Kell Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 I had a very interesting chat with my brother-in-law (sister's hubby) a few days ago. Apparently I'm the only person who actually lends him "interesting books" to read. However, I had heard through my sister that he's always terrified every time I lend him a book, as they always look, as he put it, "virgin", & he worries about cracking the spine or leaving it any less pristine than it was when he was given it. Now, I have always thought of myself as pretty laid-back & easy-going. I know I'm pretty anal about how I keep my own books & how I treat the books belonging to others, but I'm well aware that sometimes the spines get craced through reading & it's nobody's fault - & that's alright, I really don't mind! I know that sometimes they won't necessarily come back to me looking brand new, but that's alright too, as they're NOT brand new - by this time, they'll have been read several times. My sister, on the other hand, has my copy of Memoirs of a Geisha (which she hasn't yet started) & she claims she'll take great delight & cracking the spine (hah! it's already cracked as I got it 2nd hand - bwahaha!). I just wonder where this perception of me being a Book Nazi, who will punish anyone who touches my books without kid gloves on their greasy mitts, has come from? Has anyone else had comments of this kind about themselves? Or is it just me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 I lent someone a brand new book (Labyrinth), and it came back with loads of spine creases. So I guess she wasn't scared of me! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 It really doesn't sound like its you at all. Sounds like its your sister and brother in law who have the hangup. It probably started as a joke and pretty soon became cemented in their heads that you have a 'thing' about how your books are treated. Its a way of bringing you down a peg or two to tease you about "your" neatnik ways, when its really based on their own perceptions. For fun, next time you loan them a book, put it in a ziplock baggie and enclose a pair of latex gloves and a note that says, "Gotcha!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted October 7, 2006 Author Share Posted October 7, 2006 LOL! I think I'll do that - cpmplete with a notice inside saying "Handle with care!". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 LOL! I think I'll do that - cpmplete with a notice inside saying "Handle with care!". And if you can make up a highly detailed list of totally impossible rules to follow in regards to care of your book-specially if its a beat up copy you bought at a boot sale...make sure those rules couldn't be followed without them having supernatural powers.Then say "Gotcha":tease: :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilywhite Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 I must admit I am a bit of a 'book Nazi'. I don't mind general wear and tear but if my books get ruined because of carelessness then I get really mad but I suppose that goes for all my stuff. If I lend it out then I expect it to be taken care of, although I do know accidents happen...... as long as they were accidents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 I'm to the point where I don't like to borrow stuff from anyone. There's been too many times where one of my kids damaged an item and I felt like I had to replace it. What I really really hate with a purple passion, are those extended loans -where the lender says, You can have this as long as you need it..then just give it back when you're done...this is for stuff that will probably be landfill fodder by the time their usefulness is over:irked: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 Kell, perhaps the comment wasn't as serious as you thought. It may have been an off-hand complement as to how nice you keep things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 Kell, perhaps the comment wasn't as serious as you thought. It may have been an off-hand complement as to how nice you keep things. That's true..not that you can't play a joke on them anyway..but mugglenot has a valid point too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted October 7, 2006 Author Share Posted October 7, 2006 Actually, I just asked him outright about it & it seems he really does worry about my books when he has them - it's kind of sweet really, but at the same time, unwarranted - if I was all that bothered, i wouldn't let him out of the flat with them in the first place - LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 Actually, I just asked him outright about it & it seems he really does worry about my books when he has them - it's kind of sweet really, but at the same time, unwarranted - if I was all that bothered, i wouldn't let him out of the flat with them in the first place - LOL! That's true, common sense dictates that we don't loan what we can't bear to lose. However..I DO have a story about a book I received through interlibrary loan once... I'd requested a G.A. Henty book and didn't notice the publication date. I just assumed it was a reprint and was shocked to get to the library to find an original edition, tied up with a piece of yarn, inside a baggie, with a note from the lending librarian saying, "This is OLD and fragile, please handle with care!" Like I could be comfortable handling this volume NOW??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 I once had a brand new book that only I read once...lent it out and came back full of dog ears and a ripped cover....last time I lent her a book:irked: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 I once had a brand new book that only I read once...lent it out and came back full of dog ears and a ripped cover....last time I lent her a book:irked: Barbarian! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 My problem isn't that they come back in poor condition it's that they never come back at all I HATE lending books. I'd rather cough up the dough and buy someone a book ( my favorite gift to give anyways) so I don't have that waiting and wondering over my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 My problem isn't that they come back in poor condition it's that they never come back at all I HATE lending books. I'd rather cough up the dough and buy someone a book ( my favorite gift to give anyways) so I don't have that waiting and wondering over my head. that happens to me...but it's usually with videos:roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 I am only a book Nazi when it comes to my technical books such as Windows XP Registry repair, or my time life series for home repairs. If the books are for just general pleasure and not a learning series than I don't get angry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted October 8, 2006 Author Share Posted October 8, 2006 The truth is, i only led to people in the first place if I think they're the type to have respect for someone else's belongings. Obviously, some wear occurs with repeat reading & I don't mind that, but folks just taking a little care is all it takes - I don't need them to be anal about it at all. Plus, in the case of my B-I-L - I know where he lives if he DID wreck a book of mine purposely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Merton Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Books, just like everything else you can put your hand on, are just things. And things you cannot take with you when you die. There are no pockets in a shroud. On the other hand, the ideas contained within books, IMHO are a completely different matter. Thank God we have a brain to remember, a spirit to rework and a soul to perpetuate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactic Space Hamster Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 I just regard my books like anything else that own and would lend somebody. Be it a book, DVD, game, album, or whatever I expect them to treat it with care and return it in the condition that I lent it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 I tend to not lend my books! I once had a bestselling paperback as a birthday present - lent it to my sister-in-law and never saw it again:censored: . My mother recently damaged one of my books and she spent at least a week apologising 'cos she knows my feelings on book damage!!! (I did forgive her;) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Feelings on the subject sometimes change as a person gets older. I also felt like many of you when lending a book. I expected it back within a reasonable time and in good condition. I remember lending a book to my wife's brother-in-law and him not returning it for a good number of years and how it bothered me. And now, at my age, I am giving my books away (to the library). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Merton Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 And now, at my age, I am giving my books away (to the library). I did this when we moved back to the UK, three years ago. Approximately 1,000 books and over 500 cd's. Once the decision was taken, all feelings of ownership or loss were replaced by the knowledge that others would soon be enjoying the riches I had once discovered for the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acesare* Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 I don't really think about what might happen to my property if I lend it to someone, just that I want them to read it because I think they'll enjoy it. A couple of people have still got books I lent to them years ago, and I barely remember! I ended up pinching a book back from my Dad after he kept it for 4 years and forgot it was mine! If I borrow something, I always try to keep it in the condition I received it as a matter of respect for them. I was gutted when someone knowed a book I'd borrowed from Kell, out of my hand on the tube and the cover bent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted October 8, 2006 Author Share Posted October 8, 2006 It was still in excellent condition when it came back, so I was & I am more than happy - & i'm more than happy to lend my books to such a thoughtful person as yourself, Jo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acesare* Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Aw, shucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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