The strange thing is, throughout all of my coursework for my undergraduate and master degrees, I could never bring myself to even highlight a textbook. I didn’t even like buying used books because I wanted them to be pristine … treasures troves which I alone could open and explore.
People are strange. They think they inhabit a personal universe where there actions have no affect on anyone else … or, perhaps, their egos project them into some sort of "god" status which allows for any action by them to be excused due to their "higher" nature.
I don’t highlight my own textbooks either, ever. *If* I make a mark in my own book, then it’s done very lightly, in pencil, so all trace can be erased at a later date.
I always felt the same way as you do, Michael, about buying used books - and to a certain extent I still do feel that way, though I buy used books nonetheless. Some people really like buying used books because they feel the books have a "history" behind them then - but I think you summed up my feelings precisely when you described new books as "treasure troves which I alone could open and explore." That’s right on the money.
Defacing library books - it just shows a blatant disregard for books, other people, public property, the Common Good… I’ve actually taken to erasing *other people’s* marks in library books just so that the people who use them after me won’t have to wade through the same mess of scribbles that I’ve had to wade through. That should get me some good book karma, or something…
Comments
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This just gets better and better…
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Don’t you mean worse and worse …
The strange thing is, throughout all of my coursework for my undergraduate and master degrees, I could never bring myself to even highlight a textbook. I didn’t even like buying used books because I wanted them to be pristine … treasures troves which I alone could open and explore.
People are strange. They think they inhabit a personal universe where there actions have no affect on anyone else … or, perhaps, their egos project them into some sort of "god" status which allows for any action by them to be excused due to their "higher" nature.
Wow, way too early for this at 0645.
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I don’t highlight my own textbooks either, ever. *If* I make a mark in my own book, then it’s done very lightly, in pencil, so all trace can be erased at a later date.
I always felt the same way as you do, Michael, about buying used books - and to a certain extent I still do feel that way, though I buy used books nonetheless. Some people really like buying used books because they feel the books have a "history" behind them then - but I think you summed up my feelings precisely when you described new books as "treasure troves which I alone could open and explore." That’s right on the money.
Defacing library books - it just shows a blatant disregard for books, other people, public property, the Common Good… I’ve actually taken to erasing *other people’s* marks in library books just so that the people who use them after me won’t have to wade through the same mess of scribbles that I’ve had to wade through. That should get me some good book karma, or something…
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