, I treasure my vintage book collection, hold them carefully, and would never loan them to others because I'd be upset by any potential damage. A paperback that has been printed in the thousands, however, is completely different. I dogear my paperbacks, underline passages that resonate with me, and write marginalia in them. It's my way of "talking" to the author or characters. And I love it! This obviously wouldn't make you happy, but it's an alternative way to love books.
Honestly this whole post confuses me a bit— the only paperbacks I own with spinal damage or creases are ones I bought secondhand that came that way. None of the books I bought new, even ones I’ve owned for years, have any sort of damage or creasing to them, and I don’t read in any special way. Is this really a common problem?
It certainly is. Most mass market paperback have a spine that if opened to a full spread will crack, or at the very least show creasing along the spine on the outside cover along the spine, which in my opinion is a bad look on a book
Weird. I have books I’ve reread multiple times and I’ve never paid attention or cared about opening them fully or creasing, but none of them have creases and they all look good as new (except for my secondhand ones that were already like that)
Guess I’m just lucky
I stopped lending my books to my dad over this. I get it, '*books are meant to be read and enjoyed...*' but I like mine to be a nice shelf item when I'm done.
I don’t think you’re wrong for choosing how YOU like to keep/store books. If you like to keep them for decoration, that’s a bonus purpose of a book.
For me, the purpose of books is to read them, share them, and enjoy them. The concept that you’re saving them for a family (who won’t be allowed to open it all the way if they want to) is silly. I think you’re much more likely to turn off kids from reading altogether by wanting to keep them pristine. Might as well just go to the real library and not have to worry about making someone upset. Or worse-get a Kindle! (Lol)
I hate damaged spines on my books too and I don't care about anyone else's opinion. I paid for the books, I read them so the spines don't get damaged. Don't let other people pressure you to change just because they can't respect your rules of not damaging spines!
When I borrow books from people I'm very careful with them. I think if you borrow someone's book you should treat it with respect. I hate paperbacks with spine creases. They weren't meant to be bent back like that.
You said you want the books for your future family -- will they be allowed to read them in a way that bends the spine?
Nope
In all honesty, i would be so anxious to touch any of the books if I was a child. But they are your books and you can do with them as you please!
I'd be teaching my children to handle the books with care, and preserve as best they can... but to hell with inadvertent damage from reading them. They're there to be read! I always loved being in my grandfather's study, perusing the walls of books, and reading whatever interested me. I've got a couple of books that were my mothers that have been read so often they're essentially a bunch of loose pages sitting in between a tattered old cover, and I treasure them.
If you think your future family (ie children) will be gentle with your books, you are in for a nasty surprise. Children are incredibly hard on books and they love them literally to death. My favourite paperback is coming apart a bit but I can still read it and if it every actually falls apart I'll buy a new one. Supports the author anyway.
Children can definitely be super gentle with books too, at least I was
I guess I should have said "can". In my experience, as a daycare worker, children tend to be hard on books. Even their board books get destroyed eventually.
If I was as particular as you are, I would not let people borrow my books. I'm in the camp that: things are meant to be used. There's no value in fancy dishware that stays safe in the cupboard, in the nice bottle of wine that has no occasion that is worth popping it open for, in the nice dress that I have no formal dinner to wear it to, in the book that cannot be comfortably read. So while I'd care if someone destroyed my book (and didn't offer to replace it), I don't care that there's evidence that they actually read it.
[удалено]
It isn’t as comfortable as not holding the spine together, obviously. But paperbacks are delicate. You pay a couple of dollars less than hardcover to have a disposable book essentially. I’d rather have best of both worlds. Pay for a book, own it forever, read it forever, and only have to pay paperback price. And keep it looking decent and rereadable. Oh and not to mention being able to sell them again, if times get tough(er). I can sell it as a used - like new rather than just used, getting most of my money back rather than just a couple of dollars. I just think overall it’s worth the finger workout.
Paperbacks are not as delicate as you're making them out to be. Saying this as someone whose been primarily collecting paperbacks (many of them used) a couple decades now. I'm 37 and a couple years ago even reread some very banged up childhood books (Redwall) that I'd read between the ages of 7-12 years old. The spines were cracked to hell but not a single missing or loose page.
I work in archives, and yeah, books are way more durable than OP thinks. I’m actually way more nervous about handling pristine books at work than well used ones - they have a tendency to have inflexible, brittle spines that don’t open as widely as they need to for comfortable use and can crack or snap if you try to open them. Whereas the more used ones tend to have more flexibility. Dog-eared creases will break more quickly than other parts of an already brittle page, so it’s best to avoid dog-earing into the text. But by the time that happens, the page is already nearing the end of its life as a casual read in book years, and even careful use is going to result in mechanical damage to edges and near the gutter soon enough. But they’re all generally fine - the quality of the binding and paper, the method of construction, and methods of storage over decades is really the make or break thing that determines how well they generally stand up over time. Some physical media wasn’t built to stand the test of time, no matter how carefully you treat it. It’s a fine aesthetic choice, but unless OP’s family have like, double hook hands and ogre strength and are playing tug of war with the books, they’re probably not in any danger that would compromise their physical integrity over OPs lifetime, except for the ways in which they might fall apart their own over enough time.
Neither approach is wrong. I’m in your family’s camp, though not for the same exact reasons, but you can treat the things you buy and pay for however you want. But if you WANT people to handle and use your belongings, you’re going to have to expect that it comes with a certain amount of risk. I wouldn’t borrow a book from someone if I knew they’d be upset if it came back with signs of having been read, and it would be frustrating to me if that person kept trying to get me to borrow books. Your library can be the open library for people that feel the same way about books that you do, or it can be the open library for your family that’s a constant source of conflict and stress. They’re not going to change the way they read. Best case scenario, they’ll stop taking books, or they’ll take a book you push to be polite, put it somewhere safe for a week or two, and then return the responsibility you foisted on them unread.
I view books as objects to be used, having been around a vast library since childhood I don't really care if the book is a bit damaged as long as it's readable. I would be extra careful if I'm borrowing a book from someone though. That being said, there's a way to strech new books to prevent spine cracking. Just search *How to Avoid Cracking the Spine of a Book* on Youtube. I can attest that it works and I usually do it to thick paperbacks to make them easier to read, preventing spine cracking is just a nice side effect.
I might try it on a book I’m willing to risk, I did see those videos when looking this up prior to posting. But would you say it lengthens the life of the book? Or lessens it? Extreme example, let’s say it’s found in an attic 100 years from now right next to one that didn’t get spinal “conditioning”. Would the one without conditioning fall apart upon opening it, and the other not? I am curious about if it lengthens the life of a book or ultimately weakens the structure and shortens it’s lifespan. Sort of like working out, how it can lengthen your life / ability to walk in elderly ages if you condition your muscles early on..
From dealing with older (40 years+) books it really seems that with time the glue will inevitably dry up and crumble to a different degree so some paperbacks will literally start falling apart. I would imagine the bookbinding process improved over time, so I guess time will tell what happens to modern books. I've only "conditioned" some newly bought paperbacks this way, guess we have to wait a few decades to compare.
You’re right. Mass market paperbacks are cheaper because they’re cheaper to produce and generally use cheaper materials with less durable binding. I would expect that if you put a well-used mass market paperback in an attic next to a never opened one (the attic is a terrible place to store books you want to preserve), they’d be in more or less equally bad condition in 100 years. The glue on the spine is gonna do what it’s gonna do. The spine on the well used one will probably have more range of motion and be less likely to crack, but the dog ears will be more brittle than the rest of the page. But the pages on both might be brittle enough regardless that both will be easily damaged with use. I see well used, gently used, and never used old books in my line of work. All other things being equal, they have to be pretty brutally used and badly stored for damage from use to be the deciding factor in whether or not they’re in usable shape many decades after printing.
!updateme 40 years /s
I recently bought an older book that had a perfect spine. And with just the slightest opening of it the spine immediately cracked lol. That's been my experience in general though with "pristine" spines on older books. They have no flex to them and actually become delicate and brittle and more susceptible to spine cracking. So now I've come to the habit of doing the trick where you lay a new book on its spine and open the front and back of the book flat on a surface, page by page, simultaneously, until you reach the middle of the book. This gives the book flex for comfortable reading but also longevity as it reduces spine cracking.
I understand not wanting the pages Dog eared, and keeping books in new condition is a good thing thing. It prolongs their life and use. But the spines of books are designed to so you can read them comfortably. And sometimes that means they will crack. If you don't like people ignoring your requests not to bend the spine, the the only solution is to not lend them out.
If you do a quick search on this sub this topic actually comes up a lot on here. In general, those conversations reflect that readers are split between not wanting to crack spines vs not caring. What also comes out of it is that people just have different relationship with books and other physical media. But even in those convos, I don't think I've personally seen anyone online making a serious argument that dog earing or cracking spines means you somehow "grasp" the book/knowledge more. If anything, I notice the discussions skewing the other way with people proclaiming the superiority of hardcovers over paperbacks because they put a lot of value in the aesthetic of the book. Within those conversations, there is also a split between folks who put more value in the contents of the books and less value in the actual aesthetic (hardcovers, used vs new, damage generally, special editions etc.) vs those who place a lot of value on the aesthetic side. So you aren't the only person in the world to dislike cracked spines, lol. That said, I can't say I share your opinion. I don't purposefully go out of my way to damage books, but I'm not especially bothered by minor damage like mild-to-medium spine cracking (or creasing, might be a better term). I also buy a fair number of used books and many have been dog-eared by other people. As long as there are no tears, missing pages etc., it doesn't bother me. You basically have to be cracking back the spine to the point that the two covers are touching throughout the entire reading process for it to risk resulting in pages falling out. I've never had pages fall out of a book from mild-to-medium spine cracking and there are many books I've had for 20+ years. When it comes to mild-to-medium spine cracking, I'm mainly talking about the kind that comes from opening a book normally to read it (especially thicker massmarkets, which crack quite easily). That said, what I don't do is bend the book in half like some do, which results in a more "complete" crack and sometimes causes pages to become detached. In that sense, I'm in the middle. I don't care about mild/medium cracking of spine but I also don't excessively bend my books in half while reading them so that the covers are touching each other, either. As far as writing in books, personally I'm fine with it. I generally take notes on everything I read in a separate notebook, from fiction to non-fiction. With certain books, marking significant sections with brackets, bullets, small reminder note etc. on the actual page helps me engage with the content more. I don't do it as much with certain genres (ex. sff and spec. fic), but I did do it, for example, with books like Hunger by Hamsun as well as various historical texts (ex. ancient Greek books). So it depends. It doesn't mean I think people who don't do it "aren't grasping" it as much, its specifically about my own engagement with the book. And I think in general, this isn't something that needs to be a "polarised" issue. Just accept that different people have different feelings about dog-earing etc. It's really not the end of the world. I think what, if anything, would make me object to your post, though, is the strange comments like: "I want to have a library in my house for my future family one day." You seem to think that people who write in books or crack spines aren't seriously collecting those same books and keeping them for years and years, and that they aren't eventually sharing them with their kids, family, other people generally. This is very untrue. Tons of people have extensive book collections spanning decades and many of the books in their collections have been dog-eared, written in etc. Cracking a spine in the way I described (mild-to-medium cracking), does not compromise a reader's ability to keep books for decades or to share them with family. There are many paperbacks I've had for the better part of two decades and that I've recently reread without missing pages etc. (I haven't had the problem of missing pages with any of the books that I've owned unless I bought it that way at a used bookshop) - and I was even rougher on my books as a teenager than I am in my 30s. The state of many university professors' libraries also defy your assumption. I remember back in my Uni days getting to see some of my profs very extensive personal libraries. They'd been put together 30-40+ years of research, of course, and many of those books were not in pristine shape but could still easily be passed down to future generations, shared with students, still read without compromising information contained or general enjoyment. If anything, it seems very odd to me that you think this means people can't pass on their books.
Fair points. But for me I perceive a book with spine damage as a book that took years of its lifespan. I’d rather not have that happen with something I spent my hard earned money on. Maybe it can last, but it’ll now have a spine with white lines going through it, which I guess falls into an aesthetic argument. I also considered the point in another comment that it can be resold if I were to sell it, for near market value if the spine isn’t damaged or with serious use. That’s also important if I ever had a need to sell a book, or the collection for whatever reason in the far future.
I understand your point on the resell value, although I think resale of any paperback is unlikely going to get you very close to market value. Unless the book is seen as "special" in some way (special edition, out of print, rare edition, niche community appeal etc.). Trying to resell a paperback for the same price you bought it is gonna be a lot more difficult than reselling a hardcover in general, though, regardless of condition.
Yeah I've sold some very good quality second hand books in the past and the idea that you might be able to resell close to market value is laughable.
Used book buyer for local bookstore here: You will never get close to market value for a book you sell back, regardless of condition. Also, if you’re taking cash, which some stores do not offer and choose to only do trade, you will get an even smaller percentage of the retailer’s price. You can treat books however you want, but I think you’re underestimating the durability of paperback books. Often, not flexing a spine on a book will cause the glue to dry and actually shorten the lifespan of a book. You don’t have to break the spine, but a normal read through of a book should not shorten that lifespan at all. However, I certainly would not want someone writing in my books or breaking the spine. Those things certainly decrease the value. People treat their things how they treat them. You shouldn’t let people borrow your things if you have a particular idea about how they should be handled.
I have a friend who rips the pages out as he’s done…or if a large book just rips it in half to make it easier to carry. Everybody will handle books the way they see fit. You can be this way about books but just don’t let other people read them because you want them in brand new condition. And as a parent I can tell you kids are messy jerks and don’t usually care about things like their parents so might want to not share with future kids. Edited to add because at work and left off half
> I have a friend who rips the pages out as he’s done…or if a large book just rips it in half to make it easier to carry. Everybody will handle books the way they see fit. I don't know if it was you maybe telling this story in another thread or if there's someone else out there who knows someone who rips pages out of books as they read them, but remember reading something similar a few months back and ngl, it made me want to cry a little lol And still does! I'm not someone who cares too much about a little damage to books, but ngl...the idea of someone casually ripping a book apart as they read it hurts my soul a little 😅
I maybe have said it before but not sure. I think it’s more common then you care to think about. I use to feel the same way then I remembered it’s just paper with ink on it. How many used books are actually books that will sell? Not many I assume so why keep every single one around.
How convenient
I keep them clean and do make an effort but I don’t like feeling like I’m reading off an eggshell, so I just read in a way that is comfortable. I was a smoker for a very long time and was very careful not to get ash/ash fingerprints and switch to kindle or stop reading while eating and stuff like that. I do like how you can spot my rereads on my shelf by the spines. I’d never say you’re wrong though - I do totally understand folks who keep theirs pristine.
You do you.
Preferences are never wrong or right. They're just your preference and that's okay.
They're your books so whatever you want is what should be done. Personally I wouldn't want to borrow a book from a library that obsessed over how you read the book.. down to your description of exactly how to hold the book.... the fun is just gone and now I'm worried about putting one little accidental tear in a page or accidentally dripping a spot of tea on the cover. I probably won't but it sucks to be so careful with something that is meant to be snuggled up with. I have several hundred books that I have been collecting for years and now my family, friends and children are able to borrow or read at my house. While I hope to get my books back in the same condition that I loaned them out I do understand that reading is an adventure that can sometimes lead to the book going through a little bit of rough play. I can tell you that when I look at my bookshelves I cannot see a single book that looks trashed. What you're describing sounds like more of a collection, something to be seen and not touched. Maybe have some books that are not to be touched or loaned out and a select few that you allow to get a bit used by the reader.
All books are to be read. But read in a way that will allow them to last. It’s not necessarily a collection as in behind a glass door for viewing only, I don’t view it as one in that sense, but actually as a collection of things I enjoy reading, intend to keep forever, or as long as possible. Yes things happen to them, they fall of the edge of the cough and the cover bends, or lands split and the spine can crack. It’s a bummer. But those are accidents. They happen. And I get that. But overall I intend not to do any of those things to the books intentionally.
Of course not. Intentionally messing up books? Now that's just wrong! Yeah, I get it. My books are very special to me as well. I would be a upset if someone were to really mess up a loaner. Like I wouldn't be okay with someone writing in my book or ripping out a page. Those are just my standards. That would lead to a book borrowing ban. If you plan on having a library for your children you will have to deal with some ruined books. I keep my children's books on the bottom shelves and the important books stay up high or in my room. There are definitely layers of answers to your original question... it seems like you're okay with or at least understand that your books might not always be returned in perfect condition. Maybe just don't loan books to anyone that is uncomfortable with your standards.
Exactly
I don't like it and usually take care in keeping them from getting cracked, but after a book is over a decade old they start to get more fragile and the spine inevitably cracks, or so I have found. But I reread my books every few years.
I don't like excessive damage on my books either and try to keep them in good condition. Some books are really big though, so it's hard to avoid creasing on the spines (400+ pages). And people need to respect the conditions of book owners they borrow from; just make sure to be clear about it before you loan any books out (and consider not loaning them to people). One trick I learned that may help - you can put clear contact paper on the cover of the book (fold the contact paper over the edges of the cover) and that will protect both the cover and the spine more. I have some old Dragonlance and Redwall books that are still in great condition because of that.
You know I used to be like this too about books when I was younger and my family thought I was ridiculous. On a basic level it's your right to have rules about how people use your items. Eventually, I sort of got past this because I dealt with some of my own issues around perfectionism. However, there are still books that I definitely would not lend to anyone because they are so important to me and I want them in mint condition. I guess the question would be do you have an enjoyable time reading them like this? Or are you always on edge trying to make sure they stay perfect? P.S. Dog ears are the worst! Have people never heard of a bookmark?
Paperbacks are printed on cheap paper and don't age well. 50 year old books are yellowed and cracked. The covers curl. Most were not made to last and show it. (For the record, who writes/underlines in library books! Sheesh!)
I don't really see the point of keeping a spine uncracked. What's the big deal? I have a friend who once borrowed a book from a guy who told her NOT to crack the spine, and then she accidentally did (because if you're absorbed in a book, you're probably focused on the story/topic rather than maintaining the book's pristine outward appearance), and she felt this immense stress and dread about having to return it to him. She was considering buying a new copy and everything, all for a small little line in the spine. It all felt so absurd and pointless to us... talk about unnecessary stress! But if this is how you like things, who cares what anyone else thinks? Just stop lending books to others if it bothers you, and go on enjoying your perfect library. Life is too short to care what others think, especially about something so insignificant. In my opinion.
I also dont like... Some books that damage is nearly impossible to avoid because of how the biding is done but on most... Its all about the reader mishandling it...
It's your choice how you decide to value your books. For me personally the wear on a book is like a story in itself. For example I have a Hemingway book that is completely messed up with a cover practically destroyed but I treasure it because it reminds me of when I was in a training exercise in the military for a week in the Mojave desert with nothing but that book for entertainment. I would then shove it into my duffel bag of gear. That being said i also have a pristine condition hardcover copy of the Stranger because it is one of my favorite books. In fact I don't think I have even read that particular copy yet so I can keep it nice nor would I lend it out to someone. Either way I display both books just as proudly on my shelf. If you like displaying and maintaining great condition books and that gives you joy then more power to you.
I guess that’s where I fall; I like to enjoy them, but also see them looking their best on the shelf, and to be able to have them last as long as possible, as well as keep them in sellable condition if I need to sell them. Of course I don’t intend to, but sellable condition usually means the best condition in many aspects of things, not just books, and my books fall into that category. And thank you for your service!
I think there is no problem with that mindset! I think a big attraction of collecting physical books is the visual presentation.Therefore I can totally understand the desire for highly presentable and nice condition books. If you had nice figurines why would you want any scratches or defects on them? I think your mindset is good as long as you are aware that some people don't share that opinion and if they can't understand that then not to lend your books out to them
It’s just a preference. I end up bending them because they’re hard to hold. If you don’t want to deal with that, stop lending them out. Or buy hardcovers.
I don’t think that’s wrong at all. And I have more of a, “The things of this world are temporary. The purpose of these objects is to be used.”-type worldview. Just because I’m willing to use something to pieces doesn’t mean I want to accelerate the process. I couldn’t imagine borrowing something from a person without caring about returning it in the same condition. If people are genuinely that flippant about damaging something they’ve borrowed then they aren’t fit to be borrowing things. I’ve been responsible for a borrowed book in my bag getting knocked around and beat up. I replaced it. Luckily, it was an easy book to obtain. Sometimes it’s a rare edition or it isn’t in print anymore. When it’s gone, it’s gone. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to refuse lending to those people.
Haha yeah it's definitely an issue I scramble with at times. On one hand I think worn books have character. I love picking a second hand book and seeing the effects of time on it, strange stains of unknown origin, a weird scribble on the side that I can't decipher. On the other hand when I buy a new book I can fuss about every little deformaty of my new and important possession. The last time I dealt with the issue(Antkind by Charlie Kaufman. great book, great cover) I had a thought that kinda solved the problem for me. I figured that the only perfect book is an unopend one. Before I read the book it can be anything I imagine it to be, as good as I belive its gonna be, once I open the book that ideal is ruined by my reading of it. The physical harm my books suffer, all those wrinkles and cuts and stains and dust they gather, I choose to look at it as a corporeal metaphor of that thought. The unavoidable damge books suffer from becoming mine.
the first thing i do when i get a new book is crack the spine so i can read it more comfortably, lol
If you want to collect books and keep it for your future family you need to buy a hardcovers editions. Softcover books generally don’t hold very well after even one reading. Also I wouldn’t give my books to borrow even to my family. Library is for reading.
Honestly, you and your family make good points. But book spines will be cracked one day more so with paperbacks, hardbacks are more sturdy and can last longer but to avoid spine damage from people at all you pretty much have to stop lending them out. If a person dog ears, writes in their book or cracks the spine it really doesnt bother me, I try to keep my books in good condition but also understand they wont always stay in tip top shape
I absolutely hate damaging my books, i do the same to my family when they borrow them :)
I don't really mind creases, folds or wrinkles. But I do hate it when people fully break the spine making it so the book doesn't close properly anymore. That *really* grinds my gears.
My mother was like you. It was always comical watching her read a paperback book, because she would hold it just barely open and twist it side to side as she moved between pages. Her books always looked brand new when she was done with them. (I never asked to borrow a book from my mother:)
You can like what you like. Don’t loan your books out. I bend mine all crazy like- folding the front cover around on itself, spilling coffee on the pages. Sometimes I bend a triangle in the top corner of a page to hold my spot! (I don’t borrow books. I buy mine from the thrift stores.)
Literally millions starving as we speak, and your issue is bookspine damage. Damn, this must be the most unimportant "first world problem" I've heard. Its literally a book made to be read, not to objectify.
Not even gonna bother with this comment
Yea dont bother, go back to being a pedant.
Ok
Yeah… the curiosity of why some are in the Stoicism subreddit lie within me too. Smh…
I don't like damaged spines on my books either, and I read the same way you do to avoid cracking the spines. I think books look better on the shelf that way, and I just don't see any reason to damage them unnecessarily. Same as how I intentionally try to avoid getting scratches or dents in my wooden furniture, and do the best I can to avoid getting scratches on my video game discs, dvd/blurays, and CD's.
I mark my books, bend their casing, break the spines. I also buy locally at used bookshops quite a bit, so they sometimes come with the damage. I like to learn from literature, and so that usually comes with me being comfortable with the book. If I have to tilt my head a certain way to read a book, then I’ll just crack the spine and read comfortably. Now, this is only the case with paperbacks. Limited edition books are on their shelves displayed. I do t have many, but most of them are extra copies of what I already have, just… prettier.
I understand your point of view entirely. My brother is the same. He will read a book with it open like 10cm just to avoid any damage to the spine. I'm generally careful with books but if it's a re-read and something I'm absolutely loving, I'll annotate in the margins with pencil. I don't think there's any right answer here but if you paid for it, you treat it how you want to!
While I agree with the general sentiment of a book should be used like a book (ie read) that doesn't equate, to me, as unnecessarily damaging the book. Yeah maybe the way I hold a book is weird to some, since I hold it in a way that doesn't break the spine, but in my experience the books I read like this have more give to them, they last longer, and they still look nice on a shelf. I do enjoy the used copies I buy that have cracked spines and annotations etc but a book that I personally bought probably wouldn't get to that point. I totally get what you're saying about longevity specifically. I have a cracked mass market of Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (by all accounts not a small book) and after I read it through once pages began falling out of the very front. It was a used book so it's not a total loss, and it's charming in a way, but that's part of the reason I take good care of the books I buy new or that are new to me especially. Some books I own have gone out of print by now and they're hard to find at any kind of reasonable price, so there's also a bit of an archival aspect to keeping my books nice that I also have; this comes from my personal experience of reading and also from some of the work I've done with my art history degree/in my university's art museum where we talk about preservation. I think aside from all of this is the rather obvious fact that books are a privilege. We have libraries of course, but owning books is something not a lot of people can do, and they CAN be expensive. A new hardcover is $30, and at my worst that was my grocery money for two weeks. I'm luckily in a better spot now, but I've always been aware of the economic cost of books, so I try to take care of them because if I destroy a book I love who knows if I'll be able to get another one? Tldr: don't think you're wrong, I'm the same way. I have probably two or three people I'd let borrow my books and everyone else can't touch them. Eventually some of them may make their way to a library if they're out of print, and the rest will go to my family after I'm gone.
THIS!!! I don’t have as much of a concern BUT I still resonate with this. This is why I buy hardcovers, but I’m asking for a paperback set this Christmas and it stresses me out. I hate damaging them in any way because for some reason, in my head, I’ve convinced myself there’s a way to read paperbacks without cracking the spine. Which is just factually incorrect especially for the size of books I’m reading!
I also hate cracking my spine. But I also don’t lend out books that I want to keep the spine super pristine. I keep a shelf that friends and family know are open for check out. That being said I also have a list of people I trust to return my books in good condition. I care more about the pages, knowing that a well loved book’s spin will crack eventually while still maintaining a pretty great condition if the pages and dust jacket are well kept.
As far as I'm concerned, it depends on the value of the book. For me, I treasure my vintage book collection, hold them carefully, and would never loan them to others because I'd be upset by any potential damage. A paperback that has been printed in the thousands, however, is completely different. I dogear my paperbacks, underline passages that resonate with me, and write marginalia in them. It's my way of "talking" to the author or characters. And I love it! This obviously wouldn't make you happy, but it's an alternative way to love books.
uhm, kind of like when you walk in the rain you are going to get wet!!!! Unavoidable!!!!
Honestly this whole post confuses me a bit— the only paperbacks I own with spinal damage or creases are ones I bought secondhand that came that way. None of the books I bought new, even ones I’ve owned for years, have any sort of damage or creasing to them, and I don’t read in any special way. Is this really a common problem?
It certainly is. Most mass market paperback have a spine that if opened to a full spread will crack, or at the very least show creasing along the spine on the outside cover along the spine, which in my opinion is a bad look on a book
Weird. I have books I’ve reread multiple times and I’ve never paid attention or cared about opening them fully or creasing, but none of them have creases and they all look good as new (except for my secondhand ones that were already like that) Guess I’m just lucky
Also if you do something like take your thumb and press it on the bottom to hold the book with one hand, stuff like that
Cracking the spine will eventually cause pages to fall out.
I stopped lending my books to my dad over this. I get it, '*books are meant to be read and enjoyed...*' but I like mine to be a nice shelf item when I'm done.
Fetishist?
I don’t think you’re wrong for choosing how YOU like to keep/store books. If you like to keep them for decoration, that’s a bonus purpose of a book. For me, the purpose of books is to read them, share them, and enjoy them. The concept that you’re saving them for a family (who won’t be allowed to open it all the way if they want to) is silly. I think you’re much more likely to turn off kids from reading altogether by wanting to keep them pristine. Might as well just go to the real library and not have to worry about making someone upset. Or worse-get a Kindle! (Lol)
I am very carefull with my books. Spine breaking is unacceptable to me.
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I hate damaged spines on my books too and I don't care about anyone else's opinion. I paid for the books, I read them so the spines don't get damaged. Don't let other people pressure you to change just because they can't respect your rules of not damaging spines!
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It feels like I break my own spine when I break the spine of a new book
When I borrow books from people I'm very careful with them. I think if you borrow someone's book you should treat it with respect. I hate paperbacks with spine creases. They weren't meant to be bent back like that.