This isn’t a comment on how people should take care with other peoples stuff but if you loan a book, you should expect it to be read.
Dog earing, spin snapping, water damage; you should expect it all to happen if you loan out a book.
(It’s why I don’t loan books)
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I mean regular use sure. Turn the pages, fold em I don’t care. Fuck you for water damage
Yeah you’re right this is an unpopular opinion take my up vote. If I loan anything to anybody I expected to come back in the condition that I gave it to them in. That’s just common decency.
No. except maybe some crumbled spin, this is nothingthat happens from “reading” a book.
If you damage my property you should bare minimum apologize. But water damage? I expect you to replace it.
So does this count for everything you loan out or just books?
Do ketchup or mustard stains fall under normal wear and tear?
Weird way of saying you can’t read a book without being careless with it
‘Should’ you expect the most realistic and likely outcome, or ‘should’ you expect the worst outcome to prepare yourself and prevent being surprised?
I expect someone else to be relatively careful with my book when they read it, I don’t think that’s an unreasonable expectation. I expect that when someone is relatively careful, it’s pretty likely that the book will be mostly undamaged.
Spine breaking is totally valid, that happens while reading. Dog earring is only allowed if previously agreed upon, some people do it and some can’t stand it, you gotta ask first. Water damage? Fuck that.
No. If I lend something I should not expect the other person to be a piece of shit and abuse the object. Why is this even remotely considered acceptable?
Dog eared pages and water damage are not acceptable wear and tear from regular use!
Dude, whatever book you ruined, just replace it.
You absolutely should.
If I loan out anything, ANYTHING it better come back in the same or similar condition. Accidents can happen but if you’re just negligent with other people’s things, you’re just an a**hole.
Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do to a library book.
Dog earing and water damage take deliberate action.
Someone borrowed a book of mine without asking, that had been signed by the author. Let me know she borrowed it when she returned it after I spent a little time trying to figure out where it went. The cover page where the author signed it had a huge coffee ring stain.
I kind of agree, but only to a certain degree. Some wear is unavoidable when reading, but there is a limit on the wear i would expect.
Generally, i only lend paperbacks out that i don’t care about, and don’t lend my nice books out for this reason.
So you took the long way of saying you don’t respect other people’s property. Got it.
Regular wear is fine, but folding the pages and especially getting water on them are both completely avoidable things by just using a bookmark and not reading near water. It’s like any other property you own. If you lend something to someone and they damage it and don’t at the very least apologize, they’re a dick.
Just say “I have no respect for other people’s belongings, even when generously loaned to me”
It’s less words for the exact same meaning.
Dont fucking dog ear like a savage, use bookmarks.
I keep birthday and christmas cards and cut them up (when they get old) to make bookmarks.
I don’t expect them to come back at all. Where I’m from if you hand out a book to someone say goodbye to that book, you won’t see it again.
Water damage? Spine snapping?!! What are yall reading?
Upvote because wtf
Some spine damage from opening the book all the way, the odd smudge, a minor water mark, sure.
Trashed? No. That’s why you shouldn’t lend anything you’ll be really upset if gets damaged, accidents happen, but as an occasional borrower, if I drop a book into water I’m buying a replacement.
Water damage and dog earing are AVOIDABLE. Take care of it and use a damn bookmark. If you can’t take care of something that isn’t yours then grow the fuck up
Also upvoted because holy shit what an unpopular opinion
I think this comes down to wear and tear vs neglect/abuse. I think your version of wear and tear is abuse/neglect. I’ve borrowed so many books. When I was a kid my mum would get books out we liked and she let me read them 1st. For that one lend of a book it was treated well with multiple people. Water damage is just abuse of the book.
I don’t agree with your post in any way shape of form. So I guess right sub for this. Thanks and I hate it.
Sounds like you fucked up someone’s book and want the internet to agree with you
I agree. Matter of fact, if I loan something out, I basically assume that I just gave it away. If it gets returned, it’s a pleasant surprise.
I disagree about dog eared pages. That’s an intentional act and it’s disrespectful. Water damage and spine snapping are slightly excusable since they’re accidental.
I never expect books back i loan out.
In fact sharing books is what i miss most about paper copies, now i do everything on an eReader
Water damage? No. If I borrow a book and get water on it enough for there to be visible damage that’s not just general wear and tear and I’d offer to replace it.
Slight wear and tear is one thing. Dog earing and water damage, though? No. That is avoidable.
Good books don’t come home…
A well-worn book is a happy book. A book that looks as if it’s never been read is just sad.
You don’t need to damage or rip a book apart to read it? Is it that hard to keep it in a spot where pets can’t reach or keep it away from places with alot of water?(take the upvote)
The only thing I hope for when I borrow books is that they will be returned to me. (it still doesn’t happen all the time, but I love my friends too much not to share what I like)
id expect the spine to be a bit bendy maybe? but besides that – it should be taken at least decent care of. fuck you if youre leaving it where it can get water damage or stains, and as for dog ears, just use a bookmark? thats someone elses book
> if you loan a book, you should expect it to be read.
Yeah that seems reasonable
> Dog earing, spin snapping, water damage
OP I have a serious concern about how do you read books.
Like do you also tear the pages aways as you’re done reading them?
Do you know that usually books are supposed to be readable more than 1 time?
If you loan anything out, don’t expect it back at all.
I expect people that borrow anything from me to return it in the same condition. This is a basic expectation.
You should not dog ear, draw in or mark up any book that isn’t your own. If you accidentally damage the book in any way (including water damage wtf), you should replace it.
No just no
Sometimes shit happens but loaning someone a book and expecting them to read it in a reasonable amount of time and it in about the same condition as a reasonable expectation and should be the norm
My guy people been using library’s for centuries and only the ungrateful and honorless deface books from the library
The water damage is so diabolical I’m starting to believe OP did that exact thing to someone else book.
I only have one friend I will loan books to because I know she is very intense about keeping books nice.
No you can expect it in a great condition. Not perfectly new but great you can expect at least
Have you ever read a book? It is SOOO easy to read an entire book and have it look basically brand new when you finish. Unpopular opinion for sure my friend!
This isnt an “unpopular” opinion. It’s a “wrong” opinion.
You feel so entitled that you think you can damage other people’s property and they should just accept it? That sure is unpopular.
This person probably thinks half burnt is normal too
Nah man, if I loan something, I expect them to treat it better than they treat their own things. Just as I would do if I borrowed something from someone else.
If I loaned a book to someone and they folded a page or spilled something on it, they will NEVER get another thing again. Simple as that.
You should treat other people’s property better than your own, especially if you want them to lend anything to you ever again. If you dog ear my book, don’t ask next time
I shouldn’t expect people to damage my property. If you break spines or dog ears and someone loans you a book, don’t.
No. Use a fucking book mark
A friend lent me a book. I accidentally spilled something one it. I immediately ordered a brand new copy to replace the one I had damaged. Because that’s the decent thing to do.
Nope. If I can read all of my books without snapping the spine, dog earing the pages, Or getting water damage on them. Then so can you and so can everyone else, it’s called respect.
Some people just don’t have it.
Unpopular indeed.
If someone loans me something, I’m expecting to return it in as close to the original state as possible.
My roommate loaned me a book he thought I’d liked and it quickly developed wear and tear since I take it everywhere with me to read when I have the chance or urge. As a result, it has some obvious marks on the cover and spine despite him having read it prior and it being in near perfect state when he finished. So I bought him a new copy and offered it to him.
If someone loans me something they’ve already used and it’s still well-kept, I always assume that’s how they’d want it back. If it’s worn down, I’d assume they aren’t too picky about it. And if you aren’t sure, ask them or get your own copy to treat as you will.
Let’s flip this, if I don’t expect it back in great condition I’m not loaning it to you
[ Removed by Reddit ]
The fuck? If you loan someone anything the expectation is that they will make every effort to return it to you in the same condition they got it.
Water damage? What the hell are your friends doing with books that you expect books you loan to them to be water damaged?
Who the F expects water damage???
I don’t expect to get anything back I loan. Then I’m not disappointed
I would disagree. I understand that books are different as they are semi easily damaged but also books are valuable to the people that own them and I feel that they should be respected. I have over the years had books for years at a time from people that I lost touch with and met again later down the line and I made sure the books were kept in perfect condition. You would expect slight bending of pages and maybe turned corners but if some asshole damages it or warps the book then that’s a shitty way to treat someone else’s books
no. When I rent a book I return it in pristine condition. If an accident would happen, I would offer to buy a brand new one as replacement. I expect the same. (unless I loan an already damaged book)
The cardinal rule of book loaning is to never loan a book that you expect to get back. A book loan is a gift. Ain’t saying it’s right but it’s true.
..which is why I only loan books out to people I trust to not ruin books.
What the hell, no? If I borrow a book I’m using a bookmark. If you out here disrespecting someone’s book, there’s no telling what else you’ll mess up of theirs. No thanks
So many posts on this sub are people just outing themselves as awful and inconsiderate.
That’s a weird take. Years ago I borrowed a paperback book from someone and my brother bent the front cover. I immediately bought a brand new copy and gave it back to the owner.
Def an unpopular opinion.
You should expect books to be read. That’s fair.
All the things you describe? dog earing, spine snapping, geting it wet? None of them are reading the book.
I read all my books and none of them are water damaged or have crumpled pages. I would expect others to treat them just as well.
I expect reasonable wear from prescribed usage. I will not expect actual damage beyond that.
For once an unpopular opinion! God forbid i expect basic human decency
This post says more about you allowing people to disrespect and destroy your things without setting boundaries than it does about books.
Yeah no lmao, wtf.
Water damage? That’s just disrespectful.
This is unpopular as fuck. If I loan you something it better come back to me in the same condition, or I’m expecting some form of compensation. Why would I expect my friends to trash my stuff?
No. A borrower shouldn’t be dog-earing pages, shouldn’t be letting it get water damage and certainly not writing on the pages. Books should be returned similar to the condition they were loaned out as. Should you expect it to get used when you loan it out? Yes. Expect that it will have some foxing on the corners, that there will be creases in the spine. But there is a vast difference between the usual reader reading a book and someone “reading a book” and treating like dirt.
This is probably the worst take I’ve seen here so far.
Yeah you’re wrong. There’s things called bookmarks so you don’t have to bend the pages, and water damage and spine snapping is you just treating it like shit.
If there’s an accident and it happens that’s different and I would expect an apology like “my bad bro i accidentally spilled some water on it when I wasn’t paying attention”. If it’s all fucked up and he hands it back like it’s nothing I’d be like wtf bro.
I think OP is just trying to justify not loaning their books, this is an absurd take
Water damage is fucked.
You can actually read a book without breaking the spine
Do you not know what a fucking bookmark is?? A piece of paper?? A receipt???
Good. An unpopular opinion. It is common courtesy to take care of other people’s stuff that they loaned you. People have zero respect for other people’s stuff.
If i loan out anything I expect it to come back in the same condition I lent it. Saying dog earing and water staining a book is ok is like saying burning rubber and rubbing my bumper on a barrier drifting my car is ok because that’s how I use a car.
In what world is water damage something you should expect from somebody reading a book? Idk about you but I don’t usually read books while taking a shower or bath
Disagree. If someone loans me something I take better care of it than my own stuff. Accidents happen but it’s extremely disrespectful to purposely be careless. But you’re still right, realistically I don’t expect to get anything back in the same condition I gave it in (usually I don’t even get it back at all) so that’s why I never lend anyone anything.
Also libraries exist if you want to read something that badly. No need to ruin a book your friend paid for.
I totally feel that.
I used to have a friend who if I loaned him my book, he would physically remove the dust jacket and just beat the shit out of the book. “But I kept the picture good.” Bro the whole point of the Dust Jacket is to keep the book clean not the goddamn jacket art…
I don’t loan books.
Absolutely not, spine bending sure although I usually am able to break a book in so the spine doesn’t have noticeable creases. Dog ears, water damage and torn pages are unacceptable and I would expect a replacement as that’s what I would do.