clockwork frog Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Thank you princessponti, but I fear we are the unwashed minority! Come on people, fold a corner down, just once, just a little. Let your book live, add some character to it's pages. *(dons goggles, and stands against wall next to princessponti)* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Come on people, fold a corner down, just once, just a little. Let your book live, add some character to it's pages.I did it a few times when I was a kid and didn't have a bookmark handy. I got into such trouble from my Mam when she discovered what I'd done, that I never forgot it and now balk at the thought of turning the corner.See what happens when a bookworm mother drives that into her daughter? LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyanddandy Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 I can take a folded down page or two as well - I don't do it to other peoples books though - husband also looks on with disapproval especially if I put my book face down and open! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 I'm beginning to worry. Am I far too fussy with my books? I couldn't bare to fold a corner down and don't get me started on the spine. I can't bend the spine. If I accidently bend the spine of a book I'm gutted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 I'm beginning to worry. Am I far too fussy with my books? No I like my books good as new too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carm Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 bookmarks-- absolutely bookmarks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icecream Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Katie was playing with my book today while I was in the bath. I'll let her off for bending the corners. If it was one of the older ones they would see my wrath:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitty_kitty Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 My mum just got me some lovley bookmarks from Whitby to use as bookmarks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockwork frog Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 As a light hearted and slightly tongue in cheek way of adding fuel to an interesting debate, aimed at nobody in particular, please allow me to quote Professor Trefusis from Stephen Fry's 'The Liar', talking on this very subject. ["Books are not holy relics"] ["Think how many children are put off reading by people ticking them off whenever they turn a page carelessly. The world is so fond of saying that books should be "treated with respect". But when are we told that words should be treated with respect?"] He-he. Go on... I say again, fold a corner! Let the next person to own your book enjoy it all the more, for the life YOU have added to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I have just been given an extraordinarily beautiful book mark by my sister. It is made of metal, with a hook at one end attached to a triangle which has a beautiful swirly design, on top of which there is another jade-coloured triangle . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrathofkublakhan Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 As a light hearted and slightly tongue in cheek way of adding fuel to an interesting debate, aimed at nobody in particular, please allow me to quote Professor Trefusis from Stephen Fry's 'The Liar', talking on this very subject. ["Books are not holy relics"] ["Think how many children are put off reading by people ticking them off whenever they turn a page carelessly. The world is so fond of saying that books should be "treated with respect". But when are we told that words should be treated with respect?"] He-he. Go on... I say again, fold a corner! Let the next person to own your book enjoy it all the more, for the life YOU have added to it. Brilliant. Simply brilliant. I love it when a little research goes into a response in this forum. Typically I'm a soda-straw-sleeve kinda guy. I've been known to bend a corner (left or right, top or bottom - depending on where I am on the page) when I am toting my paperback about to lines at the bank, restaurants and the dreaded DMV. A lot depends on the quality of the book (meaning cover, binding etc. not the content) - the higher end books I imagine having a longer cycle in passing through other people's hands as I donate to my library. What I love about this thread on being dog-eared is that it is just one step away from the discussion on book-banning and book-burning in that it is indeed: about respect for the written word on any level. I remember reading The Walking Drum (btw, does any one know how I can make that a link without posting the URL?) - where it's described that in the 12th century a man in England boasted having a library - containing 8 books. Now and then I come across, in my reading; tales of people smuggling the Bible into Russia, cowboys in the Old West carting just three books because it was all they could carry (Plutarch, for example) or some strident activist demanding a book like Harry Potter be banned from a school library and I realize just how precious a book can be and to what lengths one will go to read. I'd feel pretty terrible if I contributed to the subtle destruction of a book if it became dear to a population. OTOH - booksellers tear off the covers and toss into the trash the books they can't sell. It's all a matter of balance, grasshopper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Brilliant. Simply brilliant. (btw, does any one know how I can make that a link without posting the URL?) OTOH - booksellers tear off the covers and toss into the trash the books they can't sell. When you click on the globe/paperclip image, you post the URL into the box. Once it's put the writing in the reply box, you simply type 'Provender's world of chocolate bicycles...' (or whatever you want the link to say) without touching anything else - just type. Then click at the end of the line to carry on typing. Does that help? If not, I'll PM you to show you what I mean... Back O/T, my current books says something in the front about "did you buy this book without a cover? If so, it's been stolen and the writer won't get any royalties" or something similar. I've never seen that message before, but I guess that's what you're talking about above. The bookseller pulled the cover off to rend it unsellable, and someone pinched it out of the skip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 OTOH - booksellers tear off the covers and toss into the trash the books they can't sell. Ouch. They should give them to hospitals or public libraries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 OTOH - booksellers tear off the covers and toss into the trash the books they can't sell. Slightly nerdy question but why do they do that? Is it so people can't firk them out of the rubbish and sell them as new? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Slightly nerdy question but why do they do that? Is it so people can't firk them out of the rubbish and sell them as new? I did post about that a few posts above, because the book I'm reading mentions it inside - it's because the authors won't get royalties from unsold books. I guess it happens when they change covers/increase prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrathofkublakhan Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Ouch. They should give them to hospitals or public libraries. That'd be great. I think the deal is that they send the covers back to prove they were not sold because of shipping costs. It's a real shame when this happens but it does protect the author, insuring that royalties are honest. Every time I've seen a huge bin full of these book without covers I wonder if the books were really that bad! I had a friend who worked at a bookstore. He gave me a copy of Lonesome Dove without the cover. At the time I didn't know what it meant, but he harked it out of the bin knowing I might like it -- later on it went on to win a Pulitzer Prize and to star Robert Duvall in a great mini-series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockwork frog Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 WRATHOFKUBLAKHAN, You're absolutely right about the quality of a book. A brand new, expensive hard back is a significant object and should be treated with the relevant respect. I guess my point of view stems from the fact that I very rarely buy new books. Almost all of my books come from friends, junk shops, charity shops, etc. and all are in some way worn/well used. (And my library contains a few more than 8 titles ) When people buy me new books as gifts it's invariably on a subject I am passionate about and do, almost, revere these books, I think because of the content and it's relevance to me and out of the pleasure of the gift. The rest of my book collection are a little like good leather boots, in many ways. New ones are nice but a little stiff and awkward. I much prefer the comfy old worn ones! Yes, it would be great if book shops could give away their unsold copies to hospitals, etc. but the large, commercial machine that is book publishing/selling would, no doubt, loose revenue and everyone in the chain, I guess, wants their piece of the income pie. Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icecream Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 I like to respect my books and keep them in as good condition as I can but I generally read (in the day time) when Katie is feeding and it so much easier when she is being fussy to just put the book face down then pick it up again, rather than having to mess about with the book mark, then finding the page and place again By the time I have done that it is time to move the baby again. Im currently reading 1984 in hardback, which I got from Folio so I am trying to keep it nice and it can be difficult manouvering it around the baby, then I am often tired or have to much to do i the evenings and theefore don't get any readng done if I haven't read in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 I like to respect my books and keep them in as good condition as I can but I generally read (in the day time) when Katie is feeding and it so much easier when she is being fussy to just put the book face down then pick it up again I generally do the same thing with my books. If it's a paperback, I'll put it face down (gently) if I'm going to be coming back to it soon. If I'm through reading it for awhile, I'll find some sort of bookmark. Hardcovers are easier because I can use the flap of the cover, but those sometimes bother me. So, I'll sometimes take them off and still use a bookmark. But I never fold down pages anymore...not in about 10 years. I'm one of those people who purchases all of their books and plans to re-read every single one. I want to keep them all in as good condition as possible...they're like my best friends! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockwork frog Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 [i want to keep them all in as good condition as possible...they're like my best friends!] And just like your best friends, they should have their faults and little idiosyncratic features. It's why you love them so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenmck Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 I'm embarrassed to say that I often turn down the pages of a book. I lose bookmarks all the time. I saw this thread and laughed. I could hear my father scolding me for "abusing" my books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockwork frog Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Jenmck, Don't be embarrassed. Welcome to a subversive, dark, hidden but exciting world, where books are play things, they get read, they get damaged, they change owners... THEY LIVE!!!!!! Come on, there must be more people that are part of this dark, underworld, enjoying an intimate but frowned upon relationship with their current book, but just haven't shown themselves yet.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icecream Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 I currently have two bookmarks in my book as OH picked it up, so I was kind enough to put one in his place for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icecream Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 The other day I finised 1984 ad I knew I had a short book pn the armchair in the bedroom. When I went to bed I read some of it then I stuck a leaflet about looking after babies'teeth inside it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 The other day I finised 1984 ad I knew I had a short book pn the armchair in the bedroom. When I went to bed I read some of it then I stuck a leaflet about looking after babies'teeth inside it. Am I being dense? I don't understand your post. Do you mean you've now lost it? ETA: Lightbulb moment - you mean you used the leaflet as a bookmark! Obvious really. In my defense, I'm not feeling 100% atm and my head is fuzzy - sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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