I used to be the most uncouth reader. If a book lover analyzed the book I had just got over with, he could surely sue me for sacrilege.
Cover page was mutilated owing to my mindless abstract artwork. Pages sodden as the book was left by the window in the rest room and were rudely underlined with multicolored ballpoints. Book-mark was considered an unnecessary luxury and the pen used for the same purpose left the book deformed forever. Edges were torn down and they became my modified tooth-picks (I know! I know! This was so below the belt!). No surprise that lending a book was a nightmare. Defilement needed to be put an end to.
Lately I have seen an improvement though. A dog-eared page makes me cringe. I have actually started to use a book-mark. Well it’s not exactly a book-mark; I just found another use for my Telenor prepaid cards. Instead of underlining the whole paragraph, a single dot on the margin does the trick and I have finally recovered from making to-do-lists at the end pages.
I don’t know whether there is anything to infer from this new found respect for books. I just know one thing for sure that they are going to be with me for quite some time and I can’t afford to offend them.
4 comments:
I don't know, I still prefer folding the corner of the pages to a bookmark. Awais uses this chic bookmark with magnets! I am planning to steal it.
:D
:P B*b* you ain't good at covering your tracks.
Amazing to read someone's book-keeping habit can change so drastically ...
I was and partially still am one of the people who take extra care of the books like mentioning on title page the date of purchase, scotch taping the corners of the cover ,marking favorite lines by putting parenthesis (with lead pencil only *eye roll*).In short keeping them as new as unused. But now all these rituals have begun to convey a sense of futility ... its an annoyance to see a kori kitaab.So if any line strikes a thought , I underline it with a lazy stroke of ball-point and scribble marginalia and ask my (few reader )friends to do the same.It makes the copy more precious , for its double fun on next read. With different things written in different inks at different times ,you can actually see the evolution of your own thoughts.
Yup and it can also tell you when to shove a bezoar down someone's throat :) Happy Reading
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