Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading. Here is this week’s question:
It’s time for summer reading, so … today’s question? What’s the worst thing you ever did to your reading material? Sand in the bindings from the beach? Dropped into the pool? Covers smeared with sunscreen?
And, if you’ve never done actual summer-time damage … have you EVER damaged your book/magazine/paper? Dropped it in the bathtub? Used it to kill a bug? Spilled with coffee?
Books were always treasured items, the key to different worlds and so I couldn’t damage a book physically. I am guilty of damaging books psychologically though. Sounds weird? I hurt my books through…neglect. I currently have 104 books on my ‘To Read’ list and even more that haven’t made their way on there yet. Don’t try to tell me that 104 isn’t a bad number –On Dexter, the Ice Truck Killer uses the number 103 as a calling card. This is one whole number higher – I’m sure the significance of that hasn’t escaped you. Section 104 of the Justices Act 1886 (Queensland) allows a defendant to provide evidence and I intend to do that.
You see I am a bit like a bowerbird in that I get attracted to shiny new covers. They call out to me and I abandon existing books in favour of these new ones. They whisper, call and harangue me. I’m too weak to resist. Cruella de Vil went after 101 new Dalmatians and we all know how that worked out. I haven’t quite got my maniacal laugh down pat but I’m working on it.
I read books in four genres so the number of new releases each month is staggering. How can anyone hope to keep up? Writers are too prolific nowadays. It used to be you got one novel a year or one every two years. Now authors are releasing quality fiction every six months. I bravely try to soldier on but I’m only a mere mortal. Have I mentioned yet that there are 104 columns in the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Greece? We all know how those gods treated mortals’ hubris. Quite frankly, I’m doomed to failure.
I’m may be guilty of neglect but I hope you can see that I am trying to make amends bit by bit and overcome this fatal flaw.
EDIT: I just want to be clear that all these books are electronic ones not paperbacks. I read those ones fairly quickly otherwise they stare malevolently at me until I do.
Backchatting Books 
I wrote something similar in my BTT entry – little physical damage but neglect is just as bad. Great minds think alike…
Yeah. I’m working through mine as fast as possible but I just keep adding. I think having an eReader makes it worse as if you have a physical book, it is far harder to ignore. I’ve read all of my physical copies and I’m just struggling with the electronic ones.
I too neglect certain books. I suppose we all are guilty on that score!
Here is my BTT post
Thanks for stopping by. Your Tintin comment brought back lots of happy memories.
I have all the Albums of Asterix along with the Tintin ones!! I love those to bits!
My huge TBRs suffered from “benign neglect,” in that I didn’t read them soon enough. Now I’m almost caught up….but my story today is a different kind of thing…physical abuse. Unintentional, of course…here’s MY BTT POST
I think we must have been cross-posting. While you were at my site, I was at yours.
in my native language, they would call you: penimbun.
but its fine, its approved as bookworm problems 🙂
A book hoarder right? I’m afraid I resemble that statement.
Don’t even get me started with my TBR list. I have 80 ebooks on my Kindle and 150 on my Kobo. I’ve only read a quarter of them, if that. And my actual books! This is getting to be a serious problem for bookworms. It’s so hard to resist getting that shiny new cover on display!
Andrea K. @ Books and Bindings
Booking Through Thursday
I’m glad to meet a fellow addict.
I’m also attracted to shiny new covers but do not usually abandon the existing ones.
It was easier when I didn’t check out places like Goodreads because I wasn’t aware there were other options out there. You’re far stronger than me.
I so understand that problem. I used to do that with my physical paperbacks, now I hoard books on my kindle. I have so many I haven’t read, yet I keep accumulating more and more as I view other people’s blogs and see ones I like.
I saw on someone’s site a strategy where you use a random number calculator to select a book off your To Read shelf. I might have to resort to that.
Great answer! I didn’t even think of it that way. I don’t usually feel badly about neglecting books that I purchased myself, but if I get them as gifts, borrow from someone, or check out from the library and let them sit too long I start to feel badly. Here’s my answer: http://mylittleheartmelodies.com/2013/06/27/booking-through-thursday-book-damage/
The worst thing is when someone asks you whether you liked the book they gave you and you stare at them blankly until they prod your memory.
When my husband bought me a bookcase for our bedroom, I began adding all the gift books to the top shelf. It’s now full. 🙂
I’m guilty too of book neglect. 🙂
Sounds like an awesome guy. I’m double stacking my bookshelves which isn’t ideal but it’s hard to work out which old favourites have to go in order to make way for new favourites.
I’m guilty of neglecting my ebooks too!
Thanks for stopping by my blog 🙂