WELCOME! WELCOME!
To the first annual Hunger- (wait, sorry, I got confused on which event I was introducing, which is most certainly not The Hunger Games, so everyone take a deep sigh of relief!)
This weeks discussion is...
Lending Books - For or Against? Any book lending horror stories?
MY ANSWER:
AGAINST.
Let me warn you in advance. This post could quite possibly be a little rant-y and/or full of a high amount of snark.
You have been forewarned.
(MWAHAHAHA)
*Ahem* Anywho, I am totes against lending books. You may be wondering why exactly I am against the lending of said books, and for me to answer that question, I'm gonna have to tell you a little story.
Once upon a time, there was a Princess with a library full of pretty, well-cared for books.. (Yes, I so just went there). Life was wonderful for the Princess. I mean, she had a full-fledged LIBRARY. How could life not be simply magnificent?
One day, the Princess decided to walk to the bookstore, when her friend decided to tag along, just for the fun of it. The friend, we will just call her Dee as in Book Dee-stroyer (I know, I'm clever HAHA), walked with the Princess to the store and browsed the endless selection of books, properly oooh-ing and ahhh-ing at the all the books the Princess picked up, but when the time came to leave the bookstore, Dee had yet to pick up a book of her own to purchase. Being the amazing friend that the Princess was, she offered to lend a few of her brand new, perfect books to Dee to read. After all, the Princess didn't want Dee to miss out on the amazing worlds that books transport you to.
A couple weeks passed, and the Princess hadn't seen or heard from Dee, so she wandered over to her house, and asked her politely if she was finished with the books she borrowed. Dee denied ever borrowing any books, because if she wanted a book, she would have bought it herself instead of borrowing it.
Lots of arguing may or may not have ensued, and when I say that, I mean the Princess put Dee in her place, and finally Dee produced said books in a bag. She still swore up and down they were her books, but the Princess stood her ground, took the bag, and headed back to her humble abode, where much to her horror, she found her beloved precious baby books (that she had not even read herself yet!!!!!) CHEWED UP BY A BEAST!!
That's right, my books were returned to me half-eaten by my family member's dog. I'm not going to say who, because I have put it behind me, but the pure RAGE that flared through my veins was white hot. I have never been so angered in my entire life. Most people would never understand why I would be upset about something like this, but anyone who buys books- physical, hardback books, which usually cost about twenty bucks a pop- would understand why I was so upset. I hardly ever cry, but I was so angry I completely nasty-face cried!!! These were my babies! MY BABIES WERE CHEWED UP BY A BEAST!!!!!!!!!
Ugh, anyways, I am one-hundred percent against lending books, mostly because of this horror story. I used to lend books all the time, but inevitably something ALWAYS ended up happening to it. I wouldn't get it back, or it was chewed up, or god forbid, the pages had been DOGEARED!!!! That's just a number one no-no! If you need a bookmark that bad, shove a sock between the pages for all I care!! BUT DO NOT DOG EAR MY PAGES! You are spraining my baby's appendages every time you do that!!!!!!
*Phew*
Sorry, that story brought a lot of emotions back. Anyways, the only person that I ever allow to read my books now is my mother dearest, and that's pretty much because I live with her. I'm always hounding her about taking care of my books, but she is a book lover like me and understands how much I care about them!! #1 Book Borrower Award goes to my mom, for realsies though!
My advice to anyone who wants to lend out one of their precious babies to a friend?
Make a list of rules on a notecard, and stick it in the front of the book. That way your friend knows that you want your book back the same way it was when you gave it to them, and that you want it back in a reasonable amount of time!
Are you for or against lending books? Any book lending horror stories of your own?
Did you like this new feature?
Do you have any topics you want us to discuss in the future?
Let me know in the comments, and don't forget to check out the other three blogs to read their answers for the week!
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