Obsession, Enslavement, Fetish, Passion?

[j d worthington]

I know this is kind of irrelivent but every book I read once im done there are white lines all down the spine and the book is puffed up. Is this just the way I read or does everyone have this happen. I mean It's not like the books goes that far I ussally finish them in 2 or 3 days.

It's just you....

Seriously... look in any used book shop, and you'll see plenty of books like that. I think it's just the way most people hold books when they read them. It's not something I've ever had a problem with, myself... don't know how or why I learned to hold books differently, but books I've had since I was a kid, and read numerous times, scarcely show any sign of having been opened, most of the time (unless there's been some sort of accident that scuffed or marred them unusually).

But that makes me something of a freak, I'm afraid. Not that I mind that, but I'd say your experience is much closer to the norm....

 

[Nesacat]

I have the odd habit of reading a book so it looks unread as well, even if it has been read over and over and over again. It's something I've always done or at least done for as long as I can remember and goes some way towards explaining the vast quantity of bookmarks scattered about the house.

 

[Ragnar]

I know this is kind of irrelivent but every book I read once im done there are white lines all down the spine and the book is puffed up. Is this just the way I read or does everyone have this happen. I mean It's not like the books goes that far I ussally finish them in 2 or 3 days.

I think it depends on the reader. I'm quite heavy-handed with paperbacks but I've got a friend who's so obsessed with keeping them in pristine condition that I'd never dare to borrow a book from him (not that he'd be willing to lend me one). I'm amazed he manages to actually read them & all his books still look brand new.

 

[Allegra]

But that makes me something of a freak, I'm afraid. Not that I mind that, but I'd say your experience is much closer to the norm....

J.D., do you iron the tea towels and fold your socks neatly?

 

[j d worthington]

J.D., do you iron the tea towels and fold your socks neatly?

Iron? And ... excuse please, but... what are "towels and... "socks?".....

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Ah, La Vie Bohemian . . . . gotta love it!

Well, I suppose I should chime in to say that I not only examine my books for damage carefully before buying them (nothing annoys me more than books that have been abused by prior patrons), but am very careful in their handling at home. Visitors are surprised at their condition because they look unread! Broadart to the max!

 

[HoopyFrood]

It's just you....

Seriously... look in any used book shop, and you'll see plenty of books like that. I think it's just the way most people hold books when they read them. It's not something I've ever had a problem with, myself... don't know how or why I learned to hold books differently, but books I've had since I was a kid, and read numerous times, scarcely show any sign of having been opened, most of the time (unless there's been some sort of accident that scuffed or marred them unusually).

But that makes me something of a freak, I'm afraid. Not that I mind that, but I'd say your experience is much closer to the norm....

I'm usually quite good at not damaging the books, too. I hate when the book cracks down the spine (although it's pretty much inevitable!) But most of the time there's only that thin line running down the spine. Last night I was gazing at my books and I had to try and remember if I'd read a certain one because it didn't have any visable signs of being read!

Of course, I can't always say the same for those beloved books that have been read again and again...

 

[Lenny]

When I was younger all my books tended to have giant lines down the spines, but nowadays t doesn't seem to happen at all... well, not until my sister's had her hands on them.

 

[Nesacat]

Ah, La Vie Bohemian . . . . gotta love it!

Well, I suppose I should chime in to say that I not only examine my books for damage carefully before buying them (nothing annoys me more than books that have been abused by prior patrons), but am very careful in their handling at home. Visitors are surprised at their condition because they look unread! Broadart to the max!

Ummm yes ... I go through the entire pile of a book I'm wishing to buy both at bookstores and especially at book sales to find an undamaged copy. Am very careful about lending books to people and have been known to buy them a copy instead.

Have actually found myself growling at people (literally) when they get too close to the shelves and look like they might take books down.

I do fold my socks neatly I'm afraid and have this wierd thing about folding laundry so the same things sort of end up being folded into the same size and then can be stacked into neat piles.

It helps to have a sign on your desk that says 'A tidy desk is a sign of a sick mind'.

 

[mightymem]

The last two years I have increased my reading, although I have always read ever seen I been little. Though since I read the book the Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay, I changed my reading habits and also started moving aways from Children books and moved on to more adult books. Then I started going to university and because I read while traveling on the trains, ever since then I been reading. But each year I seem to increase the number of books I read. Last year my bedroom was redecorated, its become quite spartan know and I swear I have more books around the room then i have clothes. Since i started paying a mortgage I cut back on spending but still buy books from second handshops. I just love to read and must read a chapter before I go to bed.
Curt Chiarelli I found that comic of Ronald reagan quite offensive, and I do not believe you can compare him to George Bush JR or blame all the problems America faces today on his shoulders

 

[littlemissattitude]

It helps to have a sign on your desk that says 'A tidy desk is a sign of a sick mind'.

My mind must be healther than it appears to be, then.

 

[Nesacat]

I simply had to put that sign on my desk. In a press room where most everyone's desk looks as if it's been hit by a typhoon, whirwind and tsunami combined, my desk is tidy. It even has a potted plant and a plush Cthulhu on it. So you see ... the sign was irresistable.

 

[littlemissattitude]

I don't seem to be able to keep a tidy desk. I try. I really, really try. And every time I straighten it up, as soon as I get back to work, it looks like a tornado hit it. And it seems to have a "flotsam and jetsam" magnet installed in it. Besides the normal office-supply items that I need there, right now I've got two empty diet Pepsi cans, a yo-yo, the bowl from the ice cream I ate for desert about an hour ago (that will go into the kitchen sink before I go to bed), some packets of malt vinegar from Long John Silver's, some rubber bands five dice, and a little pile of receipts from the library and from various shopping expeditions. Oh, and a white scrunchy for my hair. And that's just the accumulation since I last straightened, sometime late last week.

I've gotten off-topic, haven't I? Sorry.

 

[Pyan]

Have actually found myself growling at people (literally) when they get too close to the shelves and look like they might take books down.

Are you related to the Unseen University Librarian, by any chance, Nesa?
Just say "Oook" for "yes", or "Oook" for "no".

 

[Nesacat]

Meowrr

I once had an uncle who came to visit and helped himself to books and left his calling card in the empty space. I came home at 2am, found the calling card and drove over to his place to 'talk' to him. I love the man and I won't have anyone else piecing my bones together when I break them but these were books. It never happened again. He asks now.

Growling helps. People get this sort of wide-eyed look and slowly back away. I don't get it. No one would go up and help themselves to your clothes or even to plates and cutlery but everyone and his grandson thinks it's okay to borrow books without permission and a thorough inspection of the environment the book will be taken into a a detailed survey of their reading habits to boot.

 

[j d worthington]

Growling helps. People get this sort of wide-eyed look and slowly back away. I don't get it. No one would go up and help themselves to your clothes or even to plates and cutlery but everyone and his grandson thinks it's okay to borrow books without permission and a thorough inspection of the environment the book will be taken into a a detailed survey of their reading habits to boot.

You sound a lot like me, Cat. I used to loan books out frequently. No more. And now, unless I know someone will treat the book very well I, too, growl when someone is looking as if they're going to take something off the shelf. I've lost too many favored things, and things that were simply not replaceable, being the other way....

 

[Nikitta]

It helps to have a sign on your desk that says 'A tidy desk is a sign of a sick mind'.

I prefer "If a messy desk is a sign of a messy mind, then what is an empty desk a sign of?" sine a "tidy" desk is usually pretty empty.

 

[Allegra]

I prefer "If a messy desk is a sign of a messy mind, then what is an empty desk a sign of?" sine a "tidy" desk is usually pretty empty.

LOL I like that! Generally speaking I'm not very good at taking care of things from socks to, uh, relationships (blame on Sagittarius). But I take extremely good care of my dogs and parrots; books come the 2nd. I do keep them with proper care such as away from the sun and turn on the dehumidifier on rainy days etc. However when it comes to reading I like to read comfortably which doesn't mean I fold the pages to the spin but sometimes I do leave a slight crease on the spine after I finish. So, I guess I'm 'healthier' than some of you but 'sicker' than others.

 

[HoopyFrood]

I am clean to the extreme. My desk is always tidy, I can't stand having clutter around me. And if I see other desks that are untidy (like in friends' rooms) I have a huge urge to tidy those aswell. It's a disease, I tell you!

Yeah, I've lost a few books over the years because of lending them to people. I hint and I hint for them to give them back, but nnnoooo...soon I'll just have to break into their houses and take them back!! And I'm very protective about my books, too. I think I may have to set up an alarm on my bookcase for when I go away to University and I'm not here to guard it...

 

[Allegra]

I am clean to the extreme. My desk is always tidy, I can't stand having clutter around me. And if I see other desks that are untidy (like in friends' rooms) I have a huge urge to tidy those aswell. It's a disease, I tell you!

Would be good to have someone like you as a classmate, roommate or colleague!