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How wide do you open your book?

Gita V.Reddy

Gita V.Reddy

Active Member
This question will most likely becomes redundant in the near future.

Some people have no regard for the spine of a book; they open it wide while reading, plop it face down while not reading, and plonk some heavy object on it when they take a break.

Others treat the book gently; they support the spine and use bookmarks.

How about you?
 
I was taught how to "break in" a new book :

You hold the book vertically with the spine resting flat on a table. Then alternating left and right sides you press it open a few pages at time, all the time keeping the rest of the book straight, with the spine flat. Work your way through the book until both sides meet in the middle.

This creases the spine and allows the book to open and greatly prolongs its life.
 
Meadow337 said:
I was taught how to "break in" a new book :

You hold the book vertically with the spine resting flat on a table. Then alternating left and right sides you press it open a few pages at time, all the time keeping the rest of the book straight, with the spine flat. Work your way through the book until both sides meet in the middle.

This creases the spine and allows the book to open and greatly prolongs its life.
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I find opening /handling a book is not linked to how much one loves books or even about knowing the best way to handle them. It is a part of one's personality.

I have a couple of friends who love books but don't handle them too gently. One of them multitasks a lot so she props up the book anyway because she has to read. The other is a very lively and energetic person and is always in a hurry, rushing from one task to another so many times her books look like they've been in a war zone. But both my friends LOVE books and read a lot.
 
hmm I think there is a difference between respecting the book as an object of value and learning how to care for it and loving reading ie loving books and loving reading are not synonymous
 
I try not to crease the spine. Not always successful especially for the larger books, but I try...

I know lots of people who are dedicated spine creasers.
 
I do not open books very wide. If a book is thick, I'm extra careful. This habit does not make comfortable reading because when the book is opened to only 100 degrees or so, you have to keep changing the direction to read the left side page and the right side page. I'm also very careful with the spine. I mostly try to place my fingers against the spine.
 
I am careful with my books - i.e. no creasing pages or turning corners as bookmarks - but not so terribly careful that I feel restrained in handling them.

I love to read in bed, so if I have a large book (e.g. Quicksilver), it's pretty hard not to bend the spine in order to open it up enough to read properly. If I could only open the book to 100 degrees and peer at the pages from side to side, it would seriously impinge upon my enjoyment of reading.
 
Ell said:
I am careful with my books - i.e. no creasing pages or turning corners as bookmarks - but not so terribly careful that I feel restrained in handling them.

I love to read in bed, so if I have a large book (e.g. Quicksilver), it's pretty hard not to bend the spine in order to open it up enough to read properly. If I could only open the book to 100 degrees and peer at the pages from side to side, it would seriously impinge upon my enjoyment of reading.
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I agree. I'm reasonably careful but I still open the book and read it and sometimes put it down open although I don't make a habit of it. I avoid reading in the bath because well books have been known to fall in :rolleyes: and I don't crease the page to mark my place. Paperbacks especially are not going to last forever and a day anyway so my feeling is - just enjoy them while taking reasonable care.
 
Depends on whether the book belongs to the other half, he likes his paperbacks pristine, looking as if they've never been read at all.
 
I am known to be extremely careful with books.

With RPG manuals, I use to make copies and use them at the game table, instead of risking the (usually expensive and limited edition) original.

I try to avoid opening the books more than 90º. It is a very subconscious matter, but now I have read about it, I have realized about it. Sometimes, I see people opening old comics from the 30s as if they were worth nothing, and my desire to strangle them comes from Zero to High very, very fast...
 
I'm pretty careful with opening new books, especially paperbacks. I do have a habit of setting them down open but I'm working on that...
 
I take care when reading so as not to damage the spine too much, but at the same time I have to be comfortable when reading a book so if the spine does get cracked a little it's certainly not a big deal. I am, however, a big believer in bookmarks. Turning over the corners of books to keep track of where you are and *shock horror* writing in books are both a big no-no for me!

When you think about it though, surely a book that is well thumbed with turned over corners and cracked spines are a sign of a well read and well loved book, so maybe turned over corners and cracked spines aren't such a bad thing after all. Guess it depends on how you look at it.
 
Karen C said:
When you think about it though, surely a book that is well thumbed with turned over corners and cracked spines are a sign of a well read and well loved book, so maybe turned over corners and cracked spines aren't such a bad thing after all. Guess it depends on how you look at it.
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I agree.
 
If you read in the bath like I do, the steam makes the glue of the spine more elastic and you can read the book without creasing it at all.
Failing that it is widely held, that the correct amount of opening should not exceed 65 degrees.
 
I like to open the book pretty wide, and husband winces on occasion when a spine goes. :) However, I try not to crack the spine.
No corners are bent, no pages creased, although I do make pencil notes and references to other pages.
 
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