Do you prefer well worn books with creased spines or pristine like-new books?

[Kate]

I love old books in pristine condition. I'm a collector and condition is everything.

[Micaela]

I prefer my books brand new, its just something about brand new books. If I want to save some money I will suffice with a used book, as long as it is in excellent condition.

[Lára]

I love old books, I really do, but new books are sweater. I like to "break" them, use them first.
Smell of old books might be good (I do not, however, like "smelly", like bad smell books) but the smell of freashly printed book is better!

[Stefanie]

I LOVE brand new books, but I like old books too. I just tend to prefer older books that I've read and reread into their present condition vs. someone else.

[Lee]

I LOVE ALL books!! Each book is special in it's own way!!

[Thom]

Prefer the smell of fresh printer’s ink to the musty, mildew and dusty smells of older books. The same applies to the crisp and clear lettering upon pristine paper to faded and indistinguishable lettering on yellowing, brittle pages. Don’t get me wrong, old books have a mystic and mystery that can’t be found in newer publications and I love and appreciate these traits but a book isn’t just an object of awe and beauty but it is also an object to be held, used and loved. A simple cold fact is new books are easier to read than old ones. Another simple truth is that few people have an empty barn to convert into a library so the lack of room eventually comes into play with an avid bookophile. This is where digital books shine. When your physical library is filled and most of your house is filled with piles of overflow, an unlimited cyberspace for boundless new titles is a tempting picture. I guess I can sum up my feelings like this: I love the written word in all its forms and in this day and age I no longer have to pick and choose what I have due to physical restraints. I will continue to collect and read to my dying day and hope to leave thousands of yet unread books to the next generation of reader.

[Lin]

Thom---As always I enjoyed reading your comments. I agree with your statements about making use of both books in print and digital. I still make use of my local library as well reading for me is so much more than a hobby or entertainment. For me is is an addiction and a compulsion. But not dangerous or detrimental to me or anyone else. I am never far from a book or e-reading device. I do worry what will become of my collection when I am gone. I know of no one who treasures books to the extent that I do.

[A.]

I like both. New books are exciting because they're new, while old books have a history that I may never know, and can only deduce a little of. I do prefer to buy cookbooks new if possible, since those can get messy if used frequently (at least, mine certainly do).

[Annie]

I'm fine with either. As long as I can still read the book, I'm good. :)

[K C]

I do love new books but also buy used books that are in "like new" condition. I am adamant that there can be NO dog ears (aaaaaah!), marks, or tears. I'm the weird one in a used bookstore that spends way too much time inspecting a book. I take great care of my books, even my library books. A friend returned a book of mine that she had borrowed and it was, well, beaten up. I was truly bothered.

I need to get a grip, I think.

[Kathryn]

I'm a big fan of old books - the feel of them and the smell. Plus the price. However, when I do get a new book I think I appreciate the newness of it more because it seems so special.

[Ashley Marie]

I'm not above taking home a used book and doing a little surgery on it either -- if the story's premise interests me, I'm in. I just bought a book from my library's secondhand bookshop this past weekend whose cover was torn. Paid for it and taped it right up. I like to think books deserve as much love as people or pets do.

[Ashley Marie]

K C wrote: "I do love new books but also buy used books that are in "like new" condition. I am adamant that there can be NO dog ears (aaaaaah!), marks, or tears. I'm the weird one in a used bookstore that sp..."

I'm the same way! I rarely lend books out unless it's to my immediate family or my best friend who I've known since first grade, because they truly know how I like my books to be treated.

I remember when I still liked Twilight and had all the books back in high school, I lent the first book to a friend of my sister's and I think she then went and passed it on to her friends as well, and when I got it back it was all bent and battered from being in peoples' backpacks.

[Patricia]

I'm in the new book camp. There is a new book smell that pleases me the way a new car smell pleases folks who like cars. but I could never afford my book habit if I bought only new, and so I look for the cheapest "very good" or better condition used book on Amazon. Some of them are like new.

[Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse]

I adore both. :)

[Wendy]

I love older, well loved (worn) books as long as they aren't falling apart or the cover hasn't been ripped off. It is definitely hard for me and my bestie to walk past a used book store without stopping in to browse!

[Thom]

A book is a book.....if it's readable I'm all for it.

[Brooklyn]

While I love a new book I love well worn ones the most - My copy of Agatha Christie's "Ordeal by Innocence", is majorly coffee stained on the cover but I think it's previous. Also, my copy of "Little Women" has lost its spine but I think it's all the more amazing (it's cover is Art Deco) .

When I brought Agatha Christie's autobiography, I ebayed an old paperback which has a super cool vintage cover :)