Conversations is a fortnightly discussion hosted by Geraldine @ Corralling Books and Joan @ Fiddler Blue. Head on over to their blogs for all the information on these posts! This week's topic is the do's and dont's of borrowing books.
I actually don't usually have a lot of people borrow my books because not a lot of people close to me like to read. Ironically however, recently my cousin asked me to borrow some of my favourite YA's because she wanted to get more into reading, and I swear that brought a tear to my eye. Now while i obviously didn't bombard her with any rules on how to take care of my books, I'm pretty trustworthy of her, I guess if I WERE to give my books to someone not as trustworthy, these would be the rules I would want them to follow:
1. DO take them outside. I wouldn't want anyone to feel scared to take my books outside, read them in public, etc. so as long as they're obviously not reading them in a swamp or something, I would want them to read where they feel comfortable.
2. DON'T read them in the bath. Oh god now this scares the crap out of me. Not only the possibility of dropping it in the bath but just perhaps the wet fingerprints on the pages. Please, have some common sense that water and paper do not mix.
3. DO ask me if someone else I know saw you with the book and would like to borrow it afterwards. I'd like to keep track of where my book is, and I'd have no problem with someone else borrowing the book afterwards, but not behind my back.
4. DON'T dog-ear the pages to track your page. What kind of animal does this?! If you don't have a bookmark, cut a piece of paper, use a 5-dollar bill I don't care! But don't fold over the pages.
5. DO be honest with me. If an accident did happen, don't try and cover it up. I'd be more understanding if you were upfront than getting a sneaky surprise when I open up the book later.
These are pretty much the only rules I would really want anyone to follow when reading my books. But really, as long as you can trust the person, I definitely wouldn't be one to hand them over a set of rules. After all, I wouldn't want to scare them away from reading, I would want them to feel welcomed and comfortable.
Do you have any rules for borrowing your books?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
Sensible rules Em :) & I totally agree - if there's some sort of accident, it's better to come clean straight away
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's much better than getting a nasty surprise you know?
DeleteI love this! I think that this is a great topic. I am someone who hates lending out books because I'm afraid my books will come back destroyed.
ReplyDelete*inserts picture of destroyed copy of Tuesday With Morrie*
I have a TON of things you cannot do while reading my books when people borrow them, but I've actually never lent a book to anyone who wasn't my close friends. I fear that the book I lent out will never return. *inserts eye twitch because it's happened before*
Oh no!! I'm sorry Tuesday's with Morrie was ruined for you. Yeah I would only feel comfortable lending books out to those I trust, because you don't know what could happen.
DeleteI'd be very nervous about #3. I like to keep track of my things too, and I'd rather the book comes back to me before someone else borrows them. Otherwise I think it might be too easy for it to disappear into the world!
ReplyDeleteYeah it'd just be like a chain reaction that would spiral out of control! We should put tracking devices on our books lol!
DeleteI completely agree with this Emily! Although I am guilty of dog-earing my own books (because I like to keep track of my favorite parts in my books), I absolutely hate it if another person does it to MY books. Like no, these are my property :(
ReplyDeleteAnd the horror of reading in the bad *shudders* I don't have a bath at home so I never experienced that tragedy, but I've read of other bloggers' experiences and it was mortifying D: Great post Emily! I would've implemented the same rules :)
Jillian @ Jillian's Books
Yeah it's one thing to do it to your own books, and another when someone else does it. My aunt's favourite book was ruined when someone dropped it in the bath, and I shuddered when I heard the story. What a nightmare!
DeleteTotally agree with all these rules- I REALLY hate letting people borrow my books because of what happened to my copy of Goblet of Fire. One of my classmates wanted to read it and I couldn't think of a good enough reason to say no since I had the book with me at that time..but when I did get the book back, half the pages were practically torn off- I KID YOU NOT- probably since it's a paperback and the spine's not that great, but I HATE THAT IT HAPPENED AND MY HEART IS STILL BROKEN. Great rules, Emily :D
ReplyDeleteOH NO!! Especially with a Harry Potter book, that's terrible! My Goblet of Fire copy is a paperback too but it's not THAT hard to keep it somewhat in tact! People are just so reckless :(
DeleteOmg I am the QUEEN of being hesitant to lend people my books. And it's even worse because I rant about books to people and get them interested in reading it and then when they ask if they can borrow a copy I'm like.....no.... IT'S HORRIBLE but I've had way too many horror stories of friends and people in my own family accidentally ruining my books, and they /know/ how crazy I am about that kind of stuff lol.
ReplyDeleteHaha it's the most awkward thing ever when you talk about a book and then someone asks you to borrow it! It's like, this book is great and you should read it, but not from me lol!
DeleteOh my gosh Emily haha, I can't imagine reading a book in the bath omg :O Maybe with an ereader that's like super protected in waterproof things maybe? But not a real book - the danger is too real xD
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with being upfront. And I'd like to think that my friends would offer to pay for a new book if an accident did happen :)
I guess there are protective covers you can put on e readers, but I would still feel uneasy. And of course, I would hope that my friends would know, you ruin it, you pay for it.
Delete