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What would you consider to be the biggest “sin” to commit against a book?

What would you consider to be the biggest “sin” to commit against a book?

Amber #questionnaire

16
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110 Answers

Seumas

leaving it unread, especially if it’s one of mine! 🙂

8
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Dawn

Water damage or people (non readers) who put a cup of tea/coffee etc on top of the book…always inevitably dribbles on the book and when you move the cup it takes off/rips bits off the cover. Hubby does this, so I no longer leave books on tables, I keep them on the chair or on a pillow to save them from hubby!

3
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Kariann

Writing in it, dog eared pages, spilling on it

4
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Michael

Bending paperbacks back on the spine and dog eared pages

2
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Evie

Not reading in it or writing in it

1
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Kamyu

Burning it

2
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Angie

Banning it. I don’t care if you write in it or dog ear it, because at least you are loving it. Once you ban it, you prevent others from loving it.

11
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Jillian

Ripping the pages out to turn into “art”

2
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Dee

Dog-earring the pages.

1
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Rebecca

Writing in it.

2
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Tracey

Writing in it

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Debbie

Writing in it..that’s what note books are for ??

3
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Barbara

Getting it wet so that you can’t open the pages

1
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Abraham

shelve it without tasting it

1
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Tracey

I don’t consider getting it wet or spilling something on it a sin because that’s an accident.

2
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Danielle

Not reading it.

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Nancy

I dont have a specific one. I am just real careful. Tho I did get one of those Wreck This Journals. It was all I could do to follow the instructions inside! Lol

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Allen

I would say never reading the book at all or banning the book.

2
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Karen

Banning the book.

2
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Sandy

Bending down the corners to mark your spot

1
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Karolina

Ban it

1
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Sandy

Breaking the spine by lying an open book flat face down.

1
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Joel

If it’s your own book, I don’t believe there is any such thing. If it is one you are borrowing, then returning it in any condition other than that in which it was given to you should be considered unacceptable.

4
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Pip

Throwing it in the trash

2
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Alicia

Bending the cover

1
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Michele

Not using a book mark and bending the pages

2
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Michele

Oh, and the worst, those stickers stores put on the cover!

4
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Sve

Not Reading it

2
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Jenny

Burning it.

1
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Eliana

burning it

2
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Charumathi

Dog ears

2
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Terri

Leaving food crumbs between the pages so the grease spreads and the book begins to mold.

3
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Laurie

Splitting the spine so pages fall out.

2
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Katya

everything listed above

2
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Toni

To not read it

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Marc

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” –Ray Bradbury

0
Patricia

Tearing pages out

4
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David

Telling people you liked it – just to be polite – when you really didn’t.

3
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Melanie

I lent a friend a favorite book once. He returned it damaged. His kid dropped juice all over it, the pages were stuck together and ruined. He never got another book from me. All he said was sorry my son dropped juice on it. ?????

3
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Dee

@Melanie That’s why I don’t lend out my books.

0
Kim

@Melanie he should have replaced it.

0
Emily

Throwing it away if you didn’t like it when you could donate and let someone else read it who might like it.

3
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Deborah

Throwing them away, instead of donating them. Unless they’re damaged or written in (that’s a whole different sin).

5
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Neon

Fun question

1
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Thorgeir

Dog ears & not reading it.

1
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Joanne

Throwing in the trash/burning.

2
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Michael

Destroy it

1
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Shevvy

Letting it die at the hands of its mortal enemy. Water.

1
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Katie

Damaging it on purpose

1
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Lori

I just read a book where some previous reader dog eared almost all the pages…I think bending the pages is one of the worst especially in a library book.

2
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Lisa

Doing anything to a book that would be a criminal act if done to a person!! Would you break a person’s spine? WOULD YOU?? ??

4
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Diane

Food on pages and dog eared pages, especially on library books

1
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Lisa

@Diane Library books can be scary! Do you ever turn a page and suddenly be terrified at what your seeing? Is it food or some sort of bodily excrement? Ick!!

0
Diane

@Lisa . I have found the problem on library nooks only. I do not take out too many of them. It is terrifying for sure

0
Carrie

Throwing it in a fit of rage

1
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Marna

Not reading it

1
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Lori

Banning it. Over 11,000 books have been banned to date. Google banned book list. I’m always amazed at some of the ignorant beliefs people have about books. ?

2
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Amanda

To deface one

1
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Jade

Setting wet items on top of it in an unstable environment.

2
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Jessie

Nothing. It’s a bunch of paper.

2
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Roxanna

“Forgetting”- forgetting the story it holds just for you.

1
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Pamela

@Roxanna well that’s what a bad memory will do for you unfortunately lol

0
Elise

Breaking the spine

2
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Tamarae

Nothing the stories inside are what’s important, not the actual physical book.

4
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Elle

OMG @Sarah I found you a friend

1
Tamarae
1
Eliza

not reading it.

1
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Chris

Not reading at all

2
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Džejn

aren’t you in INFP? 😀

1
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AmberQuestion author

I am!

1
Suzanne

Letting people in charge to burn books

1
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Samantha

Lending to a friend and they sell it or throw it away or don’t return it.

2
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Tnoki

I hate that. I try to not give any book to them as much as I can.

2
Samantha

I’ve learned my lesson!! The only one I’d consider is my sister and that’s only bc we live together ?

1
Pamela

I only lend my books to my mom but either way she doesn’t ever borrow mine haha..but yeah forget that ?

0
Lynn

Break the spine.

1
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Robert

Fold the top of the page over instead of using a book mark

1
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Lana

Getting it wet! Books and water DO NOT mix.

1
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Pamela

@Lana I was so sad when a water bottle opened up in my bag and messed up my book ???
Also messed up my laptop lol

0
Lana

@Pamela i know the feeling. I spilled water on my computer. Panic time.

1
Kari

Not sharing it with friends.

1
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Pamela

I don’t do that lol

1
Kari

I think the greatest life a book has is sharing. It’s like sharing a piece of you in a way that only someone who enjoys books understand. Watching a kid light up as they read, listening to someone who can’t wait to talk about it, etc.

2
Loba

@Kari trouble is, I have yet to meet anyone who has borrowed my books and brought them back in the same great condition. If you’re not going to respect others’ property then what’s the point

3
Kari

Just because there are assholes doesn’t mean that I stop sharing with those who aren’t. I don’t stop saying thank you just because someone didn’t say “you’re welcome.”

So maybe I don’t share my 1st edition signed books, but if the book had that much of an impact on me, I could just as easily gift them the ebook or buy them a copy or buy a copy just to share with people.

It’s like a well-loved toy. Sometimes the cringled spine and the folded pages just show that someone loved it a lot, getting so engrossed into the story that they didn’t realize they were fucking up the book. If they weren’t assholes, they’d buy you a replacement, or offer to anyway.

But I also don’t reread many books, so maybe it doesn’t bother me as much because I see the wear and tear as someone enjoyed it the same way that I did, maybe even more. And to me, that’s what books should be, a way of bringing people together instead of tearing them apart for dog-earing a page.

My mom tore the hell out of spines, and the books I read barely looked touched. But watching her so engrossed into the story, folding the pages, shifting around in the chair trying to find a comfortable place so she could continue reading left an impression. Oh it pissed me off when I was younger, but then I realized that I’d rather have a bookshelf full of books that were loved than books that might as well be treated like they were in a museum.

There isn’t a right or wrong way to share a book, but people should respect other people’s property. People shouldn’t tear up spines and fold pages unless the person the book belongs to really doesn’t care.

For me, I don’t care. My favorite books, I just buy an extra copy to share while my 1st copies sit on the shelf and I pull them out to read to my kids, teaching them how to take care of a book that are probably older than they are. My 7 yr old takes care of her books and the library books because someone showed her how, and it doesn’t matter how bad of a shape the library ones are with their torn and folded pages. And I hope as an adult, she continues to enjoy books, and treat them nicely, but at the same time, a well-worn book is a loved book.

1
Adam

Eating it

2
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AmberQuestion author

Is this a thing you’ve witnessed before??

0
Tnoki

Having dust on it before reading it.

1
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Catherine

Burning it.

1
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Deb

Throwing it away.

1
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Ernie

Not reading it

1
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Lorelei

Cracking the spine. For shame!

1
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Pamela

Considering the format of the book over the story.
Not reading the book for any reasons other than not interested in the plot (I’m not judgemental about it though)

1
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Erin

DOG EARING A PAGE INSTEAD OF USING A BOOKMARK!!

1
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Latanya

Stealing it

1
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James

Yep, dog earing, book open and upside down AND writing in a book unless it is a study guide or a dedication.

1
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Brittany

Not returning books to those who’ve loaned them to you!

2
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AmberQuestion author

I still don’t have my books I loan to my friend literally years ago.

0
Jinger

Burning it

1
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Charlene

Breaking the spine!

2
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Mariah

Carve it to make it a box when you could just paint a box to look like a book, carve up a book completely, tear out pages, write over the text in the book with a pen and/or sharpie, burn it, I could go on.

3
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Barbara

Slamming it in a review without reading it.

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Taylor

Yes. I was very annoyed with reviews for The Continent on Goodreads ? At least 80% of them obviously hadn’t read it – some admittedly hadn’t read it ?

2
Deborah

Ripping out pages.

1
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Amber

Oh god I do a lot of these. .. dog-earring pages, shelving and forgetting to read, accidentally spilling water on it, leaving it open and upside down (breaking the spine? but my pages don’t fall out..), forgetting to return them, & writing in them (though they are mine and were either textbooks or I was using free books for art).

1
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Ayu

Doing anything stupid to books that don’t belong to you. If it’s yours, there’s no sins. Your book, your choice.

2
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Jade

waterlogging it. it’s never the same. never.

0
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Cheryl

Not reading it!!! And as I post this, I notice…others have said the same!!

1
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Morgan

??

0
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Michella

Pirating it

2
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