This article at PowellsBooks.blog called Care and Feeding of Your Books made me laugh, so I thought I'd share.
Maybe it's because we lovers of the written word adore, nay, worship, our books, so we just don't need this kind of advice. We don't keep damp boxes of books in the basement or garage...oh wait, I think my husband actually does have a damp box or two out there. Strike that. But still, most of my books are in warm, cozy bookshelves, or large, toppling piles next to the bed. Or dustier piles in the den. Or...okay, maybe I do need some help so that I don't inadvertently mistreat my precious books.
I particularly like the graphic of "A Nicely Packed Box."
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"What do books want? you wonder. They want to be treated with respect. That means kept in warm, dry places out of direct sunlight."
This quote from the article proves that there's not a huge difference between the desires of books and the desires of their readers. :-)
lol-Do people really need to be told to keep their books in the house?! What else would you do with them?
Although, I do dogear my books. I dogear the bottom corners to keep track of passages that I like, and then I dogear the top corners to mark my place. I make small folds, and then unbend them, so all that's left is a small crease. And whenever I use bookmarks, they inevitably fall out-very annoying!
And sometimes, I'm reading in the bath and drop the book. Then those annoying warped pages ensue. I always feel guilty when it happens!
sam--I thought the same thing, being that I like warm, dry places out of the sun, too!
eva--I dogear my books, too. I always mean to go back through them and write down quotes and whatever, but I never do, so they stay dogeared, usually!
Ooooh, I can relate to all those piles of books you mention. Need... more... bookshelves! Stat!
heather--me too, my bookshelf situation is dire. Yesterday I was looking for a book I know I bought for one of the challenges I'm doing, and I couldn't find it in all the piles. Yikes!
I've got this book! I've not read it yet though. It's on the pile somewhere...
Thanks for posting that link! I enjoyed the article. I'm not a book abuser, but I thought it was kind of funny that we had several of those books shown in the messy bin (Bloom County, a Mazda 626 manual - the car is dead and gone, now) and they were among our most abused because they were Guy Books. I try, but I haven't succeeded at getting my fellows to handle their books with the kind of care I lavish upon my own.
I have to admit, I do get a kick out of books that other people have written in or tucked notes inside of. Used books can be really charming, in that way, don't you think?
stefanie--you mean "The World Doesn't End"? I don't own a copy, but remember liking it. My poetry collection is sadly lacking, I need to remedy that some day!
bookfool--how funny that you have some of those books from the "abused" bin. I noticed the car manual, and thought, that's a man's bin, for sure.
I feel the same way about used books. It's always so great if there are notes tucked inside, or any other clues about who owned the books before you. That's part of why I like The Book Inscription Project--the link is on my sidebar. I love reading what people wrote in their books! I think it was Iliana (bookgirl) who first posted about that one...
One year a while back I got the bright idea to stack my TBR books on this wide window-ledge I had...not a good idea. It wasn't until after the edges of the pages had yellowed that I thought, "Oh, duh! Direct sunlight." I spent the rest of the year apologizing to my poor books every time I looked at their crispy pages.
I've just started dogearring my pages in my books to mark particular lines or passages I enjoyed. Hey, that's better than marking in the book, isn't it?...Sadly, I do that too.
Man! I guess I should read that article again. Obviously, I need help.
j.s.--I think dogeared pages and notes in the margins are the signs of a loved book, so I'm all for it! How's the studying going, by the way?
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