hosted by Booking Through Thursday
This week’s question:
Do you lend your books? Are any out on loan right now? Do you have any that have been loaned to you? Do you put a time limit on these? Do you think people should make an effort to read the loaned book quickly?
I am a greedy book owner and I rarely lend my books to people. Usually, I never see the book again or I completely burn bridges if I do get my book back because I’ve had to be a complete jerk in order to get it back. I never really mind letting people borrow a book if they are reading it. But “I haven’t gotten around to it” is NOT a suitable answer 4 weeks after I gave you a book! I read quickly, but I don’t expect others to read at my pace. I only expect them to START reading what I let them borrow quickly and not keep in on the shelf for months. Books with deadlines are moved to the top of my “what to read next” list, including books people loan me and I suppose I expect (and never get) the same treatment.
However, my only beautiful copy of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green is currently at my friend’s house. But she lives 6 hours away from me and I see her twice a year and I knew that when I let her borrow my copy. I expect it back, but obviously, I’m prepared to wait a long time. So, certain situations are different. It’s really just about my expectations. I don’t mind waiting months for my book to be returned, but only if I knew that before I agreed to the loan.
On the reverse side, I’m also kind of crazy about getting a book back to it’s owner. A few years ago, one of my husband’s coworker’s wives gave me a book to read. I had only met her this one time and we found out we were both readers, but we made no plans to meet up again. After I finished the book in a couple of weeks, I couldn’t get the book back to her. I tried setting something up by getting her phone number, but she preferred to communicate through our husbands (hello, game of telephone!) and that worked out poorly (big surprise!). Needless to say, I spent weeks stressing about getting the book back to her and she wasn't meeting me anywhere near halfway and it was HER book. So I still have it, but not for lack of trying!
I find things work out better if I just suggest books and people can figure out their own ways of obtaining a copy. People will usually return a copy of a book to a library before they’ll return it to a friend, as with anything else.
Labels: blog meme, Booking Through Thursday