Booking through Thursday – Spine Breaking
Mariel suggested this week’s question.
Are you a spine breaker? Or a dog-earer? Do you expect to keep your books in pristine condition even after you have read them? Does watching other readers bend the cover all the way round make you flinch or squeal in pain?
As I am an avid book borrower from the library I try not to spine break or dog ear. Though there is no better sound in the world than when you open a fresh book from the library and the crinkle of the plastic of the hardcover. I love the feel of it too. I don’t expect books to be continuously in pristine condition. Not with two young kids in the house! Which is one reason why I borrow more than I buy. I think a well worn book is a well loved book! I think it shows each and every person who touches it and fell into it’s pages. When I see readers bend the cover it shows me they are so sucked into the book that they don’t even realize it.
Would you like to Book through Thursday? I know you would… so let’s do it!
I too am a library person and I sometimes wonder if library copies of books are bound differently to take the hard use they get. I also love used books and often someone else has already done the breaking in for you.
Juliann
October 30, 2008
I think I used to dog ear when I was younger. I now kind of grimace at that looking back. A bookmark isn’t that hard to come by – I use a long strand of yarn
mommablogsalot
October 30, 2008
I use the library and treat books with respect.
Sally
October 30, 2008
Library books tend to be eerily resilient–I don’t beat them up, but I wonder how they can get used so many times, but still be in decent condition.
Heather
October 30, 2008
Well-loved books are bound to get worn, but I hate seeing them so abused (like broken spines) that they fall apart. That’s just sad, especially when pages start to fall out of the middle!
Jeane
October 30, 2008