Reading Habits

This post on Book World was too perfect (I must admit, I share most of her odd reading habits). To add to her list of "Ten odd things about my reading" list (though I mix my obsession with books in there too):

11. Used books, icky!

12. I love books so much that I impulsively lend them to people, who I know aren't really that interested in reading it, but rather just commented that it sounded interesting when I was raving about it just to be polite. And then, after they leave my house I go into a panic that I lent a book to a Complete Stranger and I stress and mourn over the book which I know now to be lost. Tears are cried and hair is torn until I can't stand it anymore and I demand that my husband call his 13-year-old sister to ask for my book back from her, I mean, she Has to be done with it by now! To which he responds, "But she just left an hour ago!"

13. I hand out a printed list of rules when I lend my books out, including where they are allowed to leave the book (not in the car, the sun could fade the cover), where they are allowed to read the book (no beaches or while eating), and proper book handling etiquette (such as no dog earring, be mindful of the spine, etc.) However I break nearly all of my rules except for the etiquette rules (I'm careful to avoid getting fingerprints on the cover of my books to such an extent that sometimes my fingers cramp up from holding the book on its edges).

14. I've gotten to the point that I rarely lend out books anymore due to the stress it causes me and the extremely rude looks I get when I hand the lendee my rules. Instead I've resorted to actually buying a friend or loved one a copy of the book I wish for them to read, even though I know they aren't really that interested in reading it, but rather just commented that it sounded interesting when I was raving about it just to be polite.

15. Even though I know I'll change my mind after I finish my current book, I have to have a physical pile of books that I'm going to pick from for my next read. I always ultimately end up choosing a book not in the pile at all, but it comforts me to see the pile on my desk and to know that I will have a place to go after I'm done with my current read.

16. I have often cried at the end of books, not because the ending is sad but because I'm so devastated that I'm not a part of that world anymore. The mourning can last for days, in which I'm irritable and may not be able to move on to another book because I feel like that's a betrayal to the book I just finished.

17. I have a very particular and non-sensical (except to me of course) way of organizing my books in my book cases. I'm so picky about it that I won't let anybody put a book away for me, less they put in the wrong spot, the horror!

18. I Have to be the first one to read one of my books. A friend once asked to borrow a book which I own but haven't read (only one of the many unread books I own) and I literally gasped and never looked at her the same way again.

19. I have an account at LibraryThing but my list is incomplete because the only time I'm willing to add books to the list is when I'm at work and have to be on the computer (to look busy) and I have so many books that I can't remember all of them. And I can't add books to my list when I'm at home because that takes away from valuable reading time.

20. Library books, icky!

Update: I literally spent 2 hours in Borders yesterday with a fellow lover of books looking at books, holding books, reading poems from books, sitting in the little coffee area talking about books, trying to stop self from buying books when I already have fifty plus books at home I still haven't read. The joy I felt in the book store is what my husband calls "a kid in a candy store," and he's right on. If that's not some sort of sick obsession with books, I don't know what is...