I have a thing about needing books to be in perfect condition. I love a brand-new book, straight from the bookstore, with pristine covers and pages yet untouched. Similarly, I shy away from books with marks, folds, dents, rips, or any other signs of use, no matter how small. Nothing infuriates me more than price tags that leave behind a sticky residue on the top corner of a book jacket. Can bookstores just all agree to stop using those? I’m not sure why I have this obsession with needing books to be in pristine shape. It doesn’t carry over into other areas of my life – my desk at work being a prime example. It may be because I was taught by my mother from an early age that “books are my friends,” and I should treat them with respect and dignity. It was considered the height of incivility to lay a book down on its face, pages splayed open and spine cracked. I was always supposed to use a bookmark, and never turn down a page corner in order to keep my place. I was never, ever allowed to write or highlight in any book.
from The Need for Books to be in Perfect Condition: A Condition











