folding down the corners of a borrowed book

[Thatsnotmypiglet]

I lent a recipe book to a friend and she had it for about two weeks. When I got it back I put it in the cupboard and thought no more about it. I just got it out to bake muffins for ds and several pages have their corners turned down. I don't turn the corners on any of my books and I wouldn't think to do it on a borrowed book. I know it's really not important but AIBU to be a tiny bit peed off?

You need to put your friend on 'the list'.

Make sure you never lend anything to her again. Lord only knows what she would do if you lent her your vacuum cleaner. It would never be the same again!

My books are always pristine after I've read them because I like to re-read them again and again, and I like them to be in good nick each time I read them.

I hate lending books to my DM because she leaves them open over the arm of a chair, breaks the spine etc. Every single time she comes here she's eyeing up my bookcases and asking to borrow something. Worse is when she just helps herself without asking

The only person I will lend to is my adult DD who knows the rules and gives the book back in the same condition.

Forget folding corners. I once leant a book to my brother to take on holiday and he read it and then GAVE IT AWAY to someone on a beach.

I bend my novels back on themselves as well. Then hold it above me to read one handed in bed. Then get woken up when it falls on my face.

Is this thread a joke? Confused.....

I never ask to borrow books. I rarely manage to keep a bookmark going for more than a day or so before it disappears. I have bookcases full of books I've read carelessly many times, and none of them are falling apart. If somebody foists a pristine book on me, I assume they haven't read it, but manage to return it in the same condition by not reading it myself either.

I have some collectable books that require a more careful approach, and keep 'reading' copies of these, which I treat with wilful neglect.

I reserve my ire for those who ask to borrow books, then forget they're mine and sell them at a car boot sale. MIL, I am looking at you.

I don't want to be precious about books. I want to be comfortable when I read. I want to pick it up and put it down wherever. I want to fall asleep with it in my hand. I want to put it down over the arm of the chair when the phone goes. I want to toss it into my handbag, read it on the bus and hold it one handed while munching toast.
I am not bothered about pristine. Not when it comes to paperback novels and cookery books.

Folding down corners is labour saving, hassle free and makes good sense.

P.s I'd never fold down someone else's cook book though.

If somebody foists a pristine book on me, I assume they haven't read it, but manage to return it in the same condition by not reading it myself either

Top attitude/comment.

Someone has better prepare the firing squad for my next revelation.

Despite not being a 'corner folder' myself I don't require smelling salts if someone does it to a book I lend them, Personally I use a book mark. When I say 'book mark' I use that as a very loose term - the last book mark I utilised was a piece of snotty but dried tissue that happened to be next to my bed when I was reading and starting to drift off.

Take that and party!

(it wasn't borrowed btw)

My son has been reading all my old Harry Potter books over the past few months. Almost throttled him when I saw he had turned down pages. When we went to Harry Potter studios I bought him a Harry Potter bookmark and made sure he realised that he would make sure to use it or risk losing a limb...

I am very careful with my books!

Most of my books look like they've been run over...

Rarely borrow books though and if I do they're generally as knackered as mine are.

I actually quite like the appearance of a book that has been affected by steam when someone has read it in the bath.

It has a calming, relaxed and wavy aesthetic look to it IMO -apparently if you hold it close enough to your ear you can actually hear the sea ....

< awaits arrival of The Book Police >

Ooo, is it bath steam which makes them wavy?

I did not know that. My books are very wavy!

Bath steam is the main culprit KingJoffrey but I think you can get the same effect hunched over a hot cup of coffee.

(Winter is coming ....)

To me a well-loved book (complete with tatty cover and bent back pages) is better than one in pristine condition that people are scared to read

I agree

On most books yes, not allowed but on cook books, I think you're making a bit of a fuss. My cook books are covered in splatters of oil, butter, flour, pages stuck together. You can't keep cook books pristine.

She should have used a cookbook stand and not touched the pages at all.

I don't really get all you uptight pristine book lovers. But you are forgiven because you are a book lover. I turn down pages, I break spines, my books have coffee stains, bubble bath stains, wine stains and some of them have even been dropped in muddy puddles on camping holidays. We may have to agree to disagree about our treatment of the books but we all love books therefore we are all book sisters/ brothers.

I would always choose a loved/read second hand book over a new one. I cannot comprehend wanting a book that looks like it hasn't been read. Baffles me. Many lovely friends feel differently however, so I guess this is something we all have our own views on and we just have to respect them. So don't lend books unless you know you are 'on the same page' (see what I did there?) as the other person.

All my books are pretty grotty apart from a small number of very expensive Folio Society facsimile reproductions of illustrated children's books (Rackham, Dulac, Kay Nielsen ,etc) and a couple of originals of same.

I fold corners of my own books but don't fold corners of borrowed books for fear their owner is like the OP.

I only lend books to selected people after somebody ran off with a favourite. I used to lend to a colleague who would never dogear or break spines, I hate it when people wrench a crisp new book, the binding is totally gone. My books aren't exactly pristine as many are secondhand and all are read but I like to keep them in one piece and can read with minimal spine creasing.

No never ever ever turn down the corner of a page in a book! Do anything rather than spoil the beauty and wonder of a fresh new page. Sorry possibly sound slightly ott but I feel really strongly about books being cared for and treasured, I use any old thing as a book mark, scraps of paper, postcards, old envelopes and unfortunately sometimes a credit card statement I then loose sight of and forget. But no pls don't turn down the corners of a page x

I do it with my own books all the time. But I always use a bookmark for borrowed books. I know a lot of people try to keep their books pristine but I thoroughly use mine and they're very well loved.

And I would NEVER lend out a book that was precious to me. There are a few and people do ask. But it's always a no.