The condition of books...

[fajrdrako]

From October 30, 2008:

Mariel suggested this week’s question. Are you a spine breaker? Or a dog-earer? Do you expect to keep your books in pristine condition even after you have read them? Does watching other readers bend the cover all the way round make you flinch or squeal in pain?

I am very careful with books I borrow. Which is one reason I read borrowed books very, very slowly. I'm generally too busy to spend as much time reading as I'd like, so I read at every stolen opportunity - on the bus, in the lineup at the bank, or at lunch at work. Which means I always have a book with me. I often make paper covers for them, which helps to keep them from being dog-eared, but kicking around in my purse or backpack isn't generally good for them. I never turn down a page deliberately, but dog-earing sometimes happens.

I used to - and still might - cut a paperback apart if it's too big to fit in my purse. Carry half of it, or less, at a time. I read Shogun in six parts. This appalls my friends who are bibliophile purists, but it seems to me a sensible way to handle large books. If the book is good enough to keep and read again, I'll buy another copy and pitch the fragments.

Except for that, I don't deliberately break spines, but sometimes a book falls apart in my hands. Especially extremely old paperbacks. I find that Penguin books don't age well. The old Everyman series, small hardcovers, are delightfuly sturdy and handy.

I don't ever, ever highlight books, not even when it's a book I don't intend to keep. I find highlightly counterproductive to learning something: If I want to learn it, I make notes.

If I find a quote I like, and can't write it down at the time, I sometimes put a little five-pointed star in the margin beside it. More often, I jot down the page number on the handiest scrap of paper, or just try to remember it. This works well if I can get back to the book within a day or two. A week later - no chance or remembering the number.

Sometimes I have 'special case' books. Like the Karin Lowachee novels. My favourite character by far was Captain Cairo Azarcon, but he wasn't a constant presence in the books. So to be able to easily find his scenes, I jotted down the page references in the inside front covers.

I never worry about how other people treat their books. Life's too short.

Comments

[nishatalitha.livejournal.com]

The traveller.

I mostly order mine from Raeco (http://www.raeco.co.nz/category.php?category_code=02302), a library supplier, in order to get it in sufficent quantities. This is a NZ/Australian store, but there have to be equivalent places in the US. Or I pick it up cheap in 1.10m rolls in the before school starts specials.

Unroll a bit, make sure it will cover the book with a little left over (a lot like wrapping a present) and fold along one edge so you have the spine and other cover width plus extra left over. Unpeal the smaller side, lie the spine against the fold, and smooth down until it sticks properly. Trim off corners and a wedge by the spine and fold in excess. Use the cut off triangles to strengthen the corners further if desired.

For the spine, trim excess to about half a centimetre or around 1/4 inch. Fold in excess against the duraseal, and then smooth duraseal down, getting rid of all air bubbles as before. Repeat first step for other cover.

Hopefully that's not too detailed - I had friend show me how and tend to find demonstrations work best with this sort of thing. I'd recommend practicing on books that you care about less than others to begin with. Good luck!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the instructions, and the details are good. I'm sure there are places in Canada to get the stuff - I'll see if I can find them.

[nishatalitha.livejournal.com]

Canada. I knew that. Sorry.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

[g] I'll start hunting for it. The quest is on!