Spine breakers: What condition are your books in?

Poll

Breaking the spine of a brand new book?

I never break the spines of my books. You can look through books I've read 100 times and the only sign you'd have that they weren't new is the unavoidable yellowing creeping on the pages.

My best friend bends the spine back before she's even read a word. Claims it's easier to read (which I kind of understand, I can't hold a book one handed when reading and not spine breaking) and also makes her books look 'loved'. I personally think if you loved it, you'd look after it.
She isn't actually allowed to borrow any of my books for this exact reason.

Where do you fall on this debate?

Have you avoided lending someone a book because you're worried about the condition it'll come back in?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Puddles the Monkey

Break the spine, fold the pages as bookmarks, use as coasters.... :tongue:

Reply 2

minimarshmallow

Original post by Puddles the Monkey

Break the spine, fold the pages as bookmarks, use as coasters.... :tongue:

Oh, Puddles, you're killing me.

Someone get that monkey a Kindle!

Reply 3

Puddles the Monkey

Original post by minimarshmallow

Oh, Puddles, you're killing me.

Someone get that monkey a Kindle!

I have a kindle too :woo:

The only thing I don't like is when people write/underline/highlight books because it makes it difficult to read in the future

Reply 4

Student403

I want to break spine breakers' spines :argh:

It is my biggest pet peeve..

Reply 5

minimarshmallow

Original post by Puddles the Monkey

I have a kindle too :woo:

The only thing I don't like is when people write/underline/highlight books because it makes it difficult to read in the future

I also have a Kindle :biggrin:

I'm dead against that as well but I did pick up a second hand copy of The Color Purple to read for Emma Watson's book club and that had writing in it, but it was on the inside cover and some at the end of chapters where it wasn't in the way of anything, so that was okay. But it's not a book I've kept - I'd look to get a new copy if I wanted to keep it.

Reply 6

Tank Girl

All my books are in a horribly dog-eared condition!
...covered in annotations, highlighted and generally scruffy.

Reply 7

the bear

Original post by Puddles the Monkey

Break the spine, fold the pages as bookmarks, use as coasters.... :tongue:

don't listen to the Monkey children !

the bear™ says Respect Your Books... use £10 notes as bookmarks. buy proper coasters for your Lambrini.

Reply 8

Puddles the Monkey

Original post by the bear

don't listen to the Monkey children !

the bear™ says Respect Your Books... use £10 notes as bookmarks. buy proper coasters for your Lambrini.

Take them in the bath with me as well, so they usually get all soggy too :bath:

I can't enjoy reading a book if I'm worrying about preserving them.

Reply 9

Student403

Original post by Puddles the Monkey

Take them in the bath with me as well, so they usually get all soggy too :bath:

I can't enjoy reading a book if I'm worrying about preserving them.

*faints*

Reply 10

the bear

Original post by Puddles the Monkey

Take them in the bath with me as well, so they usually get all soggy too :bath:

I can't enjoy reading a book if I'm worrying about preserving them.

it gets worse...

Reply 11

Puddles the Monkey

@the bear @Student403

Reply 12

ChaoticButterfly

Original post by Puddles the Monkey

Take them in the bath with me as well, so they usually get all soggy too :bath:

I dropped the book in the water once.

Still got it but it has warped in size a bit :tongue:

I tend to bookmark and underline important bits of non-ficiton books. But if I'm reading fiction for escapism reasons I force myself not to don that ****. It ruins the immersion :-/