I don’t like lending books so consequently don’t like borrowing them either. I am unable to walk past a book shop (new secondhand, foreign language, flea market whatever..) without browsing and usually buying something.

I love books because of the fact that they are books, not necessarily because of their contents. I will often buy books becuase I like the cover or the smell of them (mmmm!) – nothing more.

I love books that don’t tell you what they are about but have an intriguing title..

I can read a 400 page paper back book and put it back on the shelf in the same condition that it left the publisher’s printer!

My wife on the other hand cracks the spine on anything she reads and carries out other equally heinous crimes against literature without another thought! She is now so averse to my reaction that she won’t touch any of my books..ever!!

If I find a damaged book, I feel physically ill for a moment and then utterly depressed for at least a day. A part of me has died. Pathetic really.

My favourite book mark is my mind – I try to remember the number of the page I have read up to – this makes me re-read the last few pages usually as I have a lousy memory!!Doh!

To burn a book is to burn human ideas which is to destroy humanity – there is no greater crime (well sort of, you know what I mean). For this reason, I can never throw a book away and I struggle to give them away to be honest.

I once spent a whole day going through my books when we last moved house and from the 50 or so I had ear marked to go to charity stores etc, I ended putting all but about 3 or 4 back in the boxes to go to the new house – I knew this would happen but went through the pantomime anyway for the sake of my wife – bless her!

Don’t know why but I feel better for sharing all this..lol!

Wonderful post as always (hug).

I’m protective of books, but not nearly as obsessive about it. You have a whole post here, darlin’! Sorry for the delayed response (with the project you have going on at your house, you know how quickly we can get bogged down!). Your poor wife . Obviously, you must be worth it Nigel, or she wouldn’t put up with that! Hugs back~skt

(I’m a big fan of the ‘written inscriptions’ in the front of books as well…they sometimes give me more wonder than the pages of the books, themselves)

Great post!

Thanks, Mo I love older books, too. The inscriptions are sometimes interesting, and the things people write in the margins. The stuff from Daddy Mert was about the most amazing family find I ever acquired, though.~skt

Don’t I know what you mean! I find all these sites I marked and can’t for the life of me remember why. Computers have just made my life more complicated. Interesting, too, but complicated~skt

I, too, will grab just about anything to mark my page, but I have to say that I’m a dog-earrer (?), particularly in paperbacks. I do it not only to mark my page but also to mark off pages of passages I like.

I just love the look of a well-loved, well-used book almost as much as I love a brand new looking one

And I were ever an author (fingers crossed!) I definitely wouldn’t be offended by someone who folded my pages–I’d take it as a compliment

If you have a moment, come on over to my place and check out my very first blog contest…it involves cute bags!!!

I just can’t bring myself to dog-ear…not if I like the book. Momma taught me too well.~skt

Ummmm, re: “The Library”….that is exactly the reason that I don’t use a real library. Once when I was younger, I checked out at Nancy Drew book from the library and found a used piece of kleenex as a bookmark. I’ve never used a library since! Fortunately, we have plenty of bookstores in my area!!! LOL
(and they sell Elvis stuff there, too!)

Jessica

I’m glad I got Elvis, ma’am. You freaked out about Kleenex? Well, don’t use my library, then. The toilet paper is clean…:twisted:~skt

That was a nice nest egg they had hidden away! I think I read somewhere about a babysitter who took a little girl to a bookstore and bought her a book for a quarter. She found the book stuffed full of money…but I think some of it had deteriorated and wasn’t worth anything. Unfortunately, folks in my family (except for goofy me) didn’t have money to put into the books Hoep you had a good time on the boat.~skt

Thanks for the kind words, Larry, and for the visit. I love the questions that those bookmarks raise, and love to think of those stories. Heck, make up one about that dried vegetation! That’s too good to pass up:lol:~skt