A post over at Book Chick City struck a chord with me earlier. The question is a simple one. “Do you lend books?” The answer dredges up an examination of my relationship with books (and my mother).
Me? I don’t lend books. But, I do give books.
I’ve got quirks when it comes to books that have been bought or recieved as ‘new’. Although, they don’t seem quirky to me. To me they seem normal. I’ve got different levels of ‘normal’, depending on the state of the book when it reaches me but overall my reading style appears unnatural compared to those around me. My nerves couldn’t handle it if I lent books to anyone who didn’t have the same quirks. Trouble is, those people are few and far between in my circles. They’re non-exixtent in my circles to be honest, so it’s just toruture to lend with the expectaion to get them back in the same state as they left me.
I just plain give my books now, once I’ve read them. I never expect to see them again once they leave me.
My mum mostly gets them. She’s a book criminal. Folded pages, spines cracked so she can lay them opened and face down to keep her place, pages used to write telephone numbers on while she’s on the phone (it’s not unheard of for her to write the tel number on the cover, either), left lying in the conservatory on a scorching summer day so that the cover bleaches and the plastic peels a little …you name it, she does it.
She loves to read though so I keep my lip buttoned. Besides, it would just give her one more reason to rip into my character flaw’s if I mentioned how I felt about what she was doing to my books so I just gift them, call them hers and move on. She thinks I’m a book weirdo. She is quite judgemental of things/people that are alien to ‘her way’ so my book idiosyncrasies are best kept to myself for the most part. Don’t want to give her any more ammuniton than she already has.
I’ll give her a book I’ve finished and she’ll say “Did you not read this one, it looks brand new?…”
Yeah, mum, seeing a pattern here?
So now I just give. It’s her’s as soon as it leaves my hands. It’s hers to read, enjoy and mangle.
I have a few book’s that I wouldn’t dream of letting out of my sight and for those sacred books I usually buy another copy and give that out instead.
Then there are the books that come to me in less than pristine condition. Sometimes from friends but mostly from the UK swap site READ IT SWAP IT. Those I just read, enjoy and pass on. Sometimes to friends or family but mostly back into the system on RISI. They don’t leave me in any worse shape than when they arrived but they’re not treated with kid gloves either.
When all is said and done, it’s just a book. Some books are more than the sum of their parts though and those are the books that are safely shelved and touched by nobody but me. Whatever someone does with their book once I’ve passed it on isn’t my concern.
How does everyone else feel about lending? Do your book quirks get in the way of your book sharing? I’d love to know if I’m the only one with book peculiarities.