I use bookmarks only for books I'm trying to keep particularly pristine - signed copies, first editions, books people have loaned me, etc. Otherwise I dogear.
But never, ever, do I leave a book open and face down.
And for many of the books I read, my Palm Pilot keeps track of my place for me
How do you save your place?
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I remember the page number.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
I couldn't do that. At any given time I've at least three books going -- one on the Palm, one in the bathroom, one in the bedroom, possibly one with me.
Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :
BOOKMARK. Usually receipts or magazine subscription cards.
Dogears make me shudder, but then, to put it the way Anne Fadiman does in Ex Libris, I'm a "courtly lover" of books. I accept the validity of the "carnal lover" approach, just as long as those so inclined stay away from my library. Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I sometimes leave it face down, but I never, ever, dogear.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
any piece of scrap paper i can find serves as bookmark. I used to do it by memory but found myself doing a lot of rereading that way.
Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: I sometimes leave it face down
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
Bookmarks only (and I'm also in the "any ol' scrap of paper" crowd).
Dogearing a book is like kicking a puppy... and only slightly less of a sin than highlighting or underlining.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Occasionally I'll leave it face down, but mostly just remember the page number (or the general vicinity, and then re-read a couple of pages until I come to something I don't recognize).
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
I usually just remember the page I'm on or grab some piece of papertype substance to mark it.
I do fold pages over, but not to mark where I am. I fold it over when there's something I like or is interesting to me on the page. I also underline things in pencil AND write in the margins.
I'm a heathen. I know.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
People who dogear books are going to the "special hell."
I'll be there too, because I talk during movies, but at least I won't be stuck next to the noisy ice machine for all eternity.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Ever since they stopped putting Camel Cash on my cig packs I haven't had a handy bookmark at all times, so I dog-ear now. Or, if I'm coming back soon, I'll leave it open, face down. That only turns out bad when I get distracted and come back 3 thunderstorms later to find a thoroughly soaked book (thankfully, very rarely). And, similar to cmc, I dog-ear the bottom of the page if there is something that I want to be able to come back to quickly and easily.
Also, highlighting, underlining and writing in the margins is pretty much a must for most of my books. I dunno, for some reason it makes me feel good to look at shelves full of very well used/loved books. I figure, if the book looks really ratty, that must mean I took it with me everywhere I went, so it must be a good'n. Besides, purchasing more books when mine no longer function well can only help the literary economy, right?
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
You know, I have no problem with people who dogear or write in books they own. It's their book, they paid for it, and they can use it how they want.
The people that have a special section reserved for them in special hell are the people that write in library books. LIBRARY BOOKS! What's wrong with you people, honestly?
Also, people that talk in movies will not only be next to the noisy ice machine in the special hell, but will have spotlights shining in their window. Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
Bookmark. I've got a fair collection of football game ticket stubs that I use.
I agree most of the time about writing in library books. I do sometimes find odd conclusions or incorrect information in books and pencil in something relevant, but I don't write things like "Look at this" in the margins of a book I don't own.
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
I never dogear. I usually just remember my place. If it just for a minute or two, I will put it face down over something like a leg if I am sitting up reading and pause to talk to someone. Or on a pillow if I am reading in bad and the phone rings.
I do fall asleep with books, though and those will sometimes end up face down on the pillow. So will I.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Bookmarks, always. Sometimes actual bookmarks (I have a lovely set of handmade book thongs from KarlEd and a small selection of Stephen King-themed ones that were drawn and laminated for me), sometimes just business cards or receipts. Depends on where I am when I have a new need for one and what is available at that moment.
Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
*shamefaced*
I only dog-ear books that don't belong to me. I mean, not other people's books, but library books or books I'm not planning on keeping. Otherwise I bookmark or remember the page; or quite often I just try to remember more or less where I was (but then sometimes it's hard to find the place again).
Posted by pfresh85 (Member # 8085) on :
Most times I stop reading at the end of chapters, and so I just remember what chapter I'm on. In the event that there are no chapter numbers or if I stop in mid-chapter, I use a bookmark (I fall in the any scrap of paper will do category). I can't stand dogearring; the folds bother me to no end. I also don't like writing or highlighting in books. I had one teacher in high school for me (and the rest of the class) to do it, and I shuddered every time. How could I do such a thing to the book? I mean I can easily mark something interesting (via bookmark or sticky note tab thing) if I need to come back to it without writing all over the book. Of course as someone else said, it's their book if they bought it. They are free to treat it how they want.
EDIT: How do people feel about magazines? For the most part, I treat my magazines with the same quality that I treat my books. Then again, I keep most of my magazines, sort of a large collection. I like that they are all in good condition. I always cringe when I had someone one of my magazines and they proceed to fold it so the front cover and back cover are touching. You're killing the magazine, kids.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I never dogear, but I do sometimes leave books open. Mostly I just remember my page number, though.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: I remember the page number.
I used to do that. Still do if I don't have a bookmark handy. Dogearing is just something I could never do.
A few jobs back, I got a whole slew of business cards. I've been using them as bookmarks ever since. Up until then, I was using playing cards. I had a deck that was missing a card (insert obligatory "not playing with a full deck" comment), so I figured it was 51 excellent bookmarks.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Sometimes I use a bookmark/scrap of paper, but mostly I remember my page (and I generally have at least three books going at once, and I generally have a lot of trouble memorizing/remembering numbers, but this, I have no problem with. )
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
Who here writes in books? <shudder>
Posted by Me, Myself, and I (Member # 10003) on :
I dogear, sometimes use bookmarks, and occasionally leave a book open face-down (though only for a few minutes). And I even talk in movies, but only when desperately needed when I miss some important plot point. But I do hate ice machines.
Am I doomed for all eternity? I don't write in library books, but I do dogear them, and leave them open face-down.
*(prepares for beating)*
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
I bookmark.
But a lot of the books I read are library books, so I would never dog-ear a book that didn't belong to me. But I just don't like dog-eared books in general.
My daughter does the "turnupside down-and-break-the-spine" thing, and it drives me crazy and I scold her for it.
My son just remembers page numbers. Even if reading multiple books.
FG
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I use bookmarks. Not real bookmarks, but not random scraps of paper either. I tend to make bookmarks out of little things that have sentimental value to me, like tickets to favorite concerts or football games, or Disneyland passes. I never dogear or put a book face down.
I will, however, write in books. Even library books. As far as I'm concerned, I'm enhancing a book's value when I write in it, not damaging it.
Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
We're homeschoolers, so we have at least 12 different books going at once, not including free reading (and I have at least 3-5 of those at once all the time). My daughter is very artistic, so I usually laminate her "unwanted" pictures and cut them into strips to use as bookmarks. She even sells some of them.
We don't dog-ear anything, ever, nor do we write in books. We do keep slips of paper in them if we find something interesting we want to make note of, so sometimes a book will have twice as many pages as the publisher intended. Posted by Omega M. (Member # 7924) on :
I just remember where I left off. Of course, I can't remember the exact page number, but I can remember more or less what was going on and open to the right general area.
I think dogears would get annoying and fluff up the book too much after three or four.
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
I got out of the habit of bookmarking when my sons were toddlers. If they saw a bookmark sticking out of a book on my bedside table (or wherever) they would pull it out. *sigh*
I bought a nice book thong at an art show, but my cat clawed the beads off of it. So, I either remember or I use the slip they give me at the library.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shmuel: BOOKMARK. Usually receipts or magazine subscription cards.
Dogears make me shudder, but then, to put it the way Anne Fadiman does in Ex Libris, I'm a "courtly lover" of books. I accept the validity of the "carnal lover" approach, just as long as those so inclined stay away from my library.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, NO! While of course people have the right to do as they wish with books they have bought and paid for, it makes me cry deep inside when I see dogeared books. I'm with Lyr -- some people are going to the special hell for that.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I bookmark with dust jackets. It's like they're built-in bookmarks.
The only books I don't leave face-down are paperbacks. Most of the hardcovers I have, even brand new, will open and stay open on the current page.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
I bookmark books and rarely leave them open (if the phone rings or something I might). I do dogear recipes or important articles in magazines, but they're likely going to the recycling center in a month or so anyway (or the cat shred pile).
Posted by andi330 (Member # 8572) on :
On the ebooks topic, what good ebooks sites are there? Aside from ereader.com I mean.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
If you dogear my books i'ma shiv you in your sleep.
Posted by Maliam (Member # 9915) on :
I usely just remeber the genral area and can find my exact spot within a few seconds. i sometimes book mark. But I hate dogears.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I leave books open and put little scraps of paper which I proceed to lose in books. But I dogeared a paperback copy of Lost Boy because it had this line in it that made me cry. I would not dogear hardcover books however.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
Ill never dogear somebody else's books, but I will dogear my own if they are paper back. I use the jacket to remember my place if its hardback. If I just happen to have a bookmark handy Ill use it, but more often then not that is not the case.
I can only leave a book face down and open if I merely putting it down a few seconds, I couldn't stand the idea of it being left in that position for any lengthy period of time.
Lisa: Writing in books makes me shutter as well, I can't even do it to the text books I buy, I can however do it to my set of scriptures as the notes are invaluable and the book will never be in anybody else's possession for any real period of time except me.
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
quote:Originally posted by andi330: On the ebooks topic, what good ebooks sites are there? Aside from ereader.com I mean.
Project Gutenberg has over 20,000 free ebooks-- they are digitizing books in the public domain (in the U.S.-- if you live elswhere it may be dodgy).
The hubby worked his way through the entire John Carter of Mars series (Edgar Rice Buroughs) this past week. O_O
Never dogear. Never write. I usually remember my page number. I only read one leisure book at a time. I like getting involved with the same characters every night.
Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :
For some reason, I only dogear softcovers, but only ones that I own. I figure that if I ruin it and have to buy a new copy, it's only giving the author even more revenue.
Though now that I think about it, I seem to remember reading something about how authors aren't paid royalties the same way for soft-covers as for hard-covers...so my theory may be bunk anyway.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: I only read one leisure book at a time. I like getting involved with the same characters every night.
Do you carry it everywhere with you? When I do that, I misplace my books. So I usually have one going for the living room/kitchen/ dining room, one for the bathroom (mostly to read in the tub), one for the bedroom, one for the car...
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: I will, however, write in books. Even library books. As far as I'm concerned, I'm enhancing a book's value when I write in it, not damaging it.
Icky, you know I like you a lot, but it's the special hell for you!
That's one of the worst things about getting an article out of a journal in a library. The particularly important ones have underlining and writing all over them, to the point where you can hardly see the original text! And then there's the Korean comments in the margins, as well as the comments that are just absurd and the ones that think they're being funny. When I get an article from the library, all I want is that article in a readable form.
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
I'll generally remember which page I'm on, but lately I've been taking such long hiatuses from books that I can't remember. Like Bando, I'll dogear softcovers that I own unless some sort of paper object is readily available. If I use bookmarks, they tend to be receipts.
If the books are for class, I'll underline and write in the margins in pen. I want to make sure I always have those notes. For these, I'll also dogear pages with important passages for quick reference.
Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: I will, however, write in books. Even library books. As far as I'm concerned, I'm enhancing a book's value when I write in it, not damaging it.
Oh. But you seem like such a nice guy! (Many years ago I was on a campaign to get a friend of mine to read Lord of the Rings. However, he was incapable of reading anything without a yellow marker in his hand. He finally gave in to my campaign, and said, "OK, lend me your books and I'll read them." That's when I had to admit defeat, because he would not promise to keep his highlighter out of them.)
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
I constantly dog-ear, page fold, leave open face-down, etc. My books look like hell. I just usually can't be arsed to find a bookmark.
This is, of course, assuming the book is mine: if it belongs to someone else, it gets a bookmark of some sort every time.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: Lisa: Writing in books makes me shutter as well, I can't even do it to the text books I buy, I can however do it to my set of scriptures as the notes are invaluable and the book will never be in anybody else's possession for any real period of time except me.
I was once in a Talmud class. The Talmud is in Hebrew and Aramaic, and most of us in the class weren't anywhere near conversant in either one of those. But the idea was to pick it up as we went.
So the rabbi teaching the class would read through a section, translating as he went. Then he'd pick about 3-4 of us, one after the other, and have us read it back, translating as we went. It wasn't actually the worst technique, and all the Talmud learning I've done since then has been built on that initial exposure. But other kids in my class would scribble the translation in the margins as the rabbi read it the first time. It drove me crazy. I just couldn't do it, which meant not only that I had to remember what he'd said without writing (which actually added to my comprehension of the subject matter and the reasoning involved), but it meant that I had to pay attention, which really irked me. I mean, this was high school, after all. Paying attention wasn't my thing.
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
I fall into the camp that says you're going to a special hell if you dogear books. And while I can see how it would be handy to have notes in the margins of reference books you own yourself, I can never quite bring myself to do it.
I use bookmarks, but at the same time I think there's something kind of silly about people who buy bookmarks. As far as I'm concerned, bookstores give you a free bookmark with every purchase--it's called a receipt.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by erosomniac: I constantly dog-ear, page fold, leave open face-down, etc. My books look like hell. I just usually can't be arsed to find a bookmark.
This is, of course, assuming the book is mine: if it belongs to someone else, it gets a bookmark of some sort every time.
Used to be, you couldn't even tell that my paperback books had been read. Even really thick ones. I never even creased the spines. I've gotten a little lazier in my old age.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Bookmark everything.
Never dogeared in my entire life!
*feels strangely proud*
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa:
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: Lisa: Writing in books makes me shutter as well, I can't even do it to the text books I buy, I can however do it to my set of scriptures as the notes are invaluable and the book will never be in anybody else's possession for any real period of time except me.
I was once in a Talmud class. The Talmud is in Hebrew and Aramaic, and most of us in the class weren't anywhere near conversant in either one of those. But the idea was to pick it up as we went.
So the rabbi teaching the class would read through a section, translating as he went. Then he'd pick about 3-4 of us, one after the other, and have us read it back, translating as we went. It wasn't actually the worst technique, and all the Talmud learning I've done since then has been built on that initial exposure. But other kids in my class would scribble the translation in the margins as the rabbi read it the first time. It drove me crazy. I just couldn't do it, which meant not only that I had to remember what he'd said without writing (which actually added to my comprehension of the subject matter and the reasoning involved), but it meant that I had to pay attention, which really irked me. I mean, this was high school, after all. Paying attention wasn't my thing.
Starting out I used to underline verses I liked or found to be insightful and then after a while realized I had a book with underlined passages but I could not remember why they had been underlined in the first place.
Eventually I started circling the verse number rather then underlining, but sometimes omitting lines and just writing in the margins. Sometimes I had a fresh set of scriptures so that I could copy over the pertinent notes while leaving the ones that I no longer thing matter.
As a missionary I might even write out Chinese characters for notes as they can occasionally present an idea in less space then English could.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I always bookmark...though I never actually use real bookmarks. I always use receipts, or pieces of paper...whatever is handy when I go to set down the book.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:Originally posted by Megan:
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: I will, however, write in books. Even library books. As far as I'm concerned, I'm enhancing a book's value when I write in it, not damaging it.
Icky, you know I like you a lot, but it's the special hell for you!
That's one of the worst things about getting an article out of a journal in a library. The particularly important ones have underlining and writing all over them, to the point where you can hardly see the original text! And then there's the Korean comments in the margins, as well as the comments that are just absurd and the ones that think they're being funny. When I get an article from the library, all I want is that article in a readable form.
I don't obstruct the original text.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
I just added death dates for four horses in a library book after doing it for mine. It obstructed no text and it updates the book by six years.
Posted by Kasie H (Member # 2120) on :
I try to use bookmarks (always receipts or random pieces of paper) but more often then not I just end up remembering the page number. I only leave the book face down and open if I bought it used and it's already beat up.
I don't write in novels, but I write *all over* nonfiction books - if I don't, I don't absorb a word of what I'm reading. I underline, make notes in the margins, and circle page numbers I want to come back to. And I refuse to buy used nonfiction books largely because other people, I've found, tend to have the same habit - and I cannot *stand* having someone else's writing in my book!
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
What sort of things do you add, Icky?
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
Oh, me too, Kasie. I will flip through all of the used books at my campus bookstore before I settle on the one that has the fewest markings. If I can't find one, I'll buy a new copy. Other people's marks are too distracting.
(For this same reason, I never write in books that aren't mine.)
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I mostly add to nonfiction books. I argue. I call attention to unsupported statements or otherwise faulty logic. I will also correct typos or grammatical errors in any book, fiction or nonfiction.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Before this thread, I don't think I was very aware of the existence of the "special" hell. I'd think that if you have to go to hell, it would be nice to go to the special one. It might be worth it to fold over a few pages of a book to reserve your spot.
I've heard people talk about a special place in heaven, too. You'd think that just regular old heaven would be good enough for folk. I wonder what the "special" one is like? Are there velvet ropes? Bouncers to keep out the regular heaven riffraff?
Do the folk who land up in the regular part ever look around and say, "Sheesh! I thought it would be something special."
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Ah. Well, you're still my favorite purple hippo, but I think I'm gonna have to skip reading non-fiction books after you. Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Tante, "special hell" is a Firefly reference--at least, I think that's how folks are using it.
Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
quote: I've heard people talk about a special place in heaven, too. You'd think that just regular old heaven would be good enough for folk. I wonder what the "special" one is like? Are there velvet ropes? Bouncers to keep out the regular heaven riffraff?
I suspect it operates on the honor system. If you know you don't belong you, you don't try to get in.
That's heaven, anyway. I doubt that an honor system would work in hell, except maybe for a section reserved for thieves. Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I'd heard that phrase before Firefly. I'd say it comes from Dante's Inferno, in which different types of sinners, depending on their crimes, receive different punishments.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I had heard "special level of hell" before, but not "special hell".
Shepherd Book's initial comment is obviously a reference to Inferno or (something like it):
quote:"If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater."
Later quotes actually use the term "special hell", referring to Book's initial comment:
quote:Mal: [resignedly] Oh, I'm gonna go to the special hell. Yup, right into the fire.
I think Book says something with "special hell" init when he pops back around the corner, but I don't have a quote handy.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
MPH: I just realized something about myself. I am perfectly happy to occasionally talk during a movie, but I'd sooner fall over dead then talk during theater.
Posted by BlueWizard (Member # 9389) on :
I've always used bookmarks but I got tired of looking around for something to use. I'm certainly not going to use a $2.00 bookmark when I could tear dollar bills lengthwise and get four for the same price. But still I NEED bookmarks.
So, I went down to the local fabric store and saw they had Red 3/4 inch ribbon on sale for practically nothing. I have been making bookmarks from that ribbon for a couple of decades now and there is still plenty left. A lifetime supply of bookmarks for only a couple of bucks. You could use a role of Christmas ribbon too, they are plenty cheap.
If I lose a ribbon/mark or can't find one, I simply cut a new one. Plus, the book marks alway fit each book perfectly. I cut them slightly longer than the book, so if they slip down from the top, they poke out the bottom. They are so cheap that it doesn't matter if they get left in books for years, or if they get lost, or whatever, because I still have a big supply on the role.
Great if you have kids who are readers, virtually an unlimtied supply of ribbon for the cost of a couple of bookmarks at the bookstore. They are very durable too.
Just passing it along.
Steve/BlueWizard
Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: I was once in a Talmud class. The Talmud is in Hebrew and Aramaic, and most of us in the class weren't anywhere near conversant in either one of those. But the idea was to pick it up as we went.
So the rabbi teaching the class would read through a section, translating as he went. Then he'd pick about 3-4 of us, one after the other, and have us read it back, translating as we went. It wasn't actually the worst technique, and all the Talmud learning I've done since then has been built on that initial exposure. But other kids in my class would scribble the translation in the margins as the rabbi read it the first time. It drove me crazy. I just couldn't do it, which meant not only that I had to remember what he'd said without writing (which actually added to my comprehension of the subject matter and the reasoning involved), but it meant that I had to pay attention, which really irked me. I mean, this was high school, after all. Paying attention wasn't my thing.
This is an exception to my usual no-writing rule. Volumes of the Talmud used in yeshiva are workbooks; they're meant for scribbling in. Translations, questions, solutions... it's traditional, and almost indispensable. (They also invariably end up pretty tattered by the end of the year, which is why every yeshiva in the world has an amateur bookbinder on the premises...)
The pristine copy is the one you get for your wedding. Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
Bookmark. Paper's cheap.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shmuel: This is an exception to my usual no-writing rule. Volumes of the Talmud used in yeshiva are workbooks; they're meant for scribbling in. Translations, questions, solutions... it's traditional, and almost indispensable. (They also invariably end up pretty tattered by the end of the year, which is why every yeshiva in the world has an amateur bookbinder on the premises...)
The pristine copy is the one you get for your wedding.
I agree, but IMO this is true for all sifrei kodesh. I've never learned Gemara inside, but my copies of several of the Maharal's and Ramchal's seforim (among others) have notes in the margins.
Posted by Perplexity'sDaughter (Member # 9668) on :
Yes. I dogear. I really don't feel bad about it since most of the books I read I actually own. I rarely go to the library anymore because the local one doesn't get very many new books, and never the ones I want.
I suppose bookmarks are for the organized and tidy. Me, I'm lucky if one of the kids at my house haven't thrown my book in the toilet.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Before I got married, I dog-eared. Never a bookmark of any type for me. Heck, they were my books, I could do what I want.
Now, I'm not allowed to dog-ear. I get nagged if I leave creases in the spine. I'm forced to use a book mark since I can't remember the page number of whatever book(s) I'm reading. It ends up being a random piece of whatever's handiest. One book currently has an envelope serving as bookmark, said envelope being larger than the book. It was handy.
Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
I will occasionally dog-ear books that belong to me. I buy a lot of used paperbacks from the Friends of the Library Used Bookstore for 10 cents, then donate them back to the library when I'm done, so I have no hesitation in marring them. I have a couple of bookmarks that my children have made me over the years that I use when I have them nearby, but I tend to lose them a lot, so I've been known to mark my place with a tissue or receipt or whatever is handy.
I'm surprised so many of you remember your page numbers. That is inconceivable to me. I don't notice what page/chapter I'm on when I'm reading. I haven't a clue where I am in any given book (and I sometimes have 2 or 3 in progress).
Posted by stihl1 (Member # 1562) on :
If it's my book, I'll dogear it. I don't understand the problem there. I try to keep the receipt from the book and use that as a bookmark.
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
Shopping receipts work well for bookmarks.
Free fingers while trekking out to the kitchen for another cookie or two work well, too . . .
Dog-earing, highliting, and note-writing in my very own books is okay, too.
But wow! Icy -- you are brash! *admiringly* The only editing I do is the stuff they pay me for at work . . . *grin*
Posted by Amilia (Member # 8912) on :
I've never had a problem finding my place within a few seconds . . . never needed to bookmark or dogear. I am very careful of spines and cannot write in/mark books myself. Rarely even textbooks.
However, I adore finding other people's notes in books. Especially cheesy romance novels. I get a kick out of finding notes and highlighting in those.
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
I belong to the "book is merely a vessel for the content" school, but I'm also a hyprocrite, and if you dogear one of my books I will wreak my vengeance upon you.
A particular friend of mine was hellish to borrow books from becasue he insisted on then bieng returned better than new. That is until he returned my copy of Starship Troopers covered in ink and fresh from a dunking in the local municipal baths...
That said all my textbooks (those that have been opened, ahem) have notes, underlinings and even whole passages that have been highlighted.
That said, I'm an engineer, and sometimes the important part is a formula buried within acres of waffle...
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Ooooh, blueberry waffles with blueberry syrup... *smacks lips*
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
Prrrssssssp!
I have coffee on my keyboard.
Thanks quidscribis. Maybe that explaisn why engineers tend to paunch...
*edit* 144 posts! Thats gross Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
*giggles* So glad I could please, anti-maven.
And you're right, that is gross. Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Back when I was six, the elementary school library showed my class the film about the Happy Book with the smiling orange cover, and the Sad Book with the frowning blue cover.
One of the things that made Sad Book frown was people giving its pages dog ears.
This thread dislodged that deeply buried memory, and now another mystery of my quirks has been solved.
Twenty four years later, and I still can't make a book "frown". Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Book does in fact say "special hell." I can't remember if it was the same episode as with Saffron, but he poked his head around a corner and said "special hell!" in a singsong voice, in one episode.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
quote:Originally posted by Megan: Ah. Well, you're still my favorite purple hippo, but I think I'm gonna have to skip reading non-fiction books after you.
Me, too. Posted by Omega M. (Member # 7924) on :
Regarding the underlining, I realized in college that I had to underline things in pen in books (and write notes in the margin explaining why I underlined them) to make me think about what I was reading. Highlighting doesn't work for me, as it's too easy to go crazy with it and you can't write notes with a highlighting pen.
Unfortunately, now I have a bunch of college books that I'd like to keep around but that are unreadable because of all the underlines. I keep meaning to rebuy them.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by maui babe: I'm surprised so many of you remember your page numbers. That is inconceivable to me.
I'm pretty sure that's why they put the numbers on the pages. Otherwise, you'd do just as well trying to remember your place in a big old parchment scroll.
And yeah, I can have a few books going at once. When I put one down, I tell myself that I'm on page, say, 493. And then I tell myself why 493 is an easy number to remember. (Four sides has a square, and Nine is the square of Three, which happens to be how many children my parents had, for example). The thing is, any number is easy to remember, if I tell myself why it is.
I've been doing that for years, ever since I was old enough to read books with page numbers and not finish them all in one sitting.
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
You are so dang logical, Tante. It's frightening, really. Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
I must say that one of the most enlightenning experiences of my life was reading a book sent to me by one of my mother's 70-year-old home health patients.
I never met her, but she sent me an oil painting and a dog-eared paperback with tiny, clear notes in many of the margins. It was like a window into the brain of an intensely intelligent woman who had lived so much more than I had at the time. I was twelve.
I don't underline, and I don't make margin notes, but reading margin notes written by a truly fascinating individual is a wonderful thing. Not to say that "special hell" rules shouldn't apply to the OMGWTFBBQ!! variety of margin notes, but still.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
I love the idea of the "carnal" vs. the "courtly" book lover...i confess with glee that i am firmly among the Carnal...
I have books on my shelves right now -- that i am not currently reading -- with dog ears in them, marking passages i like to re-read....I have written in books, highlighted favorites lines and paragraphs...I frequently bend paperbacks so the spine bends the opposite way, as that makes it easier for me to hold the book open with one hand...I leave books lying open, face down...i carry books around in my bag, and all too often find my cell phone or wallet has pushed the pages or cover open, or bent them in strange formations. Hardcovers i have more reverence for, and usually use the dust jacket or an actual store-bought bookmark to mark my place...but paperbacks are free game. I use and abuse them, but only because i love them so very much Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester:
And yeah, I can have a few books going at once. When I put one down, I tell myself that I'm on page, say, 493. And then I tell myself why 493 is an easy number to remember. (Four sides has a square, and Nine is the square of Three, which happens to be how many children my parents had, for example). The thing is, any number is easy to remember, if I tell myself why it is.
I've been doing that for years, ever since I was old enough to read books with page numbers and not finish them all in one sitting.
I actually asked my daughter about this last night and she does the same as you. Everyone has their own skills I guess.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
It occurs to me that part of the reason I dog ear, spine-bend and commit all sorts of book crimes is twofold:
1) I like having books that look well-read. This isn't to say I intentionally make my books look more well-read than they are, but rather that I prefer old-looking books to new-looking ones.
2) I like buying books, even if it's a book I already own, mostly because I just like buying stuff. Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :
To kq, I carry my book around in my backpack.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by maui babe:
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester:
And yeah, I can have a few books going at once. When I put one down, I tell myself that I'm on page, say, 493. And then I tell myself why 493 is an easy number to remember. (Four sides has a square, and Nine is the square of Three, which happens to be how many children my parents had, for example). The thing is, any number is easy to remember, if I tell myself why it is.
I've been doing that for years, ever since I was old enough to read books with page numbers and not finish them all in one sitting.
I actually asked my daughter about this last night and she does the same as you. Everyone has their own skills I guess.
Me, too. Finding a significance plants it more firmly in my memory, for some reason, even if it's a weird significance. And it doesn't have to be for all of the number. Just a bit is good enough. We had this ongoing ticket in the helpdesk system at work with the number 423715. Well, 423 is kind of like 432, which is the exchange of the telephone number I grew up with. I didn't have anything in particular for 715, other than the fact that it's a number ending in 5, which has its own significance, right? It freaked my boss out when he found out I remembered the number and didn't have to look it up.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Kasie H: I don't write in novels, but I write *all over* nonfiction books - if I don't, I don't absorb a word of what I'm reading.
I'm just the opposite. When I was in college, I tried taking notes a few times, and I found that I didn't remember a thing. And the notes weren't good enough. Whereas just listening let me sort out the concepts as they came in and put them on shelves, neatly.
I had friends who thought it was impressive that I "didn't have to take notes". But that wasn't it. I couldn't take notes.
Posted by Ryoko (Member # 4947) on :
I just rip out the pages that I've already read.
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
I don't deliberatly dogear books (shudder) but I do carry them around in my purse. Sometimes they will get wet or bent and I don't get too upset by that. I have several old paperbacks that are falling to bits.
I remember my place in the book, not the page number. It is easy to find what I've read vs what I haven't read. I like the ribbon idea though. I would use bookmarks if they were handy.
Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
I freak people out all the time with my ability to remember unusual data and details. I've just never bothered to apply that to the book that I'm reading - I'm not sure why. Maybe because I tend to read in bed most of the time. I like to read until I can barely keep my eyes open, then turn off the light and go to sleep. If I woke up enough to look at and remember the page I was on, I'd have to read some more to fall back asleep again, so I don't.
Posted by MidnightBlue (Member # 6146) on :
I do pretty much everything to my books except dogear them. If a bookmark is handy, I use that, but otherwise I try to remember the page number. If it's been long enough that I've forgotten it, I just find the place in the plot where I left off. My only problem with dogearing is that I can't ever find it. I'll do it occasionally with text books, though, because I keep a postit note in the front cover with the sections I need to read, so I already know the general area.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Ryoko wins the thread!
-o-
quote:Originally posted by maui babe: . . . I tend to read in bed most of the time. I like to read until I can barely keep my eyes open, then turn off the light and go to sleep. If I woke up enough to look at and remember the page I was on, I'd have to read some more to fall back asleep again, so I don't.
*nod* Me too.
Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :
I use old Yankees tickets. Two in particular that were special games for me.
Posted by Lavalamp (Member # 4337) on :
I always use one of my business cards as a bookmark. That way if I lose a book I have a chance of getting it back.
Also, on a related note, I move my bookmark one page at a time so that if I fall asleep reading, I know I have to just go one page back from the bookmark to find my place. Or, the bookmark is right where I left off if I managed to stay awake and decide to quit reading.
There's a worse sin than writing in library books. That is cutting the article you want OUT of the book or bound journal. Those people don't even merit hell. There's a special place worse than hell for them. If they are reincarnated, they come back as krill...forever.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I'm as bad as leonide is to paperbacks. The ones that I own anyway, I'm extra special careful if a book belongs to someone else.
But I do dog-ear, leave in odd positions, break spines, leave open, pretty much anything. I don't care what happens to the book as long as you can still read the story. To me, that's the important part.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Writing in books that belong to you is a good thing. Haven't you guys heard of Fermat's Last Theorem? Seriously, I get lots of benefits from writing in and highlighting books that I own. It's a great practice!
As for bookmarks, I prefer to read books in one sitting. Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
My biggest problem with carnal book appreciation is that the level of dilapitation generally reflects my appreciation of the novel. If I really like a novel, write in the margins, break the spine and dogear special pages, then that is the copy of the book that I want to read. So I have to shuffle and keep track of four broken apart sections of the Silmarillian and three sections of Seventh Son and so on with other favorites. It really becomes a pain in the neck when I have to bring four little books around with me instead of one. Plus, I think I'm losing pages in the middle.
[ February 27, 2007, 09:23 PM: Message edited by: vonk ]
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
Personally, I didn't take "special hell" as a particular reference to anything. I just thought it an apt phrase.
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: And yeah, I can have a few books going at once. When I put one down, I tell myself that I'm on page, say, 493. And then I tell myself why 493 is an easy number to remember. (Four sides has a square, and Nine is the square of Three, which happens to be how many children my parents had, for example).
Now, see. Who wants to take the time to devise and then later recall an entire rigmarole like that every time they put down a book? It's a lot easier to just put the receipt between the pages.
Posted by Lavalamp (Member # 4337) on :
I'm not sure what the phrase "carnal book appreciation" means to everyone else, but I'm getting a very strange visual image out of that and I'm prompted to add that I will not be borrowing any of YOUR favorite books, thanks anyway.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Oh, and...
quote:OMGWTFBBQ!!
I just want to be clear, this is "Oh my god what the [heck] barbeque!!" right? 'Cause I say that all the time.
Posted by MidnightBlue (Member # 6146) on :
quote:Originally posted by vonk:
Oh, and...
quote:OMGWTFBBQ!!
I just want to be clear, this is "Oh my god what the [heck] barbeque!!" right? 'Cause I say that all the time.
That's what I was reading, too, but I was afraid to ask.
Posted by pfresh85 (Member # 8085) on :
Yep. Although I always take it as "Oh my god! What the [heck]? Barbeque!" It's sort of like one person is expressing surprise/confusion at barbeque. It's awesome. Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
Or, "Oh my goodness! What the frak[or frell]? Barbeque!"
I think it that way because I'm a Geek. And I totally can't take credit for it, you know.
Posted by DevilDreamt (Member # 10242) on :
I try to stop on chapters so I don't need a marker. If I can't do that, I read the whole book in one sitting. If that's not an option, I set the book open and face down, and then step on the binding to ensure that even if the book gets closed, it will likely just fall open to the right page on its own accord.
If I am not enjoying the book that much anyway, I will just set it aside and look at it twice more over the course of my life. Once to ponder what secrets it might contain and once again to put it someplace I can easily forget about it forever.
Posted by Euripides (Member # 9315) on :
I suppose I should chime in as well. I'm in the bookmark-using-whatever-is-at-hand camp. Usually notepad paper, because I very seldom go anywhere without a notepad, much less if I'm carrying a book. Other times it's a receipt, a bank statement (I know, I should file it away), an assignment notice, a magazine, or even another book. If you're reading two books at once and don't need to carry them anywhere, they can serve as each other's bookmarks, at least with most large and not-too-bulky non-fiction books. Rama II is not ideal for bookmarking in this manner.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lavalamp: There's a worse sin than writing in library books. That is cutting the article you want OUT of the book or bound journal. Those people don't even merit hell. There's a special place worse than hell for them. If they are reincarnated, they come back as krill...forever.
Yeah, I can agree with that.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I'm also appreciating the ebook format. I mean, they can't replace the feel of a paperback book in your hands (sorry hardbacks, you have pointy, hard corners and are unwieldy for reading in bed or with one hand), or the smell of a fresh, new book, but it's nice to have a whole library in your PDA to choose from instead of being stuck reading a five year old edition of McCall's in the waiting room of your doctor's office.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Last night I heard someone talking about a "private Hell". Now, that sounds nicer than the semi-private or the open ward type of Hell. I mean, you probably don't want to hang out with all those other Hell dwellers, anyway. I hear that some of them are pretty tough characters.
It would be nice to have a "Do-not-disturb" sign to hang on your private Hell.
But I don't have to worry too much. I've been told that I have a special place in Heaven waiting for me. I bet there'll be cookies!
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
Since I do most of my reading while traveling, I use my airline ticket stub as a bookmark.
I never dogear.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
quote:Used to be, you couldn't even tell that my paperback books had been read. Even really thick ones. I never even creased the spines. I've gotten a little lazier in my old age.
Word.
I never dogear, and I never bookmark. I remember page numbers. It's both easier and harder now than it used to be. It's easier because I generally only have one or two books going at once (in grade school and high school I typically always read at least 3 at a time). It's harder because I don't read as often, so instead of taking a two hour break from the book I sometimes put it down for a week and a half. That, and my memory seems to be getting worse. I'll give the page number a glance as I close the book, mentally repeat it, and off I go. Ten years ago that was all I had to do to remember it (same with phone numbers). Now, I don't always remember it.
Though I am still good at remembering phone numbers.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Verily the Younger:
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: And yeah, I can have a few books going at once. When I put one down, I tell myself that I'm on page, say, 493. And then I tell myself why 493 is an easy number to remember. (Four sides has a square, and Nine is the square of Three, which happens to be how many children my parents had, for example).
Now, see. Who wants to take the time to devise and then later recall an entire rigmarole like that every time they put down a book? It's a lot easier to just put the receipt between the pages.
Well, it took a lot longer to explain it than to actually do it. It takes, like, less than a second to glance at the number and remember it.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
I haven't read all three pages (so far!) of replies yet - I will later.
I dogear books that I own. My daughter Cayla is fanatical about using bookmarks, so I don't dogear her books.
I've got something worse than dogearing books: I once loaned some books to a neighbor in our apartment building (many years ago in Chicago). He returned several of the books with a piece torn out of the backs. He tore a piece off the back to use as a book mark so he wouldn't dogear the pages. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! How is that better than dogearing the pages???
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I'm currently reading Butler's Kindred. I was surprised and annoyed to find that the edition I am reading was used by a student and that there's a lot of really useless underlining and the occasional note.
I mean, honestly, these notes are some of the most stupid speculation about any book I've ever read. I don't know what Butler's motives were when writing the story, but I seriously doubt she went out and injected all kinds of deep meaning into the book. It seems to me she just wanted to share a story.
The kind of armchair psychology that prevails the notes in my copy of Kindred just show how stupid literary analysis is. I'm sure there are people who can really divine something from text, but it's a work of fiction, people! You're not reading some kind of puzzle whose true meaning lurks somewhere beneath the pages. Thinking that the world of Dana's existance is Godless because she felt alone and then being surprised that she mentions the King James Bible later is nothing short of stupid. Just effing read the story and enjoy it. If you need that kind of weekend warrior psychoanalysis, buy the Cliff's notes version. Someone already did all the work for you.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I bought a used textbook once without flipping through it first to make sure that it was okay. The exterior was in such perfect shape that it looked new, and I was in a hurry. Whoever had had the book before me had underlined, and in the margins defined, at least 60% of the words in the book. I'm not talking about field specific terms, either. I assume that English must not have been the marginalia writer's first language. It drove me up a wall, because I almost complusively read marginalia, and the definitions kept sucking my attention away from the text itself, and doing so uselessly, since I am a native speaker of English.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
I'm a facedowner, which my kids have picked up on. This drives my hubby NUTS! I also read in the tub. Library books, I use my library receipt for a bookmark.
Posted by Brian J. Hill (Member # 5346) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: Last night I heard someone talking about a "private Hell". Now, that sounds nicer than the semi-private or the open ward type of Hell. I mean, you probably don't want to hang out with all those other Hell dwellers, anyway. I hear that some of them are pretty tough characters.
It would be nice to have a "Do-not-disturb" sign to hang on your private Hell.
But I don't have to worry too much. I've been told that I have a special place in Heaven waiting for me. I bet there'll be cookies!
If Sartre is right, there can be no such thing as a "private" hell. Hell is other people.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: Last night I heard someone talking about a "private Hell". Now, that sounds nicer than the semi-private or the open ward type of Hell.
Even if you do get a private hell, though, you're still going to spend what feels like an eternity sitting with the rest of the damned on the Group W bench.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester:
But I don't have to worry too much. I've been told that I have a special place in Heaven waiting for me. I bet there'll be cookies!
For you, Tante, there will be chicken soup.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
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I'm forced to use a book mark since I can't remember the page number of whatever book(s) I'm reading. It ends up being a random piece of whatever's handiest. One book currently has an envelope serving as bookmark, said envelope being larger than the book. ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
It was handy.
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How is that better than dogearing the pages???