• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

Are you picky about the condition of your books?

abecedarian said:
I also have a thing against foul smelling books. I have allergies, and some old books really do a nasty number on my head and eyes..
Click to expand...
I am glad that I am not the only one. I found several *aisles* of used books at an antique shop and it would have been wonderful were it not for the horrible smell coming off them.
 
Well, I hate to break it to you, you guardians of books that have a mania for keeping them in perfect, new condition, but all your books are on fire. That's right, they're on fire. The fact that you don't see flames shooting out of them only means that they are burning very slowly - they are oxidizing. The paper is reacting with the oxygen in the air, much like iron reacts with water and oxygen, and rusts. See the pages turning yellow and then brown over the years? Sunlight hastens the job.
Now, if you keep your books in the dark, and in a sealed container, pressurized with an inert gas, you will prevent the oxidation process. Of course, that will make them so much harder to read. And even so, you will only extend their lives by several centuries at the most. Perhaps half a millennium. Now, if you really want to preserve a paper document indefinitely, you must photograph it and render it in microfilm. Digital scanning won't do the job -as archivists know, only microfilm can be depended on for really long term storage, because any digital documents need a functioning reader with the appropriate imaging software to open the digital files in the format they are stored in. As fast as software is changing, your digital files may not be readable in 10 years, much less 1000.
Don't mind me, just ranting.
 
I try and keep my books in good condition but I always manage to crinkle a page here and there by falling asleep with a book, or it will be dirty with tea or jam because I'm eating and reading.

I also don't mind used books but I cannot stand extremely old books that have that funky smell. :eek:
 
Well, I hate to break it to you, you guardians of books that have a mania for keeping them in perfect, new condition, but all your books are on fire. That's right, they're on fire. The fact that you don't see flames shooting out of them only means that they are burning very slowly - they are oxidizing. The paper is reacting with the oxygen in the air, much like iron reacts with water and oxygen, and rusts. See the pages turning yellow and then brown over the years? Sunlight hastens the job.
Now, if you keep your books in the dark, and in a sealed container, pressurized with an inert gas, you will prevent the oxidation process. Of course, that will make them so much harder to read. And even so, you will only extend their lives by several centuries at the most. Perhaps half a millennium. Now, if you really want to preserve a paper document indefinitely, you must photograph it and render it in microfilm. Digital scanning won't do the job -as archivists know, only microfilm can be depended on for really long term storage, because any digital documents need a functioning reader with the appropriate imaging software to open the digital files in the format they are stored in. As fast as software is changing, your digital files may not be readable in 10 years, much less 1000.
Don't mind me, just ranting.
Click to expand...
The next time I decide to unload all my bookcases and open all the acid-free books and lay them in the sun, I'll be sure to keep that in mind.
 
Ah, Libre, you're so cruel to me! Now I won't be able to sleep tonight for having visions of my beautiful books going up in flames behind my eyelids. The pain...the pain...
 
NEW book - NEW condition

Used book awwwh.... I just pick out the best one. I don't even mind writing in the margins. I find it interesting to read others thoughts. I dog ear sometimes, not often.

Right now I'm reading The Master and Margarita. I dare you to read that book with all those crazy and similarly spelled russian characters without making notes.;)
 
i only care if i think it is going to be of some greater value - like a first editioin/first printing (especially first imprint). i actually found a first edition/first printing of The Sourcerer's Stone the other day for really cheap! i don't think they even checked at the book store. i wish i just had it signed now. anyways, the book can't have even been cracked open (or so it seemed). it was just a bit yellowed, but the spine (and it was hard cover) was so tight and the pages barely gave i just imagined it was never used. and the dust jacket was perfect, too.

i usually buy books used at yard sales or half price books or flea markets, stuff like that, so i can't be too picky. once in a while i find a true gem, though! i have probably a couple of dozen valuable books i got for $10 or less going to sales and such. fun!
 
I'm going through a library phase of my life, and very rarely actually browse the stacks preferring to just request the books I'm interested be sent to my closest branch. that being said, there's always such satisfaction is getting a copy of a book from the library that you can just TELL hasn't been read before. It's like...well that's not entirely appropriate for this forum.
 
Depends on what sort of mood I am in; for the most part I like to have my books in the best condition as possible, including the books I borrow from the library. But when I read them, I tend to get some food on them, the spine cracked, etc; makes the book look like it was loved and enjoyed I suppose.
 
jaynebosco said:
But when I read them, I tend to get some food on them, the spine cracked, etc; makes the book look like it was loved and enjoyed I suppose.
Click to expand...


Food? Eww that's a little gross....
 
i personally don't care about the quality of the book, i care about the content. obviously i don't want to paya lot for a bad book in bad condition, but i'm perfectly fine with buying books in used books stores.
 
When I spend money on books they BETTER be in good condition. lol. Money is tight these days so I can't go spending hundreds of dollars every other week on books. But even when I could do that, I always made sure I had the best copy the store had.
 
I'm only slightly neurotic. I have a major problem with those people who, when they read paperbacks, bend the front cover around the back. AHHHHHH!!! The EVIL!!!! So, if someone wishes to read one of my paperbacks, they can be sure to get the interrogation about how they hold it when they read. If I even begin to suspect they're a "cover-bender"...they shall never get near enough to molest my precious book!!!

I also do not like dog-earing, but its not major. I just tend to "unbend" each page as I come across it, gently straightening it out.

And books needn't be new. Most of my books are from thrift/used stores, or come from friends. I also enjoy seeing the books history, reading comments (only in non-fiction) or underlined passages. Underlining or comments in fiction is just distracting, and I always fear a spoiler...had that happen once!
 
Yes my books need to be in PERFECT condition! I have a hard time loaning books 2 friends because I want to keep them so perfect! :eek: lol!
 
I keep my books in perfect condition. I never EVER dog ear the pages. I use a bookmark instead.

I rarely lend out books, others may not feel the same about my books as I do.
 
I'm very picky about my hardbacks. I'm always a little crazy when it comes to keeping them in good condition. For example, I'll buy a book in hardback and again in paperback to read so that the hardback won't be in any danger of the things that threaten every-day reading adventures (like coffee stains and my rabbit's chewing).

My paperbacks are well taken care of...but also well worn down with repeated reading. I tend to hold on to them for as long as possible. I feel somewhat like I've betrayed them if I buy the book a second (okay, third) time. Some of them are held together with tape. Twenty year old paper backs can only take so much reading, I guess.
 
i've noticed how many people are so picky about the condition of their books, and while tearing books on purpose(gasp!!) surves no purpose, i think it's the content that matters. I think if a a book is old, dog eared and falling apart it's better then a brand new one-it shows that you've read and appreciated the book, maybe even reread it!
 
When I'm reading a book I don't bend the spine, or dog ear the pages but I usually don't care what happens to a book after I've read it. If someone wants to borrow a book I've read, I usually give it to them to keep. I don't see any use in keeping books that I've read, it's the unread that I want!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top