Why do people dog-ear their books?

[Rabrrrrrr]

I'm kind of a book purist - I will happily write in the margins, and highlight things, and underline things (which is the whole reason for having books, and an essential component of reading) - but bending a page, or creasing the spine, or getting a crinkle in a page, that's a line I cannot cross.

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. Yahooo! We really are not that different after all Rabrrrrrr.

:hi: Me too. It really chaps me.

[GirlinContempt]

2. I hate it when people write in/underline/highlight

But I also don't turn down the corners.

I also hate it when people crack their paperback's spines. Or ruin hardcovers by putting too much stress on the spine. Or fuck up the dustjackets by using them as bookmarks.

[supernova]

3. Depends on the book

If it's a potboiler paperback, yes I dogear it. I lose most bookmarks. However, I despise putting creases in the spine. And except for my textbooks, I don't write in the margins either.

If it's a valuable hardcover, or an antique, well no, I don't dogear the pages.

[rhino47]

14. I agree with supernova.It does depend on the book.

If its a trashy romance or thriller I will dogear the book.(yes I am guilty of the occassion mind numbing romance book).
I do not dogear my hardback books.I have a thing about people writing and highlighting them though.I get a good book and parts are highlighted I have the tendancy to read all the highlights first lol.Kind of like cliff notes to me.
I have never wrote in a margin.If I find I need some point referenced I write a note and use it as a bookmark.

[Atmashine]

4. I do it...

to keep the book open. I like the used and well-loved look too. And for some unknown reason, it makes reading more enjoyable. Like putting cheese on top of a hamburger instead of underneath. It just tastes better.

[Misunderestimator]

5. I dogear the pages in paperpacks that I know I won't read again.

I also purposely bend the spines, since I find it annoying when I can't hold a book (again a paperback) with one hand. I hate having to rotate the book to be able to read each line from left to right if the spine of the book is so firm that the text bends in to the center. There's also some satisfying tactile experience in living with the book this way.

I never do this with books that do not belong to me, or with hardcovers. But I do use hardcover bookjackets as bookmarks. :)

[GirlinContempt]

7. I work in a used book store

Don't mind my over-particularity

[Misunderestimator]

8. Understandable. But then you pay less for those books and you sell

them for less. In a way, I'm doing a service for those who can't afford to pay a higher price for the books that are in perfect condition. :D

[GirlinContempt]

9. We actually just don't buy those books

Unless they are special enough to warrant overlooking the quality (rare, out of print & in demand, whatever)

The thing about the dust jackets drives me crazy outside of work though too... So often when they're used as bookmarks, the creases in the jacket get stretched out, so the jacket is loose and slides around, which means it gets caught on things & damaged. I have given my dad major lectures about that, cause he has some GORGEOUS books and the jackets are all torn and sliding off.

[Misunderestimator]

11. Well, I never get rid of my hardcovers... so my dustjackets are...

my dustjackets. Shouldn't really bother anyone but me.

As for the paperbacks, I give them to goodwill or to friends when I'm done with them and don't resell them anyway. Again... I only do this with books that aren't incredibly special. :hi:

[justabob]

20. I have dust jacket issues too

When I read a hardback the jacket comes off and is safely stored until the book goes back on the shelf. I collect books though and the jacket is like 75% of the value in most cases. I always thought that was silly, but that is the way it is. You can have a perfect first edition of something, but if the jacket is gone, it is all but worthless in terms of monetary value. The <joke> at the used bookstore I worked at was that you do absolutely judge a book by its cover.

[fishwax]

35. I agree with that

there is some sort of tactile satisfaction in holding a book that way. I wouldn't do it with a borrowed book, just as I wouldn't dog ear the pages or write in the margins of a book that wasn't mine, but when they're mine, I've got no problem with it. :)

[Mutley]

6. I don't get it, either.

The only books I dogear are the cheaper trashy paperbacks :P . The only books I write in are my textbooks. Most of my paperbacks have creases on the spines, though. That's hard to avoid, especially if it's a book you read more than once.

[Strong Atheist]

10. Heathen! You aren't a purist! Purists do not write in the

margins, highlight, underline, or dogear! Dogearing is not worse an offense than what you do, infidel!

[Ezlivin]

64. I stand with you!

You don't write in a book that's already written. You don't bend pages where they aren't already bent. Leave highlighting and underlining to the editor or author.

I'm a purist and I say we burn these infidels at the steak. Medium rare and smothered with onions.

[jpgray]

12. I'm the opposite--I never write in my books

That way if I lend one to a friend, he/she won't have my purposed domination to deal with when it comes to deciding which passages deserve emphasis, are thought-provoking, etc. Dog-earing with a book will never bother me. I've gone through several copies of a few books--my only requirements are that it is easy to physically hold and read and the text is unblemished.

[miss_american_pie]

13. How do you avoid creasing the spine?

Do you only buy otobinds?

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. Nah, just be careful.

But some books are poorly made, and there' no way around it. And paperbacks, once they get to a certain page count (maybe around 500 pages), they seem impossible to avoid a crease in the spine.

But mostly, don't set them face down with the book open and the spine facing up; don't bend the cover around to the back; and be careful that one does not drop them.


I find that the trade paperbacks are especially difficult to keep from creasing - and I do a lot of reading from books like, because I read a shitload of church-related books, and also many new novels, and many of them come in that size and binding of paperback.

[Hoooweee]

55. don't open the pages all the way

creases are a HUGE pet peeve for me...

[kick-ass-bob]

60. so don't read every 10th word?

I'm not going to turn my book into a fan (by having to keep turning it back and forth to read it) trying to read the words that are close to the middle of the book.

I don't dog ear though. I usually just remember what page I'm on.

[JVS]

15. It's my book and I'll do as I please

[pintobean]

22. Me too.

If you lend or give me a book, I won't bitch about anything. I'll just appreciate your generosity.

[Inspired]

25. No shit....it's MY book.

I wouldn't do it to borrowed books but I'll do anything I want to mine. Good grief.

[JitterbugPerfume]

16. i deeply regret

notations and underlinings I have put in books in the past

Lesson learned

I no longer write in books

dog ears???? BARBARIC (unless it is trashy paperback)

[Not_Giving_Up]

17. I was taught to respect books at an early age

I don't write in books, I don't fold pages, I don't crease the spine. If I need to take notes, I do it on a piece of paper. I loaned a new hardback out to a friend once...I had read it once...When I got it back, it looked like hell. So, sorry, she ruined it for anyone who wanted to borrow from me in the future. I will loan paperbacks, but not my hardbacks.

[fishwax]

36. I'd be plenty pissed off

if I loaned a hardback to someone and it came back marked up (unless I'd given them explicit permission). That's just outrageous :grr:

That aside, I too was raised to respect books, but it didn't have anything to do with marking them up, just treating them right, etc. A good book leaves its mark on us, and by highlighting, notetaking, etc., we can leave our mark on them as well. If the marks we leave are marks of appreciation/insight/love, etc., then it strikes me as a sign of friendship rather than disrespect. :) But different strokes ...

[Shine]

18. For me, it depends on the book.

I do occasionally dog-ear pages, usually b/c I'm too lazy to go find a damn bookmark.

No big deal.

[Burma Jones]

19. You ever try to dog-ear a PDF file?

Some books I trash, mostly because I know I'll get another one (like Suetonius and Confederacy of Dunces), others get treated with pristine care.

I guess people treat other people the same way.......

[skygazer]

21. I never dog-ear books

Whether they're cheap paperbacks or expensive hardcovers but I also don't write in them or mark them in any way except to put my name on the first page of a hardcover. I'll use any stray piece of paper for a bookmark though I also have some very pretty 'real' bookmarks.

I just love books. And I'm getting a new bookcase today, built by my sweetie-pie! :loveya: I can't wait to put my books in it! :bounce: :bounce:

[caty]

23. Oh--you are going to hate me!

The first thing I do when I begin a new book is bend back the spine so that the book will lay flat. I don't, however, bend the page. I use a book mark.

[jane_pippin]

24. Because I like a book that's been "lived in."

I don't do it with every book--some are nice and I'll keep them that way. But for the most part I like to mark the place of someting I find interesting, write in them, underline things and so on. When I read them again I like noticing what I liked so much the first time and thinking about if I still do and why. I still have my parents' old paperback copies of some books--Mother Night is one of them--and they are held together by masking tape now because they've been read so much. It doesn't bother me.


But then, I'm also a slob so maybe that's all there is to it and this "lived in" idea is just justifying another aspect of it. Either way.

[RevolutionaryActs]

26. It's blasphemous I tell ya!

Can't they just leave the poor books alone? :cry:

[0007]

27. We all have idiosyncrasies. I indeed love books and consider

them to be my friends. But I'm guilty and have crossed the line, according to your standards. I don't do it to all books, especially books that I have an affinity toward.

My biggest peeve is loaning a book out and having to ask for it back, only to find that the book wasn't read.

[khashka]

28. loosen up baby

dog earing is necessary.

Khash.

[bigwillq]

30. I dog-ear.

I'm just a dog-ear kind of guy.

[Maddy McCall]

31. I totally fuck MY books. If I pay for them, they are mine...

to mistreat at my whim.

I underline important passages, with ink. I write in the margins. I fold down pages so that underlined passages are easier to find.

If I pay for it, it's mine. I can treat it how I like. Underlining and page-folding comes in very handy in my profession, in which I have to back-reference all the time.

And when my book is published, I hope people get as much use from my book as I have from other authors' books.

I would never do this to library books. Only to mine.

[weeble_wobble]

32. I like my books to be lived in

but i'd never dog ear a library book or a friend's book, just my own.

Also, I seem to lose bookmarks and can never find something to use as one when needed, LOL. I usually end up with several books open face down to the correct page around the apartment, my idea of decor.

[Maddy McCall]

33. Welcome to DU, weeble.

:toast: Glad to have you here. :beer:

[weeble_wobble]

38. Thank you!

love the frog :)

[Book Lover]

34. Why be a purist, though?

It's not a holy object - it is one copy of thousands. Me, I write in the book, underline, fold down corners, rebind if I think the original cover can use improvement, etc.

[fishwax]

37. Because I fucking hate book marks

I don't know why, but I've just never liked to use them. If I stop reading, I just try to remember the page number, rather than use the book mark. If I want to quickly find some of my notes or references, I might dog ear the pages to make them easier to find later. I don't usually do that with hard covers or with "trophy" books, but with books I read and return to, I don't mind at all if they feel lived in :)

[politicat]

39. Post-it notes, post-it flags and memorizing the page number.

Book marks fall out too easily, but I love the big post-its that have lines on them. If I need to make notes, that's my method. I use a lot of tape flags, too, but never highlight and never underline. And no foxing and no breaking the spine. (And why yes, there are archival quality post-its available...)

We've got 3000 books in this house and I expect to pass every single one of them on to my niece and nephew. I hope they enjoy my notes and commentaries.

[cynatnite]

42. Good idea...

never thought of post-it notes as bookmarks.

[Rabrrrrrr]

45. Post-its make great bookmarks because they don't fall out!

I learned to use them as bookmarks when riding the subway (and therefore reading) every day... after a few bookmarks to the floor, I learned - go with the ones that stick.

:-)

Though I would not use them for writing notes - I prefer my notes write in the book on the page. Writing on paper means that I either have to remember later that I have written notes on the book, and/or hope that my notes on the post-it would still be attached to the page they were meant for.

[Book Lover]

46. Actually, you have nothing to do with foxing

Foxing is the rust that results from impurities in the paper.

[uppityperson]

40. because my parents still control me.

They always told me not to and I'll show them.

[cynatnite]

41. Same here...

I can't for the life of me bend a page in a book. It's not that hard to find a bookmark....and using pens, pencils or anything fatter than a slice of paper doesn't count.

Another thing I won't do is lay a book down while it's open. It's hard on the binding.

[NMMNG]

43. I certainly won't

I won't even write in my books, except in textbooks.

[Redstone]

44. Because they're MY damn books, and I'll mark my place any way

it pleases me to.

And writing in the margins is better than doing that?

And as far as cracking the spine goes, how the HELL else are you supposed to get the book to lie flat so you can read it while you're eating lunch?

Redstone

[Call Me Wesley]

47. I do, and I find no fault with it.

Why? Because if there's a book I like to write/highlight/underline/dog earing in it, I'll buy a second copy; keep one fresh and the other for all the 'nasty stuff.' So, never do ask me why I have the same books twice in my bookshelves.

But the best thing happened to a book I owned ever was lending it to someone. It was in pristine condition (all my books are, except for the ones I write in.) After a month, it came back (kudos to this, I don't keep track of the ones that never showed up again), and it looked like somebody chewed on it. "Oh, sorry, I guess I spilled something on it."
I went and bought a new one.

[pitohui]

48. because bookmarks fall out and don't do the job

i sure as hell don't write in margins or highlight or underline, that's the line i will not cross

bending a page causes a hell of a lot less distraction from content than your scribbles, think about it

my dog-ear helps me read the book

your scribble interferes w. my clear reading of the book

therefore your marginalia is far more destructive than any amount of dog-earing

[Rabrrrrrr]

52. And perhaps the difference is that I read a lot of books for my profession

and all the marginalia are necessary for me, because I go back to them repeatedly.

Though I even do that at times with novels. But almost never with hardcovers novels, and certainly never would do it with an antique or limited edition or otherwise valuable hardcovers.

but my books for my profession and my passions, they almost all have writing. And for me, it's necessary.

I even write summaries and/or a short one sentence of the author's thesis in the front pages sometimes, with my argument for or against the writer's thesis.

[jobycom]

49. I want the book to remember that I've been there, so I

Dog ear, tear the pages, underline, use the corners of the cover to clean under my nails, set my Black Russian on it so I don't stain the table, throw it at the cat when she won't stop scratching the furniture, rip out boring overly-descriptive passages and use them as toilet paper so the next person won't have to suffer through a six page description of of a living room or a nuclear submarine control panel, draw mustaches on the pompous picture of the frickin' arrogant artist whose smug smirk shows that he's mocking me and all other unpublished writers because we refuse to release the pop crap his sorry-assed college drop-out self does just to get rich or to get some girl without having one goddamned shred of concern for the quality of literature or the lowered expectations of tv-adled readers who think a book needs car chases or huge explosions just like the mindless crap they see at the mutli-plex...

I forgot the question.

[Rabrrrrrr]

51. ROTFL!!

And don't forget, wiping your ass with pages from Ayn Rand.

[Caoimhe]

63. lol!

thanks for the hearty giggle this morning!

[Fleshdancer]

50. I'll dog-ear my paperbacks

but never a hard back and NEVER anything borrowed.

[Gormy Cuss]

53. Because foxing the pages on purpose is so much harder?

:shrug:

[Hoooweee]

54. i only do it when I'm borrowing someone else's book

:silly:

[Rabrrrrrr]

58. Good thinking! Especially library books, and antique folios.

:silly:

[SmokingJacket]

56. Why not? It makes a book look loved.

I dogear the hell out of all my books. WHo has time to scrounge up a bookmark?

I also bend them rigorously until their spines break. Ah...

But I don't underline or markup. Why screw up my future reading pleasure with my stupid thoughts of today?

You and I would NOT get along!

[bicentennial_baby]

57. oh, get over yourself, please...

"I will happily write in the margins, and highlight things, and underline things"

then a book purist you are not, kind sir.

[Rabrrrrrr]

59. It was a ...

:sarcasm:

[WeRQ4U]

61. Because I don't give a shit what the book looks like.

Only what's on the page. I write notes in mine too.

It's paper and glue, not lead crystal from Tifany's. You, however, can do whatever you want with your books. No complaints here.

[Jim__]

62. If I read something that I know I'm going to want to refer back to ...

... I'll dogear the page.

[Caoimhe]

65. Here's an interesting question:

Why don't more people use their library cards? My neice is 14 and spoiled beyond belief. Recently she has become an avid reader of anything she can get her hands on. Problem is, she refuses to read library books. She wants NEW books. So, her mom takes her to Borders and she buys her Nancy Drew mysteries and anything she wants, brand new. Sure, it makes it easy for Christmas, we just give her book store gift cards, but what the hell is wrong with library books? Knowing this little girl, she doesn't want something USED, period.

I utilize my library completely, I'm in there about twice a week and often on Saturdays as well. When they don't have a book I want, I fill out a request and they order it for me. When they call me to tell me it's in, it's been catalogued, laminated (if needed) and is a fresh, brand new book for me to read. That I don't have to PAY FOR! Well, my husband would disagree, he says I support the library with my overdue fines, but hey.. what the heck, they let me pay when I can, they never stop me from checking out more books.

I live in a small town, I don't have a Barnes & Noble or a Borders down the street, and I don't feel the need to have new books in my possession. We only buy new books on occasion, from our absolute favorite authors. For me, that's Larry McMurtry. For my husband, that's John Irving. Everything else we borrow. That's what we all pay taxes for!

PS as to the OP, I try to be kind to library books, as I know they are a precious commodity. I rarely dogear a page, I never ever write in them, and I try to blow out any cat hair that accumulates on/in them from reading in bed with my furbabies. If I buy a book with a dustjacket, I take it off and store it until I'm done reading the book. I lose bookmarks, but I can usually find something, even if it's a *clean* kleenex or a subscription card out of a magazine, to slide between the pages and mark where I was. Perhaps someone should devise a bookmark that you can stick to your forehead or something while you are reading, so it will be handy when you need to put the book down.