Indian Readers discussion
Reading Habits n Preferences
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do u lend books easily? or not at all. and why?
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Suchitra
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Aug 31, 2012 08:36AM
do u lend books easily? or not at all. and why?
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I don't lend books at all. Because one time I gave a book to one of my friends and when she returned it to me, I saw that it was ear-marked at most of the pages and had oil stains in many pages. Well that beloved book is still with me but now I refuse to lend any boos to my friends!
Gayatri wrote: "I don't lend books at all. Because one time I gave a book to one of my friends and when she returned it to me, I saw that it was ear-marked at most of the pages and had oil stains in many pages. We..."once someone lent me a book which changed my appetite for books
so,
if i have the book, i do,
and recently i lent the book-"The Book Thief" to one of my goodreads friends
Sahasranaman wrote: ":)"ha ha!
oh dear! i am so sorry that i have not returned the book u lent to me sahas. i will someday. really!!
I maintain a database in excel of all my books and hv programmed it to send mails. In against the book entry i put the remarks if lended to someone and the due date by which the borrower agrees to return. I he/she doesn't return it , then I send a mail to them everyday .
I do so even with my close friend whom i meet daily.
I keep my every book covered with transparent covers and whomsoever I lend the book to has to agree by certain conditions :
1. No oil stains.
2. No marking with pen. ( Though I myself always do so :) )
3. Read the book without opening it beyond 120 degrees.
I do (I borrow too :)). In my PG,my book collection is fondly referred to as the 'Library' :p
So far not many disappointments.
People generally return.
I don't lend out. I've lost, by virtue of them not being returned back, quite a no. of books. So as a rule I don't give out nor borrow for that matter. That is not to say that I'm a mean friend. I'm always the one being dragged to the stores to help my friends figure out what would be a book worth reading. That has got to account for some brownie points :)
Mod
I lend the books.. But I stop lending to persons who take longtime to return and those who return it in bad shape..
I started lending recently in the book meets ....so far so good :)
If possible I would put up a note near my books "Not on sale, nor on rent". People just don't return, far worse never read what they take with them (and retain for days till I beg them to return). I don't mind lending to people who understand how much I respect them and also... (let's face it) I paid for them :)
Rosun wrote: "If possible I would put up a note near my books "Not on sale, nor on rent". People just don't return, far worse never read what they take with them (and retain for days till I beg them to return). ..."^ true .. some people dont give respect .. Its just not about the books , even the dvd and pendrives they take ... :(
But now I lend my dvds and books only to a few ...
"It is better to give than to lend,and it costs about the same" - Philip Gibbs :P
it was interesting to read different views on this topic.my take on this is...
i am disconcerted to own up to the fact that i have a few books that i have borrowed and never returned.
i try to return as much as possible. and not many. i can think of 3 books so far. and i hope no more that i do not remember!
and i do feel guilty that i have them. but it is not possible to return them now due to various reasons.
i have borrowed and returned loads of books but mostly if i read it quickly and return or if the owner keeps reminding me quite a few times and then i return.
i have wasted money by returning books late to libraries or worse losing them and paying the fine!
so, my attitude towards lending is based on the idea that the recipient might be as bad as me!!
and i love lending books maybe partly due to the fact that i do not know that many people who will take books from me!! really!
and i want someone to enjoy reading a book as much as i did.
and i do not feel too bad if i do not get a book back. i just hope that person atleast read it!!
p.s. sahas! if u are reading this, do not panic!i will give ur book back. maybe u should just send me ur address as a message to me and i will post it to u since i am finding it increasingly difficult to make time to come to the book meet!
@SmithaOMG!! the same happened to me to, i lent 13 books of Famous Five sereis and never got it back :(.....and the worse thing is that I don't remember whom i lent those book to...:(
@Rosun
I agree, the say that they will read it but they never do...when u ask them they say that i will read it this weekend but they never do.
@Abhijith, so the trick here is to know who is a real reader and who is fake :D By now I am very sure of whom to lend :)
Rosun wrote: "@Abhijith, so the trick here is to know who is a real reader and who is fake :D By now I am very sure of whom to lend :)"So true.. Some people just lend the book for the sake of it.. Never read it and never returns it.. :(
My theory on lending is simple. I lend the book only when i think i have read enough of it and i won't need it anymore or when the book is ultimately useless because of its contents (no better way to take revenge on people who would not return the books , further they would not ask you again :) ).When you lend 90% you don't get it back , if you do , it would not be in the condition that you expected it to be.
Also I have seen that guys who take books from me just violate the pages and stuffs. Books given away to girls always return safe and sound. Not to be typecasting in a sexist manner though :)
I lend few books, they have come back good. Not to whoever asks it. I definitely want my beloved ones to read few... So, I do.
Only to my close relatives and friends , who I am sure will enjoy the book and take good care of it!
I lend mostly to newbie readers giving them interesting books to read so they'll start on a reading habit and i forget whom i lent them to.Next i recently started giving away my books on a "read and pass on" group - books am not sure i won't thinking about.
Other books i lend are to the members of the group whom i meet once a month - i bank on their memory to return them back to me ;)
If i take a book from someone else and tend to like it, i own it up sub-consciously and forget conveniently whom i got it from and even pass them on to others as if it's mine! :D
Shounak wrote: "Only to my close relatives and friends , who I am sure will enjoy the book and take good care of it!"Same here. And if they don't return them on time, I pester them until they do :P
Harsha wrote: "Shounak wrote: "Only to my close relatives and friends , who I am sure will enjoy the book and take good care of it!"Same here. And if they don't return them on time, I peste..."
Haha true !
Mod
I do lend books, but only to my close friends and relatives and till now they have been returned in good shape.
I never lend, I always give it away. You will never get it back anyways. That is why i am running a blog where I give away books that I cant store any more. www.freepaperbook.com
Only to friends and relatives, ie. people who i knw wil definitely take care of my books and most importantly RETURN them :P
If you really loved a book, give it off to someone, probably a stranger. Know the burden, know the pain. Know that book then! To friends, relatives, and a lot to newbies. "Lending" = "Giving Away" with friends. what goes out with them never comes back. So i do the same with them. :p
only to friends... but I make sure I get it back... I am very possessive abt my books :-)
I do lend it to friends mostly. But I only lend the books that I have read. TBR books are a strict no-no. And I make it a point to get them back.
Although I'm usually called 'The Library' I hardly ever lend my books.I have a history of not getting my books back.However, sometimes I lend a book or two to a few trusted people.
Only to some exceptionally dear friends in whom I can put my trust to not tamper with the book. And I am quite capable of giving a hard time to those who do not return the borrowed books in time.
I share books regularly.. like sharing good books among my friends!!
the saddest part is the guys whom I give it keep it with them for ever!! so have yo constantly ask them when are u finishing it...please give it back!!
Never. My dad used to lend books. Once gone is gone. Not many people return. And there are people who make fake reasons so as not to give te book too :(Besides, the oil stain, tea stain, etc, etc are add-on(s).
Exactly Varun... And sometimes my teachers too ask for books :/
Mod
Yeah.... And it gets more difficult when you can't ask them your book back as they'll feel offended :PHappened to me once. I now a days just smile and change the topic before book lending topic starts :p
or simply say it's my friend's book :D
Mod
have always been rude nd hve made it clear lot of times that I don't lend books atal... but at times when u cnt avoid certain people..I go the generous way of presenting the book which they askd for.
I'm a little scared of lending. The few times it happened my books came back battered and bruised :( So no, I don't lend books easily. It also worries me that I'll never get them back.
Most of my friends don't read...so dat is an advantage:-D
I used to lend pretty easily (not only books, by the way), but as people tend not to give back (and as I am too naive/not suspicious enough to write down the name somewhere to remember who has what), I don't lend anymore. At least not easily. And my books are holy: I don't want to lose them!
After loaning a set of "out of print" books loaned to a friend, who later denied I ever loaned them to her, I am now reluctant to loan books unless I don't care if they are not returned. If I do loan I usually tell the person, you can keep this one, but I want this one back.
I have lost a few books after lending them, and that sucked, but still I like lending books to people. For some reason, it makes me happy. I do consider the person I'm lending to, whether I believe they'll take care of my books or not, and explain to them what 'taking care' actually means: no stains/pen marks, no tears/bruises on the covers, opening the book as much as is required.As for people I'm not sure about or am sure they'll mistreat my books, I make some random excuse. I'm pretty bad in refusing flat out ^^"
Smitha, one of my teachers once took one of my books, and denied it later. I lost my faith in teachers from then on.
No, I don't lend books and neither I borrow from anyone apart of course from the local library. But I prefer gifting books to my friends and relatives and would love to be gifted.
Not at all, unless it's my own novels. Then I'd lend readily, hoping for a positive feedback.
