Thursday, January 31, 2013

Booking Through Thursday - Lending Books

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly feature hosted by a blog of the same name, where you answer and discuss the question featured on the blog. This week's question is:

Q: Do you lend your books? Are any out on loan right now? Do you have any that have been loaned to you? Do you think people should make an effort to read the loaned book quickly?

Oh boy, this is a tough one for me. For quite a while I had a very hard time lending my books out. At a certain point, my friends wouldn't want to borrow books from me because I was so anal. I am verrrryyyy easy on my books. I dont open paperbacks too far so as not to crease the spine, I am NOT okay with bent corners, and God forbid someone rips or stains a page. These things are just not okay with me.

I remember when I first really started lending out books to my boss, and I only did it because she lent me a few and we talked so much about the books we enjoyed, I thought it would be fun being able to discuss books we had both read.....

Then I got the books back.. *cue scary music* Oh God, I was distraught, but I tried not to show it, because I know she wasnt careless on purpose. I mean, really, she read the books in a day or two, its just that... she was reaallyyy hard on the books. Its just how she is, even with her own.

So I let it go and cringed every time I handed a book over to her, knowing what it would come back looking like. I got a little better, because I tried to tell myself that books SHOULD BE READ. They are SUPPOSED to be shared, and yes, sometimes people are harder on them than I am. Not every one is an anal freak who barely opens a book when she reads it. Well, that and the stress this was causing me was probably not healthy.

I do have some books lent out now - my cousin is making her way through the Mortal Instruments series, and for the most part they've come back okay. No horrible wear and tear or actual damage. I dont borrow a lot of books though, because as you may have guessed, I like to own my books and I like to have them "like new". I know it saves the earth and all by borrowing from friends and the library and whatnot, but I have an obsession and I cant do anything about it.

As far as people being curteous enough to return a book in a timely fashion, that doesnt bother me too much unless it has been several months. Some people, I've also learned the hard way, dont read as fast as I do. Take my boyfriend for example. I bought him a book for Christmas. He finally picked the damn thing up a week later, and now, about a month later, he is only about 3 chapters in. And I've seen the boy read, and the pace isnt exactly swift. He's just not a quick reader. I do, however, think that if you can read and return a book to the library in 2 weeks or however long they give you, there's no reason you cant do the same with someone else's book which is their personal property treasure.

How about you? How do you feel about lending books out? Please tell me that someone else is as crazy as I am about this whole thing, haha.

Happy reading!
Manda C.

8 comments:

  1. I think it's so sweet that you still lend your books, even though it makes you cringe to get them back looking man-handled. :) You're right, they are meant to be read!

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  2. I hardly have friends or relatives borrowing books - many don't read as much as I do and we also have an excellent library system here that is used quite a bit by people in this city.

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  3. I do loan out books that I have already read. However, I draw the line with books I haven't read yet. If I am gifting a book after I read it, I am very careful not to bend the spine of the book. If it is to be a gift, I want it to look new. I never, never dog-ear a book, that is just a given, I always use a bookmark and a little post-it to mark where I left off.

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  4. Ha-ha....I can relate to your story about the "abused" books, as the very friend to whom I've lent books is really hard on those she owns. I cringed when I saw the condition of a book she was reading (it bothered me the most as I had given it to her, one of the books I'd written, so it felt like it was a part of me!).

    But she has taken better care of the ones she's borrowed. She probably knows how anal I am about my books, as I gasped when I saw the condition of the one I'd written. Plus most people who know me at all realize that about me...lol

    Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  5. I am one of those readers you hate! For some reason, I'm extremely hard on my books. If I've read them once, they look well read. I'm not really sure how or why they end up like that! I never even considered condition because no one has ever given me a book that is in worse condition.
    We all have our own obsessions about books and reading. =)
    Thanks for stopping by.

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  6. Oh nooo. *hides and ducks* I hate it when people do that :(
    I never lend paperback or hardback though, because I'm afraid it'll get lost, mushed, cracked, broken, all of my nightmares rolled in one. I don't mind lending ebooks though. No way for anyone to toss the books around ;)

    Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  7. No one really asks for me to lend books, but the few times I have they were either never returned or in bad condition, so I wouldn't do it again.

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