I try to keep my books pristine and even try to fix damaged elements of them because they’re so precious, not because they’re jewels. I don’t open the spines to

I try to keep my books pristine and even try to fix damaged elements of them because they’re so precious, not because they’re jewels. I don’t open the spines to their cracking point, or bend a page, or write in them, or get their covers all fingerprinty because I value the book and want it to last a long time. To treat it poorly by doing all the things the author claims are nearly essential is to degrade the life of the book and rid me of its pleasures sooner than I’d like.