3 ms·

I feel the opposite. Writing in a book is the final step in really making it mine. Not writing in it seems to be an insult to the author, that what they wrote i

I feel the opposite. Writing in a book is the final step in really making it mine. Not writing in it seems to be an insult to the author, that what they wrote isn't important enough to engage with (though some are that bad).

pedrosbmartins 4y ago
It seems you are mistaking the actual book (a story, an exposition of a subject, etc.) for the printed set of cover and pages, which is only a physical instance of the book itself. Writing your notes in a separate medium is just as much engaging with the book as writing in the margins of a physical copy. It's a matter of taste really, but definitely not an insult to the author!
cardanome 4y ago
How did you grow up that you could develop that habit though? Thinking about my childhood, the vast majority of the books I read were from libraries. School books were also all lend from school. Sure, I also owned plenty of books myself but my parents would have been pretty pissed if I vandalized them as my siblings might want to read them. For me books where always something to share not something to own. Never got the need to make them "my own".
- pessimizer 4y ago
  I take pride in not making them my own, and that other people will have them after I'm dead, and the books will be theirs. I've been taking care of some books for 40 years now. Plenty of those I got because someone else took care of them for 40 years before me. If anything, I feel guilty when I accidentally buy bad books that no one in the future would want to read. Honestly, when people who take care of their things die, it's like an explosion of wealth. The things in my place range from the mid-19th century to today. If you let people pick through my shit and take something that looks cool, my death could result in 1000 smiles. edit: I even take care of the things that I've made. They're no doubt mine, but some of those things will make someone else just as happy as they've made me.

pedrosbmartins 4y ago

It seems you are mistaking the actual book (a story, an exposition of a subject, etc.) for the printed set of cover and pages, which is only a physical instance of the book itself. Writing your notes in a separate medium is just as much engaging with the book as writing in the margins of a physical copy. It's a matter of taste really, but definitely not an insult to the author!

cardanome 4y ago

How did you grow up that you could develop that habit though? Thinking about my childhood, the vast majority of the books I read were from libraries. School books were also all lend from school. Sure, I also owned plenty of books myself but my parents would have been pretty pissed if I vandalized them as my siblings might want to read them. For me books where always something to share not something to own. Never got the need to make them "my own".

pessimizer 4y ago
I take pride in not making them my own, and that other people will have them after I'm dead, and the books will be theirs. I've been taking care of some books for 40 years now. Plenty of those I got because someone else took care of them for 40 years before me. If anything, I feel guilty when I accidentally buy bad books that no one in the future would want to read. Honestly, when people who take care of their things die, it's like an explosion of wealth. The things in my place range from the mid-19th century to today. If you let people pick through my shit and take something that looks cool, my death could result in 1000 smiles. edit: I even take care of the things that I've made. They're no doubt mine, but some of those things will make someone else just as happy as they've made me.