What is something you like and dislike about used books?
What is something you like and dislike about used books?
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What I like about them is the story being retold and read in a different way by each reader. What I dislike about them is the way some readers leave them after they’ve finished the book
Missing pages. Writing in the book
Dodgy stains….
Like : the price ?
Dislike: missing pages
Nothing, I’m glad if previous person enjoyed it and even wrote in it!
Dislike – The thought someone might have read it while sitting on the toilet.
Dirty or yellowish pages and the smell. Nope.
I love the writing in the margins of used books. So interesting to see what former owners found worthy of noting.
Like they are cheap
Dislike occasionally finding a dead insect or something gross
Corners folded over notes written down the sodas and drawn around the pages numbers ugh don’t get me started about people reading in the bath and books water damaged enough said about used books
Like: YAY! Books!
Dislike: Possibility of getting bed bugs.
Love used books.. Hate how some places overcharge.
Germs, dog-eared pages, smoke odors, food stains, other disgusting things stuck to the pages, writing, broken spines, and I don’t like to buy library discards.
Writing in the book. I bought a book for my son and it was highlighted, underlined and written in the margins and over the text. Now I look through all 2nd hand books I buy.
The SMELL…especially if the previous owner was a smoker…
I don’t like if they smell on mold, otherwise they are fine
Like: cheaper price
Dislike: dried boogers on the pages!
Dried Boogers…. That’s the first I heard of that. ??
@Edward all the time in library books! I prefer Overdrive.
Missing pages would be my only concern
If they smell like cigarettes ?
Usually it’s the smell that dissuades me from buying used books!!!
I go to a big book sale every fall and they go through the books and don’t accept smelly or well used books.
I like that they’re cheap.
I dislike that they’re often damaged or marked.
Smelly books like above
I love used books. They have their own story to tell, other than the story between the covers.
Second hand books are wild books, homeless of sorts. They have all come together and have a charm. They have a mysterious story to tell both inside the pages as well the book itself as to where it has been.
if the previous owner spilled, juice/water/pepsi on the pages and dried the book , and the smell, old brown newsprint just put me off, it make me feel itchy and creepy, for example i paid 1$ for an OLD copy of A FOOLS ALPHABET, i finished reading the copy but the book was in a bad state, i think i got affected by some mild acne
I only ever buy used books and preferably exchange them back too.
I like that a book is getting another chance to be enjoyed and you can’t beat the cheaper prices. I don’t like that sometimes people leave behind finger smudges, crumbs, and what I can only imagine is boogers.
Germs and people tend to lie about the condition of the book – I got one for my son that was supposed to be in very good condition but the spine was broken and pages were falling out.
lol – germs. I suppose that’s the advantage of living with a large family, germs do not even enter my head. I’ve had it all and rarely get sick.
I’m sorry to hear about the spine issue. I occasionally have that trouble but usually the book is so cheap that I just get another one. Overall, I have found much success with used books.
Like – cheap.
Dislike – sometimes it smells.
And lastly, I like reading what some people write in the book. Especially on the title page – when it’s a gift. Or occasionally find a card in the pages of the book – that’s fun.
Love old and used books, prefer them over new.. I like them marked and winked and pages that have been folded.. tells a story shows that they have been enjoyed by others tells me they have lived with a purpose and have passed many hands.. just like people show me your scars and winkles and grey hair
I agree completely!
They sometimes come damaged, whether it be the spine or cover to writing inside or dog earred pages.
Don’t mind. Except the time library book REEKED of cigarette smoke. Put it outside and that still didn’t help.
Yeah, every once in awhile I get a bad one too. I remember getting a musty smelling one. I think there was water damage.
I like seeing where an original owner wrote their name and address, especially if they go on to write comments in the margins. It’s like getting to know someone.
Nothing! I would rather pay for brand new.
I like how they are a bit cheaper. I don’t like the condition I sometimes find them in.
I like that I don’t need to worry about getting them wet etc. When I have a new book I try too hard to keep it pristine. I also love knowing that the book has a history all its own of other people escaping into another world just like me… I love finding writing in a book and I once found a fortune from a fortune cookie.
Dislike, when previous reader writes in them. Like, what I find in them. I have found shopping list, receipt from when it was bought new at an airport in AZ, and once I found an old family photo in a library book. I turned it in so they could return to the owner. I know I would want it returned id it were mine.
Dog eared corners drive me crazy…lol
dislike—dogeared pages and unnecessary writing. you can tell the difference between taking notes in the book and just being the closest piece of paper around.
like—notes that people add in that makes sense to the book (weird one of not minding writing in the book if it’s for the BOOK it’s in). believe it or not the age feeling and look of them. i got an Agatha Christie anthology for $5 love the look and feel of it.
I love the worn frayed feel of the old hardback, the pages are different too
The millions of built up bacteria from the people who read it. Especially if it’s an erotic book…
Or the readers who read on the toilet or don’t wash their hands. ?? I definitely don’t have a romantic view of used books!
dislike that sometimes they smell bad.
I always smell the used book before buying. Lol I will even smell the library books and pick a different one if it has a odor.
I like the price. I like the treasure hunt and not knowing what I’ll find in a thrift store.
I dislike the poor quality of many of them. Dog-earred, written on, broken binding, are all deal breakers.
I like they are cheap I dont like that other peoples germs whatever they might be is on them
I’m wild about used books, but I closely inspect the pages–and the book spine–before purchase!
I have old books from the 19th century….there are some with notes written in them…very cool?
Like: cheaper, interesting notes from the previous owner
Dislike: dog eared, unnecessary writings
Like-the price.
Dislike-everything else. The book smell is missing. And that’s the best part.
I like that I can buy them 3 for $5 at my 2ndhand store, even 1st editions, classics and 100 year old books. But I dislike the way some original owners have treated some of them.
you are getting them at a better price , i pay $5 for especially Stephen king, Follet, Grisham, fedreick f, Daniell s, we pay up to $8
Creased pages and you’ll never know if a page is missing until you read it….
The price is one factor, but I am discriminating on the condition~~~look for one in mint condition. Am picky. ?
Got one this weekend- says turn to page 226. Page 226, says turn to page 250 and back again lol
When they reek of smoke. Or you find mysterious and frightening stains on some of the pages.
i hate reading a book that people have written in or made notes in. drives me crazy
Dead bugs inside…yech
Cigarette smell ?
Im terrified of bedbugs. I got them from a library book once so I don’t do used books anymore.
Sometimes there is a smell with older used books that effects my enjoyment of the book. Another is when the book falls apart when I start to read it. (Though used book sellers have gotten better about checking the book before they accept it.
Dislike turned down page ears, writing in books, broken spines. Books are treasures….
Like: Old notes and different kind of bookmarks
Dislikes: Mystery Stains, ripped and missing pages
Cat hair! I’m allergic.
Writing in them
I loved used books. They have character and are pre-loved.
Cigarette smoke and missing pages, would be a complaint, but you can usually smell the smoke before ….and I’ve been lucky about missing pages…1 book with missing pages, one book!!! ?
I like that I can get a book I want at a cheaper price, and if it’s in great condition that’s a bonus. I won’t buy if there is permanent damage, such as breaking the spine, writing on the pages/margins, watermarks, etc. Keep a tablet near you to write on instead! I also refuse to buy books that smell of cigarette smoke. I’m not a germaphobe otherwise I wouldn’t be able to borrow library books.
Second hand books are wild books, homeless of sorts. They have all come together and have a charm. They have a mysterious story to tell both inside the pages as well the book itself as to where it has been. #usedbooks #books #bookshelf
Yup smell
Like the price, don’t care for condition sometimes, or finding hair inside. Yuk.
I know it sounds weird, but I like used books when they’re kind of worn, that way I don’t feel bad if I create any markings in the book.
Stains on the spine or sides
They’re cheap (like), they’ve been in somebody else’s house (dislike)
Sometimes they feel grimy ?♀️
I have always bought used books, but am very careful about choosing them. I like that they have been broken in and loved before me.
Wondering if somebody read it in the bathroom.
Oh wow thanks for that??
Yeah I used to do that. ?? Not anymore I promise!
Messy pages?
Coffee stains… At least i think and hope they are coffee stains. Dried blood looks the same.
Careless borrowers
Where has it really been?
I don’t like the thought that an author loses out on royalty….
but on the flip side if I like that author I’ve now found a new favorite author that I’ll buy books new from.
I love the price, being in a different time period as books reflect when they were written. I don’t like that I am a bit of a germophobe and wonder how clean the books are.
Sometimes stained with some food product or something, some smell like smoke and bended pages.. I like that they are similiar to orphans
Seeing the price it was before it became a used book. I can to the library and buy five books for about 8 dollars
If people have scribbled in it, underlined inane stuff and if the book smells like cigarettes.
They stink and cheap
Like – smell. Dislike – cracked spines
ugh i got a book from thrift books smells like cigarettes ? whenever i get used books i clean them off… #germaphobe lol
I like the price don’t like when there’s writing or underlining
Smell and when the pages turn yellow.
Old boks are old friends . I’m always happy to find an old hardcover copy of a book I love , like my old Grapes of Wrath with lyrics and music to Glory Hallelujah printed inside the covers .
Oops title of music is Battle Hymn of the Republic .
I…cannot…deal…with…
used…books. They’re just not…pristine ??♀️
I’m too into “clean” ?