I love the way books look and feel. I love the way the smell. I love wandering around the bookstore, picking up pretty ones, deciding which will come home with me. Pretty, pretty books.
Pop Quiz: What do these books have in common?
A. They are all brand new.B. They have all been read at least once, some twice.
C. Why are you posting pictures of book spines on your blog, Kiersten? Lame. Books are almost as lame as your blog!
If you answered A or C, I'm sorry to say you're wrong. (Also, if you answered C, meet me at the flagpole after school because you're going down.) The correct answer is B--they've all been read, some of them multiple times.
What's this, you say? Why are their spines so perfectly intact? BECAUSE I LOVE MY BOOKS. I once lent out a book to [name redacted to protect someone I like very much] and when it came back to me, the spine was cracked down the middle and I was livid.
LIVID.
I didn't say anything, of course, but I'll never lend a book to that person again. In fact, I cringe when I loan out books in general. I love giving recommendations, but parting with my own precious darlings is much, much harder.
However, this need for books to be pristine presents problems. Hardcovers are okay to haul around, but if I've got a paperback I'm in the middle of reading I'm out of luck. There are always chances here and there to read that I can never take advantage of because I'm too worried the book will get crunched and creased in my purse.
Correction: I never could take books with me everywhere. And then I got a present from the wonderful Natalie and her amazingly talented mom:
I know what you're thinking: My goodness, Kiersten, what lovely fingers you have. No, no, don't look at the fingers, look at what they're holding! That's right! It's a...what is it? This should help:
Exactly! (I know what you're thinking now, what adorably pudgy hands Dojo has, but focus here!) It's a book cover! A clever AND adorable little bag, perfectly designed for protecting books and letting you take them anywhere.And I love it.
Now the only problem is I kind of want a book-protector-protector, because really, it's too pretty to get shoved in my purse...
If I seem a little loopy, it's because I am. After all, I just ran out of these:
and they don't sell them here. I'm not happy about that. NOT HAPPY AT ALL.
22 comments:
Hehe, I'm glad it's gone to good use so far! It IS washable you know, don't worry about ruining it:)
I'm similarly minded about my own spines and edges — though I have no book protector.
Whirl: get to be birthday-present-exchanging-level friends with Natalie. It's the next step up from texting-when-you-have-great-news friends, but one step beneath being-written-into-the-will friends.
My favorite books on my shelves are the ones that are dogeared, marked up from studying them in college classes with notes in the margins, cracked spines, the works. But the problem is, I only want my books to be well-worn by ME; not by anyone else. It's a specific kind of well-worn-ness that can't be duplicated by someone else and I'm like you--I get miffed when other people assert their own wear and tear on my books. Sigh. Books can make one feel so territorial...
Dude, that's seriously cool. Oh! THAT's why people carry brief cases! To hold their book holders that are holding their books! It all makes sense now!
WARNING: Do not ever lend a book to me. Not only will I bend the spine, and dog ear the pages, but in the end I probably won't even finish reading it.
I hardly lend out my books because I HATE dog eared pages and bent spines.
Don't even get me started on spills...
Sara--YES! Briefcases are book protector protectors. Exactly.
Mariah, you could borrow my books : )
OK, you are definitely loopy and crack me up so. Most of my favorite books have hot cocoa stains on them from being read in bed and graham crackers in the spines from being bounced around at the bottom of my diaper bag! Also, I write in them all the time. Usually underlining things and writing stuff in the margins, but occasionally writing random phone numbers on the end pages. Also, I once took an exacto knife to a book I enjoyed most of but thought one essay was too crude to keep on my shelf.
haha you're hilarious woman!
So--I completely do the opposite. I can NEVER borrow books from anyone because I go through mine like there's no tomorrow. I drop them in the bathtub, I get chee-to fuzz all over them, I flip and bend them back. I feel like I book is meant to be more than read... I want to DEVOUR it!
Of course, now I read them on my iphone... which means I have to put it in a plastic bag in order to read in the bathtub--you know, in case I drop it. :)
I AM SO THE SAME WAY. I hate it when I loan books out and they come back in worse condition!!! I JUST got a book back from e friend who borrowed it--not only is the spine broken, but the front cover is ripped, too!!!! GRRRR
I don't borrow my son's books because he keeps them pristine like that. I can't read a paperback properly without bending it back to lie flat. So I stopped worrying about spine creases ages ago.
I don't dogear, though, instead I use any handy scrap of paper as a bookmark, and I don't like soup stains and chocolate smears and other grime. I like the books I buy from charity shops to be clean inside although I've found that the covers clean up nicely with a bit of washing up liquid.
That's SOOO kewl. How does one get to be birthday present exchanging friends with Natalie?
Oh. I forgot. You're just naturally cool.
Hmmm.
I may need to work on this a little.
;)
sister, you've got yourself a PROBLEM. you might seek out some professional help. i think people who buy and/or read books are morally reprehensible. just... untenable.
(do they have a book for coping with book addiction? just thinking out loud...)
So far it seems the keep them pristine and the love them to death camps are pretty extreme...
And Moonrat, I know...there's something very wrong with people who read books. At least I'm not as bad as the deranged lunatics who work in the publishing industry...THOSE folks are a menace to society. Just feeding my addiction!
(Also, please write a book for coping with book addictions! PLEASE.)
I'm plugging along at about 2 or 3 books a week, and I thought I was pretty special. But no, I am not.
Okay, so I'm the same way you are...except I LOVE loaning my books. I want everyone to read it right then and there, not forget about it and never read it. So when it comes to those books I just LOVE and have to share--I buy used copies from half.com or amazon for super cheap and then lend them out. No one EVER touches my brand new ones--ever. But everyone can read the super cheap already messed up ones! LOL! Then if I ever what to reread that dog-eared one in the tub or something, I just grab it instead of my pristine one. See? Best of both worlds! LOL! Jenni
Now THERE is a smart (and generous) system, Jenni ; )
(Also, Jessie, of course you are special ; ) I was just having a bad couple of weeks, and as Moonrat pointed out, books happen to be my mood-altering drug of choice. Well, that and Dr Pepper.)
Kiersten,
I am the same way about keeping my books in perfect condition. I do that by not loaning them outto anyone! They're for me and me only! Get your own copy! hehe
My problem is that I love (and collect) children's books. I do have a preschool, but they are only allowed certain books on their shelf. (Not to worry, I have SO MANY that their selection is rotated regularly. I have two copies of my favorites - one for them and one for me.) My own children were taught from birth to treat books with the utmost care OR ELSE! I have books that once belonged to my sixteen year old son that look as though I just bought them today.
Give me uncreased, smudge-free, amazingly wonderful books, books and more books! :o)
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
Don't lend me your books.
I commit ALL of the following offenses: writing in the margins, dog ear-ing, spine-cracking, orange Cheeto finger-marking. And it's weird, because I'm completely neurotic about which edition of a book I buy! I have to have just the right cover. But once I have it home? Freeedommmm!! I'm especially bad about dog-ears, but it's nice when I'm working on my own writing, and I can find certain passages again quickly for reference. (I'm sure scraps of paper would work just as nicely, but I'm lazy and never feel like getting up to get some.) I reference other novels a LOT when I write.
But, actually, you could lend me your books :) Whenever I get a loan, I treat it with kid gloves. Barely crack it open, no food or drink, etc. I'm a perfect angel. You wouldn't even have to lend it out with Natalie's beautiful protector!
Because I totally get why most readers like to keep them in pristine condition. And, to further contradict myself, I'm weird about lending out my own books. I don't mind when *I* make marks, but I don't want anyone else to. And if it's a book I have a special memory with — say my first Harry Potter or a special edition of P&P (which are NOT marked up) — then I just flat-out refuse!
Also, I tried to send you caffeine free Dr. Pepper for your birthday, but I couldn't find a place to order it online!!
:(
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