Book Fan Quirks and Reading Fun Stuff

[Beth]

The Bookcrossing thing sounds really nice but I can't part with any of my books. Before we moved (about 9 years ago)to the house we are in now my husband made me get rid of a ton of books so I've been trying to rebuild my collection. I've learned my lesson: if my husband ever tries to make me get rid of my books again we'll be headed for divorce court!

[Jackie]

Husbands are so overrated anyway. Books provide hours of entertainment, they're peaceful, require little maintenance...if any, they don't argue back or cause a mess...they're just awesome.

[Beth]

LOL, Jackie! Books are the best!!!!

[John]

Ladies! Stick to the topic "Quirks" and stop the husband stuff. Geez. Don't you have some more quirks you can share? My sister always returns books with decals of angels on pages, but I don't fault her.

John

[Beth]

Sorry, we got a little sidetracked. The first thing I do when I get a brand new book is sniff it. To me, there's nothing quite like the smell of a brand new book. My 9 year old son told me there's a girl in his class who sniffs every book she opens, "including her spelling book and the dictionary", and he told her, "you're just like my mom." I love it!!!!

[Jackie]

Sorry John.

Beth, I sniff new books only. It's like the new car smell...I get giddy over it. Usually, though I use the library a lot or I get my books used from library sales so sniffing is not a good thing. Might get a nose full of smoke or dust :X

[Beth]

Jackie, I totally agreee. Unless I know for a fact that I'm the first reader of a book from the library I won't sniff it. Also, I buy a lot of books from Half-Price Books and I won't sniff those either. You never know what might be in there, lol!

[Carol]

Now that is quirky. Sniffing books. I guess I am boring when it comes to books. I give them away intact with no writing or drawings in them. No bent pages either. So maybe that in it's self is quirky.

[Jane]

I am like Becky - I really feel the need to read books in order. It's actually kind of an obsession.

[John]

Jane wrote: "I am like Becky - I really feel the need to read books in order. It's actually kind of an obsession."

Becky, can we assume that you also have a Stephen King tattoo or two, also?

[DevonAlyse]

SO I'm just checking this for the first time today. And I just got back from the bookstore...which they are rearranging at the moment, and I can't finad ANYTHING!!

BUt the sniffing books thing is what got me...there was a guy about 75 or 80 in the store and he sniffed every book he picked up. Random!

[Carol]

That is too funny. I have never seen any thing like that.

[Beth]

I'm telling you, I'm not the only book sniffer out there. There are lots of us. Jackie fessed up to it so all you other book sniffers need to do the same. I once saw a little girl about my son's age sniff a book in Borders and I thought, "they must have switched babies at the hospital. That girl is really my child."

[Jackie]

Beth, I think you may know my friend Laura (she has a flower avi)....anyway she's a first class book sniffer. She bought an ereader a couple of weeks ago and first thing she say is that it should have come with a button to release that new book smell. lol. I sympathized with her.

Does anyone just like to touch books? A soft cover or nice pages= heaven

[Karendenice]

I think the sticky note in the lobrary books sounds great. I'm going to start doing that.

Jackie, I love what you do with your bookmarks. I think that I'm going to try to start doing that.It's a great way to keep track of keeping track of how much of a book (books) that you've read in one day. The only trouble is that I need a whole lot more bookmarks.

[Beth]

Yep Jackie, I know Laura pretty well and I know she, and a few other of our mutual friends, are major book sniffers! I think the feel of a book is extremely important (I know Fiona is big on that as well). I'm also a sucker for a pretty cover. I don't care for movie covers of books and will only buy them if I can't find a copy with an "original" (before the movie version came out) copy of a book.

I don't know if I could ever go the ereader route, but I guess Laura bought hers because of the classics she can download for free, lol!

[Beth]

Karen, bookmark collecting makes an excellent hobby. I collect them and keep them categorized in a check file. When I read a book I try to find a bookmark that matches the cover of the book I'm reading. OK, I've probably said enough. I'm sure I'm coming across as a real kook now. The funny thing is, when I first started reading this thread I really didn't think I had many book quirks but now I see that I do, lol!

[Shona]

Beth wrote: "Karen, bookmark collecting makes an excellent hobby. I collect them and keep them categorized in a check file. When I read a book I try to find a bookmark that matches the cover of the bi>

Beth I do the same thing - I love to collect bookmarks and when I start a new book, I need to find a bookmark that matches, whether the color matches the bookcover or if the theme of the bookmark somehow matches the book. That's probably my only book-related quirk, except that I have to have all my books on shelves or my nightstand, it really really bothers me when there is a stray book laying around and it's not where it belongs :)

[Karendenice]

Beth, what do you mean by 'matches the cove of the book'? In color, what the book is about?

[Karendenice]

Shona, I keep my books on the shelves or in stacks also. However, I seem to be able to make anything into a shelf. Even part of my kitchen counter (and not for cookbooks).

[Jackie]

Beth, you must be my book quirk twin!!! I'm a cover freak too and rarely, if ever, go for the movie cover. If a book as a beautiful cover I automatically go for it, even if it may have a so-so description of the story. I never learn the lesson to not judge a book by it's cover.

I also do the bookmark matching thing. Either the color or the them have to match. I've gotten better though and don't obsess about it so much.

Karen, do you read multiply books at the same time?

[Beth]

Karen, yes I try to match the color. I'll look for a bookmark that at least "picks up" a color that's in the book cover. Sometimes I get lucky and have a bookmark that's advertising the book I'm reading. For example, our library put out a bunch of bookmarks that advertised the Hunger Games trilogy so I grabbed one, knowing I was going to be reading it. In fact, I'm reading the first one now so I'm using that bookmark in it.

Jackie, I'm glad to know I've got another book quirk twin, lol! I need to show these posts to my hubby so he knows I'm not making it up when I say other people do the same things I do.

I also read multiple books. I usually have 4-6 going at the same time but they're also usually quite different from each other to help prevent me from getting confused.

[Jackie]

Um, well sad thing is I didn't know they were really quirks until you girls mentioned them :/

[Beth]

LOL!

[John]

Got to join into this multiple books exchange, I read at least three books at one time; One book at bedside, one in the den, and one on the tank of the toilet. Is that ugly? You should be 65! That's where a good deal of time is spent after the meds.

However, each one of these books must be a different genre; mystery in the bathroom, historical fiction in the den and general fiction by the bed. And yes, I can keep them seperate in my mind because they are all of a type.

OOPS, forgot to mention self-help on the front seat of my car. So, make that four.

[Lisa]

I am also a book sniffer and a book petter. I love the feel of the paper, especially in trade paperbacks. My husband always laughs at me. Actually, sometimes I just grab my copy of The Time Traveler's Wife just to feel the paper.

I bought an e-reader, but I find I don't use it much. I just love the feel of handling a "real" book.

[DevonAlyse]

I don't own an actual bookmark. I used to use a sticky note...hey, I guess that's where the sticky note thing came from, sorry, I just realized that...now I use a notecard in case I want to make a note of something.

I pet softcover books, but I'm a sucker for a good hardcover!! I have several books that are movie tie ins just because I couldn't find the original cover. I'm definitely a cover girl...I usually try to go to the bookstore with a list and I don't really deviate otherwise my whole paycheck is gone. But if I do manage to get there with out a list, I take cash in with me and then find interesting covers.

I also have what I call Book Books. They are composition notebooks that I use to keep track of what books I want to read (by cutting notebook paper in half and stapling it to the front cover), the series I have been reading along with how many pages are in each book and what days I read it, and what standalones I've read along with the same information for the series. That may not be a quirk, I'm sure a lot of people keep track with that information. But I have 10 or so of these that are completely full.

[Carol]

DevonAlyse do you get softcover books or do you actually pet them. If you pet them, then that is the winner for the quirkiest

[DevonAlyse]

Carol (Kitty) wrote: "DevonAlyse do you get softcover books or do you actually pet them. If you pet them, then that is the winner for the quirkiest"

I pet them, I touch every softcover book I pass at the bookstore!!

[Carol]

That is so cute.Your books must feel well loved.

[DevonAlyse]

I hope they do!

[Karendenice]

Jackie, yes a do read multiple books at the same time. But they all have to be different genres. I have tried alot of different types of bookmarks. The only one that I absolutely hated is the one that they make with string and add beads to bothe ends. When I first saw them I that they were really pretty and I bought a few. But after useing them on a few books I realized that the string was putting stress on the pages and I would end up with tears from the string at the top and bottom of the pages. Fortunately I did not use them on my good books that I had and wanted to keep. I also have started puting a sticky note on the first page of all the books that I'm reading. I write the date and page number that I read to each day so that I can keep track of how long it's taken my to read the books. I really try to read some of each one everyday. But most often it doesn't work out that way because ther is always a book that captivates my attention more. And I end up reading it til I get done with it. LOL

[DevonAlyse]

Have any of ya'll tried the magnetic bookmarks? that's what my dad uses and I have to hear him gripe all the time about the print coming off the book where the magnet is attached around the pages. Yeah, he's getting some real bookmarks for Christmas!! Wondered if it was just him or if anyone else had the experience.

[Karendenice]

Hey DevonAlyse, I just recieved two of them from my niece. I love them. So far I haven't had any problems with the print coming off of the pages. My niece told me that she has been useing them for quite awhile and has never run into that. I will be on the lookout though.

[Jackie]

I have one that I love and no I haven't noticed the print coming off the page. Maybe his has super magnets or something.

I usually read one book and audio a second book. They do have to be different genres in order for me to keep them straight.

Beth, Laura took her Kobo back. She was thinking of getting a Sony instead. The Kobo didn't simulate a real book enough for her...no book smell and no flicky page turn. lol. If that's not quirky....

[Beth]

So she did take it back! I saw her comment a week or two ago on FaceBook that she was thinking of trading it in! Her reasons are the exact same reasons why I could never go electronic. I'm not even tempted by the ipad, although I wouldn't mind having one of those for things other than reading books.

[DevonAlyse]

i don't know. he doesn't take as good care of his books as I do. and he lends them out to random people and very rarely gets them back. i'm glad i got my mommas cdo...it's like ocd just the letters are in order! I can't stand for other people to read my books, that's like touching my camera or going through my purse, you just don't do it.

[Adrienne]

I am also a book sniffer. Like many, I prefer to sniff new books. For awhile there, I could recognize the publisher by the smell of the book.

I have a Kindle. I was recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and the Kindle helps me read all those big fat books I can't hold up in book form. Also, they have new books smell spray for those of us who like to sniff the books and read the Kindle. True story.

I love bookmarks and have a large collection, but usually I am too lazy to go get one. I just use the sticky label the library puts on the books to designate who has requested the book. I pull it off, fold it in half and Voila! Bookmark.