The NYT had an article on booksellers and publishers yesterday (or was it Monday now...?). Like everyone in the production business, they too are feeling the fear that this economy has shrouded the nation in. Are people going to stop buying books?, they ponder (so types the lender of books, the under miner of empires)
What do you think - is buying a book a luxury? Is having a home library (no matter the size) a luxury? How important is it to you to own books?
And more importantly, do you let people borrow your books?
I was in the habit of lending my books out without a thought...Until I started seeing them turn up on that person's bookshelf! The person would say something like, "Oh, just there until I read it." But seeing the book all cozy and comfy on their shelf, blending in with all the person's other books, a sense of dread would slowly begin creeping into my brain. My sister-in-law (after being a player in a scene like this with me) bought me some stick on name plates to identify my books, but that did NOT stop people from not returning them. "Timely" is so subjective that saying it is a wasted breath. I might as well have started putting due dates in the books! But then...then people would know! People would feel an intimation that I might not trust them or think them responsible, so I made a system - when someone takes a book, I make a slip of paper with the name of the person who took it, the date, and the book title and slide it between the books where the book belongs.
My home library.
I HAVE A LOG TOO.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE my books, i LOVE to own my books, and I consider them WORTH MORE than pretty much anything else I own, other than photographs. Everything else is replaceable. But my books have my notes, markings on pages I loved, lines underlined when I was so moved ... etc.
My books are priceless, but I'm more than willing to lend. I love to encourage reading, so I'll lend anything (even if it's signed ... gasp!....). Every time I lend I make sure my name is in ink on the top right-hand corner of right first book page.
And then once I loan, I sneak into my bedroom and fill out their name and the title and the date in this little journal I have (which also keeps track of what I've read, what I want to read, what will make good gifts for family/friends, etc.
I have been known to send harassing emails and leave creepy voicemails to get my books back.
You are not alone.
I lend books out with impunity. But that's because I usually forget that I've done it. There are rare books that I re-read, so I don't mind losing a few here and there, especially if they find a good home. I do like looking at my full bookshelves, though.
ReplyDeleteFrom what everybody's saying, book sales can weather the storm, but maybe at not such a high volume as they did before the economy went plunk.
I don't think books are a luxury item. People may not be buying them in the same quantities that they used to be, but I don't think they will go away.
ReplyDeleteA home library is extremely important to me.
And I don't have a log. Though, I don't lend books out frequently. Just occasionally. And I usually hear it pass from person to person before I actually get it back two years later.
Oh well. If I *really* need or want the book back, I can always buy a one on Amazon or something for much less.
Sorry, that last anonymous comment was from me. The form for the name/url didn't show up. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, Erikka - I have missed reading you! Books are NOT a luxury - they are a necessity. I love your idea about putting the slip of paper in place of the book on the shelf - I need to start doing this. I'd hate to think of all the books I never got back!
ReplyDeleteI think buying books can be viewed as a luxury, since a lot of people may only read that book once and then never want to read it again - but then there are those books that are huge and affecting that you NEED to own or share with other people.
ReplyDeleteI love it when people lend me books to read that I can read immediately and get back to them. It stresses me out when I have 'Atlas Shrugged' sitting in my room, knowing that it isn't mine, yet that I'm not going to read it for probably months, and then it'll take months just to get thru it. But, as a borrower I have a mental note as to who it belongs to, and it doesn't go on my book shelf, but on top of my desk where it haunts me :)
I like your method tho of keeping track of your loaned books.
I get the majority of my books from the library and then I "test drive" them out to see if they are actually worth buying. Truth be told I would rather spend my money on yarn.
ReplyDeleteErikka:
ReplyDeleteHow are you? Thanks for referring my name to Kimmy Apfelbaum at Cengage.
I was surprised that you left.
Hope all is well.
Bill Christy
Ohio