And, if you’ve never done actual summer-time damage … have you EVER damaged your book/magazine/paper? Dropped it in the bathtub? Used it to kill a bug? Spilled with coffee?
So, I damage books on accident all the time. First of all, I’m a rough reader. Reading a book once usually means the spine is all worn out and it looks like I’ve loved the book more than once. The spines on my heavy and thick hardcovers basically hate me because they are all loose. I’ve gotten books a bit wet in the rain just from carrying them into the house. I sometimes get coffee stains if I’m not being careful. And one book I own doesn’t have a front cover. I assure you, it did at one point. But over the years, especially when I had a younger brother who was a toddler when I was a teenager, the cover has been torn enough to fall off. I’ve used a big Navy manual to squash a spider, but I cleaned it off, so it’s good as new, right?
I know all of this is horrifying to those of you who are careful. But I’ve never understood being careful with books. There are things I don’t do, like dog ear a page or highlight, but those are purposefully damaging. My damages are accidental because I’ve taken the book places and read it. I refuse to take off the dust jacket and put it aside, only open a book a little bit so I don’t crack the spine, or wear gloves to stop oils from my fingers from staining or ruining the pages. Because if I did all of those, I’d be NOT enjoying the actual act of reading. The experience is more important to me than the actual condition of the book. I’m a reader, not a book collector!
Also, I probably sound a million times more reckless than I really am. My books are actually in decent condition for the most part. =)
