Tuesday, March 26, 2013

A Bookish Dilemma

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be."  --William Shakespeare


I sometimes feel this way when it comes to loaning out my books.  Especially when the book loaned out comes back torn, bent, or damaged; or worse, doesn't come back at all.  (Which has happened to me more than once.)  So, the question is, to loan or not to loan.  But, what is the answer?  It's a bookish dilemma.

I love sharing the books I've read and love with others, I really do, but I don't always trust them to handle my favorite books the way I would.  (Especially when those books are out-of-print and hard to replace.)  Luckily, my sisters and closest friends love books as much as I do, so I know I can trust my books with them.  Which is good, because they own a lot of books that I want to borrow in return.

So what about you?  Do you keep your favorite books under lock and key?  Loan them out to friends and hope they come back safe and sound?  Or are you one of those people who, once they're done reading a book, can't wait to give it away?


3 comments:

  1. I lend very cautiously. Some books I have loaned never came back, and some have come back damaged. Since I re-read the books I choose to keep in my personal library, having a favorite irreparably water-damaged is a huge disappointment. Now that I am in a book group, I am reluctant to loan to people until I see how they handle their books!

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  2. I have lost too many books to ever lend now. I want to spread my love of books I loved but I want them back as I love to reread. And mostly people keep them. Now that I buy and read on my kindle that's no longer a problem :)

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    Replies
    1. It's nice to know I'm not alone in my obsession to hang onto the books I love and want to read and read again.

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