To break the spines of paperback books and treat them like they're nothing?

[ChasTittyBeltUp]

I remember someone telling me that the first thing to do to a paprback is break it's spine to make it easier to read. I also fold corners down.

I think a paperback is sort of disposable...can be recycled...unless it's a chershed gift or signed etc.

DH thinks I am very wrong to do this and he is (imo) ridiculously and annoyingly precious about them. He sits with them open three quarters so he doesn't damage them and all his look new.

AIBU?

No Kindles here. We like books.

I agree, YANBU Chastitty. I wouldn't treat them like they are nothing, but you can definately tell when I have had my hands on a book.

I have every intention of preserving my much loved books but I get too excited and before I know it the have watermarks
On them, filed corners and broken spines.

Sign of a well loved collection IMO. I didn't buy a frickin bookshop or boon museum. I bought a book to enjoy!

I do have some cherished books, my grandfathers HB Dickens collection for example that I dare not even read

Well all my books go to the second hand bookshop and are sold (to finance the purchase of more books) so I do make sure mine are in good condition, do not bend pages etc etc. My only weakness is reading in the bath which can make the pages curl . If I had lots of money I probably wouldn't care and would dispatch unwanted books to the nearest charity shop

I had a friend who was so up her own backside and would never bend the spine back on a book.. or fold pages.

I, on the other hand, fold mine back, fold pages when i mark my place, and still enjoy the book and pass it on to others to read. So long as the pages are not falling out, or ripped, then I dont see the argument. Books are meant to be read, not delicately looked at.

I trash my books because I like them to look read... in fact I like my books to look devoured! But not because I think of them as disposable, i just feel that to have a shelf full of books that look unread is a bit 'showyoffy' like you have just bought them to fill up the shelves, not to read them.

But then I'm odd and a librarian

YANBU. I like a book with a bit of history.

I am not bothered about breaking or not breaking spines, but with my own paperbacks, I always fold the corner down to mark my place! Would not dream of doing it with a book that I had borrowed, though.

I break the spines. I think they look well loved that way.

And also, I find it difficult to read some books without opening the book in such a way that the spine breaks in at least one place.

I agree that it's no problem to break the spine if it's your own book. Exp used to do it to books that we had bought as presents, when he looked inside to see what they were like

I leave mine open, face down, when I have to get up for something. I fold corners. I crack the spines so they sit open better. I often fill them with toast crumbs and tea splashes.

I hold my book with one hand (cig or drink in other hand) so I have to break the spine anyway.. or it would just close itself.

I beat my books soundly whether they misbehave or not. And fold the corners down too.

YABU

God so it's defo dh who is the weirdo! It's unanimous!

I also crumb in them. I sometimes open a book and find years old toast remnants. I think it's nice to find bits of your past....ah...I remember that morning! Twas' Hackney 1999!

I've never really got the whole "respecting" books thing. I read books. I enjoy reading in the bath, while eating, in the garden, on the beach. There is collateral damage. Apart from wanting to keep them re-readable, I'm not sure why I would treat them better than anything else.

YANBU, but I did recently get a bit of a stern chastising from my PhD supervisor for doing the same (and folding page corners AND making pencil notations -- on a library book THAT NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON OTHER THAN MYSELF HAS EVER CHECKED OUT!)

Yanbu- Books aren't supposed to be handled carefully, they are to be moulded for 'one handed' reading, squashed into pillows before being slammed face down open onto bedside cabinets when your eyes won't stay open a moment longer.

You should always be able to find a favourite passage of a story by holding a book loose upside down, and seeing where it naturally hangs open.

And when your done, books should be passed on and shared round, dog ears and all.

My ex was like your dh. Drove me mad - he wouldn't let me read his books! I love books, especially reading them. On the bus. In the bath. In bed. How people read them without bending them a bit is beyond me. My DP is the same as me and reads his books vigourously, and sometimes to death

Just to clarify, my personal books are for bathtubs, wine, and dark chocolate...all elements of a great love affair. I love the smell of a book, broken spine and all.

And yes, I do share after reading!

I have read some to death...I mourn my copy of Up the Junction as it was a 1st edtion but I didn't know that as a teen. I just loved it to bits.

Still! The words are all the same in subsequent editions!

Lol.. this thread has reminded me how my dad used to go mad if anyone read his Sunday Telegraph before he had got his mitts on it... Apparently we messed it up....

YABU and I can confirm I'm not up my own backside.

Which reminds me of a joke:
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
(Groucho Marx)

YABVU. My poor ears! :)

But if they are your books I guess you can do as you please, unless you wish to store them next to your husband's which might then become sullied! However ...

LauraIngallsPalmer - your PhD supervisor was right. If it is a library book then it isn't your property to deface. Maybe it hadn't previously been checked out (how do you know), but that's not to say other people aren't using it in the library. Library loan statistics don't necessarily give a true reflection of a book's usage.