What Kind of a Reader Are You?

People treat their books differently. They love their books differently. One person's habit could be another person's nightmare. Forget about e-books for a moment, and think of all the paperbacks and hardbacks you love(d) before the E-Reader Army arrived in town. How do you treat your books?

Are you a spine breaker? Are your pages dog-eared? Do you care if the books are used or new? Do you keep them? Do you write in them? Do you leave the book open, lying face down? Does it matter what your book looks like? 


I will share my own idiosyncrasies. 

1. I almost always buy new books. I have few used ones, where I might have picked them up from a second-hand shop or charity shop. But these would have been something that caught my interest, but not necessarily something I desperately wanted. These would have been bargains that were so cheap I felt it wouldn't be a waste even if I never touched them or didn't keep them, and even if used, they would be in relatively good condition. If it's a messed up book, dog eared ages, broken spines, food splashes - I wouldn't buy it for a penny. 
2. In all of my books I write my name and a date when I got the book. If I bought it from somewhere unusual - like while I was travelling in another country - then I write down the place I bought it from. 
3. I don't really lend my books, and I don't borrow other people's. Having lent them to few people previously, I have learned my lesson. I don't trust other people to handle my books. I lend occasional book to my husband. But he doesn't read a lot and I buy plenty for him as various presents than he ever reads, so it's not a big thing. But even when I give him one of my books, I supply it with a book mark and instructions to be careful. 
4. I do have double standards. I write in my books. I can scribble across the margins, underline pages, and it's okay. It adds to the character. If anyone else as much as puts a dot in it, they wouldn't be my favourite person for a long long time. 
5. I always use bookmarks. I may leave a book open and facing down for two seconds if I am just trying to grab something and needs hands free, but no more than that. I have a handy supply of bookmarks around, so it's never a problem, and besides, as soon as I pick up a book to read, a bookmark is the first thing that goes in there. 
6. I take care of my books, but not at the cost of pleasure. I am naturally careful with them, so if I have read a book only once, it will almost always look brand new. But the books I read again and again, begin to show wear and tear. And I like that. It adds to their character, and it makes sense that my favourite books would fall into that category.
7. I keep all my books.