I used to read books in the bath but it got rather irritating having to constantly dry my hands off, and keeping them out of the water because it was annoying to dry them off made it extra irritating. I stopped bothering eventually, as in stopped reading in the bathtub, but things like steam prints from warm hands or such I don't mind much, especially if it's a book I intend to -or have- read a lot. I don't mind some weat for aesthetic purposes ;), so long as it doesn't have any bearing on the integrity of the book. No torn pages if those tears extend into the words, no bent spines, and no falling out pages! Aaaaahh!

I once dropped the library's copy of Salvatore's The Cleric Quintet in the bathtub. All 1300 pages of it. It made a rather epic splash. :p

Ooh, what did the library think about that?

I never heard anything about it, actually. It was still readable once it dried, the pages were just all warped.

Well good chance that book's been through worse

Yeah. By library standards I suppose it's not that bad, especially given the condition some of the discards are in. My best library score was a hardcover copy in great shape of PN Elrod's I Strahd for $2. :). This was, of course, two days after I finally got around to ordering it off of Amazon.

I don't think I'll make too many efforts to keep my copy of War and Peace intact. Given the cheapness of the book, -and it shows in the paper- I'll settle for alive instead. I want to read it again. It's so much simpler -writing wise- than some of the other books I'm trying to slog my way though. It's just long. I suppose I could get a better copy but I like the translation that I have and don't want to go reading other versions to see if I like them as much.

I haven't bought anything from the library because I'm a picky person on what I want to read

The library selections that I've seen are usually pretty small but there are good deals to be had. Discard pile stuff is often free because of the hideous shape but some books are sold anyway, maybe to make space if they aren't getting loaned out.

I only know 2 libraries that are in state but out of town, they have those discount stores for library books, but I don't like their selections which is those female romance Fabio-on-the-cover books XP

Yeah. Apparently Romance is usually where first books go by many authors, since it's the genre where new authors are most likely to sell. My mom has read a number of them and has often mentioned that a lot of them were really good, with the romance thing not really all that big in the story. It's just darn embarassing to carry the book around with the covers they give them.

I'd rather the surreal ones like what usual horror books have like an eye or a mirror

Meh. They go with what sells. Apparently it's routine for the characters in the book to not match the characters on the cover at all. The author may not even have any say in what goes on the cover.

I know partially about that but it's better than a sex scene with fabio on the cover of a book especially when the majority of my library spree has been during high school

I was dry, but my bikini wasn't yet.
I accidentally brushed the pages against the top piece of my bikini while I was putting on my sunglasses.

I immediately took it inside and put it under a large stack of heavy objects.
It looks as if I never got it wet!
I was lucky...

I suppose it would have been worse if I'd gotten it more than just a tiny bit wet.

in the tub?! how aweful, i would have cried^^: i did that /one/ time in middleschool i have not done it since(though it works as i soon started taking showers)

It was after swimming in my pool.
Though I do have a bad habit of reading in the bathtub.
Which is why it's much safer for me to shower...
The temptation is gone!

your not that weird. My Girlfriend is like that with her books. I'll admit I dogear pages sometimes but other than that I try to keep them in rather good shape if possible.

I've never read a book while taking a bath. Well it's been months since I took a bath, I'd rather sleep in a bubble bath rather than reading

I like deep baths so I tend to avoid sleeping. I'd rather avoid sleeping in water anyway. Books don't usually accompany me into the bathtub as much as they used to, seing as I don't take baths as much as I used to either. Since I started writing, I usually have a notepad and pen with me instead.

Well the reason why it's so rare for me to take bathes is simple. I DON'T FIT IN THE TUBS the standard tub size is a length of 5 feet, I'm 5'8-9" so I feel cold at some parts and I'm usually wider than the tub width cause of my birthing hips (that I'll never use.

Anyway, I can't believe I accidentally got drops of honey mustard on the side pages of my mangas but they faded away by blotting a semi damp paper towel.

Ah. Yeah, I'm all of 5'2, so most of me usally fits. Of course, we no longer have a tub here. The last time I had a bath was at a hotel in June, just prior to my sister's wedding. I brought my book but never did get around to reading it. Too many girly things to do, and very little sitting time. I didnt' want ot risk nail polish on the pages, though I might be able to tolerate that a little more then honey mustard being that it's not full of sugar. At least I hope it's not.

I love paths but I usually don't fit well either. I do remember my last roommate taking a bath and reading a manga...only to drop it in the water. We had to buy another one to replace it, the book drowned ><

Never dropped a book in the tub but my sister did spill grape juice all over my beloved copy of Evermeet, Island of Elves. I had read the book twice by then, and was distraught at the damage. That's actually the first time there was some sentiment to the book's wear. Still got a new one though. The cover was never quite the same, and the pages have a slight purple tint. It belongs to my sister now.

She mangled the spine of my first DnD Players Guide by reading it on her pillow, with the pages corners under her elbows. Aahhhh! My precious players guide! Nooo! And thing was she was never inclined to buy her own because she figured she could always borrow them off me. She didn't get that I didnt' want her borrowing my books if she was going to do that to them. That was a long while ago now though. She understands now. :)

Same here!
 

I sort of do the same thing myself. I can't stand seeing my precious books ruined at all! I freak if I accidentally crease a page now, even if the book isn't mine. I cringe when I see people with books that are covered in who-knows-what and if I'm reading a borrowed book and get to a page that has a creased corner, I unfold it and try to straighten it out. I feel so obsessive sometimes though. I plan on getting my personal books covered in that protective plastic (I've already done one book) but I'm too lazy to.

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one that likes to protect my books! <3

I fit into a tub pretty well.
I'm only five foot one inch though.
I've never dropped a book in... thankfully.

One of my friend's cat took a bathroom on a manga (not my manga), I cried oTL

Quiet, you just reminded me of a horrible incidence of book cruelty I was witness to.

I had an... acquaintance in highschool who used to come play DnD with us (despite no one wanting him there) and, one day, after showing off his shiny new Complete Adventurer, he picked up a mace (yes, a real mace, tiny one) and began to beat the cover of the book on the floor... apparently trying to prove some point about the irony of his playing this game with us. He left the book here and I still have it; luckily, only the cover is damaged, but still... why would anyone do that?

And he broke my mace. :(

Strangly I tend to take my music more than books into the bath, unless I'm planning on soaking. I'd rather not risk getting the poor books wet.

I'd rather sleep while taking a bath while listen to zen music

Did he pay you back for the mace Sheol?

If I asked nicely, my cousin might be able to make you a new one. Though his last mace was more of the 'lean out of a speeding jeep and smash a metal garbage can to high Heaven' type then tiny and cool looking, though I'm sure he could pull that off too. And the postal service might take issues with something like that.

My copy of the new 3.5 Ravenloft has a pen gouge - not mark, gouge - in the cover. It's only an inch long and harder to see on he dark cover but still, my book. My brand new book. :(. Oh well. I'm working on calling it "character." At least I always know which copy is mine.

No, he didn't, though the amount of stuff he left at my house when I finally convinced him to stop associating with us was likely worth more, anyway.

And it was a cheap mace from the oriental-import, extremely shady junk store. Only cost like 9 dollars. :p

The over covers I doodle on are the ones that you make them out of paper grocery bags for textbooks cause it's paper and I can make a new one

I remember those, back in high school when teachers insisted everyone cover their book. That's one good thing about owning your own texts. I can scribble all over them without issue. You can always tell which part of a book I've studied because it's caked in various colours of highlighter with pen and pencil scribbles everywhere. I was neater though, with the books that I intended to keep.

We were required to cover our books (almost like as if it was the rules/law of the school, but the book still looked like crap.

Well you can scribble on the paper cover part of the textbook as long a it doesn't bleed through to the actual cover like sharpies, sharpies no bleed works on then but just the basic permanent marker, it'll bleed through depending on how much time/pressure on that one spot.

My textbooks in school all looked like occult grimoires by the end of the year. I had a bad habit of drawing all manner of symbology on my paper-bag covers. :p

I remember before I moved to Colorado all the textbooks would have pictures of penises and grotesque things on any textbook that has pictures on them in Middle school. I wanted to cry on how much kids disrespect things that AREN'T EVEN THEIRS in the first place, I try to treat it like it was my own. We couldn't borrow then like to take it with us cause it'll end up being missing pages and they'll be nothing left of them.

If I accidentally did something such as one time i was tracing Europe and Asia and during tracing the northern parts pf the continents where it was ending up in the spine the page ripped, so I taped it back the pages together to the best that I can do.

Haha I actually hate brand new stiff paperbacks, I feel like I'm going to break them if I try reading them. I much prefer my paperbacks - eh, my books in general actually, even hardcovers - to be ~flexible~ ... I need them to bend, and move and crease. That's why I hate tiny little thick paperbacks and love the (I can't remember the name of the size, but the larger ones) thinner books that you can just flop around. I dogear my pages top and bottom, I bend the spine, I stuff them in pockets and jackets and bags, covers get bent (I DO try not to tear them off completely though...unless I want to)

I ripped off the cover of my Fight Club book and made it a brand new cover of black electrical tape because it just ..felt right for that one. (To be fair that was more of an artistic statement XD)

My copy of the Hitchhiker's Anthology is being held together with duct tape. :'D

And I always, ALWAYS pull off the paper covers of hardback books Dx hate thooose, they're always falling off anyway.

For the record, I meant the paper covers I put over the books I had, not the books themselves.

And, I knew someone in middle school who completely destroyed a textbook, ripped the cover off, ended up getting the entire thing soaking wet... the school ended up making him pay for it.

The dust jacket you mean, Rem? Just to note, apparently as far as book values go, they go down by some 80% apparently if the dust jacket is missing. No matter what condition it is in, having it is better than not.

I'd be the type of person to stash the jacket somewhere or put it back on after reading it.

I've started paying attention to the make of books that I buy. What paper they use, what the cover is like. I also much prefer books to be flexible because it saves the spine. If I can grab a book by the spine and the pages will still flop around if I wave it, that's great. The more expensive books seem to be that way, having bought a whole lot of books for my English courses.

I think it is a bit odd....but what your dad does...it is sacrilegious essentially. I would never do that to any book no matter the age or how cheap it was.

A book affected by wear and tear just shows that it was loved, but what your dad does....makes me want to cry T_T