This comment by Agony in the bookmarks forum got me thinking ...

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Oh, all right, I can't stand it any more, I have to confess. Not only do I dog ear pages, I also lay my books face down, open. I read in the tub, too, and turn pages with wet fingers. I have been known to get mustard and gravy stains in books.
There. I feel so much better. Do to me what you will, at least I am no longer living a lie.

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Firstly ... LOL

but secondly .. should a book be kept as pristine as possible or should it show marks of the enjoyment it has given someone? Perhaps if it's borrowed you'd want to give it back in the same condition it got to you in but if it's yours and you're really enjoying it and your wet fingers from the bath are warping the pages or the sauce from your lunch plopped onto the pages or the bug that you squashed between the pages because you just couldn't put it down when you took your son to the park - is it defiling the book or showing that you care?

Agony should be charged with bookicide, and hung, drawn and quartered forthwith.

I try to keep all my books in the best possible condition- the only thing I read in the bath is Readers Digest..

If I REALLY like a book, I tend to buy a copy in hardbound if I can find one, and I treat those with the best possible care. Books that are hard to find, childrens' books from my childhood or paperbacks that I love but haven't found in hardback yet, etc., are also treated with great care. (And my childhood wasn't that long ago. These things aren't falling apart with age, they just might not be too easy to replace.)

I often buy paperbacks cheap at used bookstores, and those I tend to treat with less care than others. I do not, under any circumstances, dogear pages, even in the lowliest of books. I have been known to read in the bath, but only paperbacks, and only ones which are what I consider to be "fluff" and I do NOT read them with wet hands. If I'm reading in the tub, I keep a towel handy.

I also have never thrown away a book in my life, unless it was falling apart and beyond repair. (Basic bookbinding skills are something every avid reader should know.)

Ashamed to admit of dog earring pages sometimes if a bookmark isn'r at hand and also reading a book while eating I must try harder!

For me, I think that a book is a repository of words, and the words are what is important, not the container. Dog eared pages and warped binding don't interfere with the reading of the book, and to me, it's the reading that is important.

I do the same things as agony. I put my books face down, read them in whatever position I am (don't ask!) and put them all very untidily in a bunch. I must count how many books are in a very bad condition !

But, however, I really treat books from the library or from someone else as well as I can. I know that the book is actually their's and they might not want to see it in the condition of my books.

For me, a book's cover means nothing to me, it's the words inside. The more messier you find my books, the more I enjoy them !

>> posted by ozzz2002
>> Agony should be charged with bookicide, and hung, drawn and quartered forthwith.

guilty, Your Honour, as charged!
If there's a book in pristine condition, it's unread. Mine have dog ears, colour highlighters, penmarks, yellow stickers, and assorted paraphernalia throughout (I read with a highlighter and a pen). I'll bend the spine backwards so that I can read it flat, whether it's softcover or hardcover.

My tax and accounting books/annuals are in a worse state - they fall apart, and are thrown out when the next edition is published.

The above posts filled with descriptions of barbaric treatment of books[ you all seem to take after the firemen in Farenheit 451] have stunned me and filled me with such horror that I do actually feel that I`m reading a Stephen King book and not a Funtriv thread.
Whilst I like to feel a sense of history when owning and reading old books there are only two type of marks that I can look at and not feel like some kid with a spraypaint can has been in my library. Age marks such as yellowing of pages and some slight browning. The authors signature including a short message.
My parent gave me books with such loving inscriptions as "To Roos merry xmas 1974 love mum and dad", I really hated the fact that the book was given to me in a less than pristine condition and the fact that the message would be there forever.
I`m currently collecting signed Ion Idriess books and if the previous owners name is on them I just don`t bother bidding.

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I'll bend the spine backwards so that I can read it flat, whether it's softcover or hardcover.

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GASP!!! You do WHAT to them??? I feel a swoon coming on... maybe I should lie down for a few minutes.

I have a few books that are falling apart from being read so many times, no matter how careful I have been with them. If a book has a dust jacket on it, I will take it off before reading it, to prevent it from getting torn, and to keep it looking as good as possible.

True a book is not the thing, but the words are, but most books I own I DO intend to read over and over. If I don't intend to read it again, it usually gets lent out and not expencted back. Those I DO keep I don't really want to have to replace regularly, which is the primary reason I keep THEM well, so they last as long as possible, and can be read as many times as possible. The ones I don't intend to keep I treat well so they can last for whomever gets them next.

But really, these are just my justifications for the reverence with which I tend to keep books.

I will say, though, that I like inscriptions. Especially on books for Katherine. She's got two copies each of a number of Dr. Suess books, at least one of each of which has inscriptions from people important to her. This works for me.

Any book that has an inscription in it whether from family, friends, or the author is treated with the utmost care; no dog ears, no spine bending...be it hard cover or paperback. But I have to admit, I fall right in line with agony and gtho4. My books aren't consciously mistreated. It's just that I'm reading all time and anything that's handled as much as my books, show it. I have never, ever, thrown away a book either. If it doesn't stay in my collection, I leave it somewhere for someone else to pick up and read or I give it away.

I'm with Ozzz. Books should be treated with the utmost care and respect. My books (and I have thousands of them) are pretty much in mint condition, despite being read many times. I often buy second hand books but only if they are in good nick.

I once loaned a book to a friend and it came back looking like a truck ran over it (no exaggeration), so I learned my lesson. I am fussy about who I lend books to. With some books, I buy two copies, one for me to keep and one to loan to friends!

Books are like friends. We treat them with respect, but we also lean on them, eat with them, sleep with them (!) and occasionally bathe together. A book will love you no matter what, just make sure you love your book.

Woody

I treat my books with the utmost care. If the spine is the least bit creased, it makes me cringe. I love my books and I want them to last for years and years. However, I do occasionally underline text with a pencil, especially if I'm reading a literary work. I never read chick lit and I rarely read fluff, so I want to preserve all of my wonderful books. When you pay money for a book, it's up to you how you treat it, but for me, my books grace my cherry bookshelves with beauty and dignity.

Some of the answers here made me laugh. Especially with the descriptions of agony and torment that some Funtrivia reader's books go under. Sounds almost as if they are torturing people and should go to jail...but ofcourse it's not that serious. People may treat their books however they like and although dog-earing them and bending the spines back sounds horrible, some might think it not to be. It might be that doing that is a sign of a well-loved and used book, and making the book that person's own with their marks left on them.

Despite this view, I do take care of my books. Although, I rarely buy a book unless I have read it beforehand, the ones I do have, I take care of. I also take even more care of books that are borrowed from friends. I never read books in the bathtub or whilst eating (unless it's a snack that won't drop crumbs) and if I don't have a bookmark with me, I'll remember the page number. I keep my books on a bookshelf and ones borrowed from the library are stacked in a pile on a desk. I believe books are a treasure to keep. Some say e-books might take over one day but I don't think that will happen at all. Books will always prevail!

Here's an idea, when you buy a book and enjoy it (or not) donate it to your public library. I used to sit on the local library board (see, I do have a soft spot for books) and when we did the budget, it was always the book buying portion that got cut when decisions were made. You can't lay off the librarian, or turn off the heat, so you just don't buy books when money is tight.

I recently read the entire Sharpe series, chronologically of course, and bought the ones that the library didn't have. When I was done, I donated the lot. Now the next person who wants to read the entire series can do it at the library.

So all of you literary hermits with your two and three copies....SHARE!
You'll be glad you did. And there'll be more room on your shelves for new ones...

That what I did with a lot of children's books!

I've always liked to see well-read reference books that are worn but in one piece. No two look the same as when you have the same books at college, each person's has different marks and damage on it, and it gives them a history.

Art and photography books (I have a number) look better as new, and for some reason I'm very gentle with books as hardly any of mine besides my various dictionaries (mainly over 30 years old) are worn, even though some others are used quite a lot.
I rarely read fiction, but unless (like many people do) you either read them over and over again, or swap them with people they tend to be read and stay on the shelf, which barely gives a book any wear at all. And I still usually find it quicker to answer questions here from my books than look them up online, so it means a bit more wear on my reference library as well!

I'm laughing out loud at the thought of parting with any of my childrens' books. Now, I always knew I would have kids one day, but the reason I hung on to almost my entire collection of picture books and young adult paperbacks was NOT just really excellent foresight. It was a simple love of the books, the childhood memories attached to them and my sincere desire and belief that ALL adults should remain closely attached to their childhoods. (After working in a preschool, I learned to stop taking for granted things which cause wonder and joy, like the ability to tie one's shoes or the carefree chasing of a butterfly. My daughter and I play hide and seek while shopping and I laugh and carry on and don't care who sees anymore.) It's just a huge bonus that now my daughter gets to enjoy the same books I did as a child.

Someone please tell my husband that books are not coasters.

That said, I do like to keep my binding and spines and pages in good shape--I don't like to see wear and tear. And yet I have no problem with underlining and writing profuse commentary in the margins. I have great difficulty reading a book without a pencil in my hand.

I like reading true crime books and Jean M. Auel's "Earth Children" series. Books I like I tend to read over and over, and usually get battered to no end (i.e., broken spines, pages severely creased by dog earring, etc.).

However, I have learned my lesson and now buy two books of the same, so I can read one and save the other.

I try not to open books too much in case it bends the spine.

If I can't find I bookmark at hand, I use a bracelet, a fork, a pen...anything will do: just so long as I don't put the book open, face down.

I panic if I crease the dust-cover of a hardback.

I panic if I crease the cover of a paperback.

The only time I stop caring about the condition of a book is when I've read it so many times it would be impossible to prevent that spine staying smooth forever. It's definitely obvious which books I read the most: just look for the ones that look like they've been chewed by a dog amongst all the pristine, good-as-new ones!

Although...I do read while I'm eating. I just panic if I get food on books.

And, then again, if it's a library book, I couldn't care less what condition it's in!

Oh dear, place me with the book murderers. Hardbacks are treated with great respect, so much so that I have been known to go out to buy a paperback so that I can really get down to it. I kill paperbacks, first step is to force them to open flat. I read in bed so they get dropped, slept on, bent, creased and then if that isn't enough I take them into the bath with me and often drop them into the water.

I wouldn't dare to borrow a paperback. Earlier in the year a colleague insisted that I borrow a book about Afghanistan, I kept it far longer than I should simply because it took a while for me to get my own copy so that I could actually read it!

Having said what a brutal person I am, I would also add that I love my books, very few books are disgarded after one reading, some get read over and over. I don't know if I am alone in often finishing a book then immediately reading it again.