I ask this with slight reservation, for fear of appearing odd, but does anyone else like to 'distress' the odd paperback now and again? The weirdest thing, is that I have a love of both pristine paperbacks, and tatty, dog-eared ones, and I'm still not sure what process I use to choose which of my books I will distress. I think one criteria is that they were either very cheap (or free) and/or get read multiple times. As for how I do it, I break the spine, fold the corner of the whole thing (if it's a thin novel). I'll sometimes even spray a little water onto the page so that they crinkle slightly. As for why - who knows?? Maybe I like to imagine I'm well-read or something. All I know is that I like to see others holding and reading from tatty paperbacks - like the one in this clip at 1:50. I love how it looks at 2:00, when he lets it close with his thumb marking his page - especially when compared to the pristine book that Ross is reading in the same scene. Call it a fetish.
I can't stand books where the pages are falling out but apart from that, I treat mine like they're meant to be read rather than looked at. I bend the spines so I can hold them more easily, I turn the pages down to mark my place, I take off dust jackets immediately (they annoy me) so the cover is likely to get bent and creased. People who are anal about keeping books pristine make me. I don't borrow books from people unless I know they're like me.
Heh. I don't have to distress my paperbacks. I read them held open in one hand, and prop them open on tables while I do other things, which requires being cruel to the spine. I take them to the garden. I take them into the bathtub and once in a while they fall in. My problem is with altering my habits enough to be able to read library books.
Oh, the bathtub thing is something else I don't like because of those ripples that never go away again. I now only read my Kindle in the bath and thankfully haven't dropped it in yet.
I used to be super anal about my books. I could read an 800-paged novel and not bend the spine. (Done by painstakingly cracking open the book by the merest fraction - only just enough to read and that requires tilting the book left and right all the time.) My books looked brand new. Funnily enough though, if one person damages my book, from then on, I read our without taking any care of it whatsoever. I'm happily free with books that are already dog-eared. There was once I bought a brand new book for my literature module and I had to make notes in it. However, I couldn't write in it without opening the book flat - which meant bending a brand new spine. I couldn't do it. I had to get a friend to do it for me and oh the glee with which he did it!!! Anyway these days I look after my books but I no longer care or worry about scuffing the corners or bending the spine.
I think this is why I like to purposely distress mine. I like to imagine I read them with the same careless abandon that gets them into this state naturally.
I take care of my books although I wouldn't say I like them pristine. If it's an absolutely new book, I'll purposely bend the spine a few sections so it doesn't do that weird rip down the middle. I'll bend the edge of a page to mark where I've read if I don't have a bookmark handy but I hate getting books wet or stained. I don't like scribbling or highlighting in them either. I also tend to borrow more than I buy books. I've borrowed a few books that were ripped or had their ending pages loose in their bindings and they just made me sad.
Omigod. This drives me *crazy*. I'm fully aware and accepting of the scars a book receives during a life well-loved. BUT, when I see people take a brand-new book and crack the spine open, I have to rein in violent impulses. A book kept in good condition for as long as possible can be enjoyed as long as possible. I will even repair books from the public library. There are people I refuse to lend books because of how they might treat my babies. I've had arguments with my mom over this. ("I have to break the spine to read it!" "Then you're not reading *RIGHT!!!!*")
