tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post1544113370886241420..comments2023-10-22T14:27:21.241+01:00Comments on From the Desk of Bee Drunken: What kind of book lover are you?Beehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02375981493145612394noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-35870663134896102432009-11-04T19:46:12.975+00:002009-11-04T19:46:12.975+00:00I think I fall somewhere in the middle....great po...I think I fall somewhere in the middle....great post, thank you. xvvicki archerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07847183975086900816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-5481300978646612452009-11-04T17:38:05.979+00:002009-11-04T17:38:05.979+00:00It depends on if it's paperback or hardcover. ...It depends on if it's paperback or hardcover. With a printing background, I certainly admire the whole package of a hardcover. For paperbacks, I'm somewhere in-between. I try to have a special bookmark, but if not, I may turn down pages. But I never write in them. And there's nothing like snacking and reading - a perfect day on the couch. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-37051068182419941072009-11-03T16:06:47.667+00:002009-11-03T16:06:47.667+00:00Oh - carnal for sure. If a book is really juicy, I...Oh - carnal for sure. If a book is really juicy, I have to underline, comment, make it mine. I hang on to them, so I can savor them time and again.Merihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07024443046207501650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-72493947756635240842009-11-03T08:51:35.589+00:002009-11-03T08:51:35.589+00:00I fall between carnal and courtly.
A childhood of...I fall between carnal and courtly.<br /><br />A childhood of respect for books, read them, enjoy them but never mark them or break their spines etc. A poverty striken student-hood, using 2nd hand paperback copies with marginalia, and torn covers. All with their own particular charm I kept some, now with my notes scribbled in pencil.<br /><br />I have books that are two hundred yrs old, they are my courtly 'lovers'. Read regularly, but protected from the air-con.<br /><br />Thankyou for such a wonderful post Lady Bee.herhimnbrynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01182397064631016552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-1730156250548118552009-11-02T22:56:28.802+00:002009-11-02T22:56:28.802+00:00Carnal all the way!Carnal all the way!Dickhttp://patteran.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-8836198797836609052009-11-01T23:37:00.696+00:002009-11-01T23:37:00.696+00:00I have a daughter who is so courtly with her books...I have a daughter who is so courtly with her books that she doesn't even open them very wide. But I must admit to eating, dog earing, cracking spines (only on paperbacks, of course) and not being overly respectful. It is the content I adore, but then most of mine are paperbacks, and not of the refined type.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13178290697351352495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-22412303993343386542009-10-31T20:37:51.999+00:002009-10-31T20:37:51.999+00:00I am certainly a courtly lover.
I love, love, love...I am certainly a courtly lover.<br />I love, love, love to read and respect the books I come across.<br /><br />reading this was wonderful; thanks for sharing!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-24710606016989661272009-10-31T17:48:37.563+00:002009-10-31T17:48:37.563+00:00When I reach to buy a book at the store, I open it...When I reach to buy a book at the store, I open it to see if the spine is broken. If it is, I usually put it back and reach for another. There is something about the stiff, freshness of the pages. Don't get me wrong, I certainly would buy it, if it was love at first site, and the only copy. I love the smell of the central library and the knowledgeable, stern librarians, that work in ours. <br />I adore reading, and really will take books, any way I can get them. I remember the first librarian that explained to me, I could get a library card. <br />Oh, how I could go on. ; ) <br />Reading has saved me. As a child, when I felt lost, books embraced me. <br />xoxochristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15541888793748453425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-58561027043704763892009-10-31T00:14:14.719+00:002009-10-31T00:14:14.719+00:00I, like you, fall somewhere in the middle. I will ...I, like you, fall somewhere in the middle. I will take my current love to bed, to bath, and even to beach and will wine and dine it but I cannot bring myself to the point of marring a page with a dog ear! I still own many books that were my childhood companions and though they are well-read and well-loved (worn) they are still intact. <br /><br />One of my favorite acquisitions is a copy of Chaucer and His Poetry from 1920. Its previous owner was definitely carnal. But I admit that makes my copy all the more interesting. I especially love the postcard it contains dated June 1,1925 advertising that Barnes & Noble, Inc. will pay cash for "prep" school and college books. <br /><br />The Witch of Blackbird Pond numbers among one of those well-loved friends! The kind you enjoy introducing to your daughters. <br /><br />Bee, what a lovely respite your blog is...thank you!Jamiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16376340819465748862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-29122109405913489502009-10-30T21:46:33.570+00:002009-10-30T21:46:33.570+00:00I reread constantly, usually seasonally ("The...I reread constantly, usually seasonally ("The Witch of Blackbird Pond" every October, for example!) and I love to get to a spot where I want a break, reach to dogear the page, and... find it already folded over where I dogeared it there last year. Such a comforting feeling!<br /><br />Paperbacks only in the bath, and I always feel a combination of protectiveness and sadness when a book I buy has a nameplate or an inscription: who didn't care enough to keep it?Kristen In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03812033421757298431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-1539682791167797342009-10-30T20:03:31.814+00:002009-10-30T20:03:31.814+00:00How did I miss this stunning post?
As you can imag...How did I miss this stunning post?<br />As you can imagine my relationship with books is carnal beyond carnal<br />maybe even including cookie crumbs and jam thumbprints.<br /><br />The letter you found reminds me of the laundry list in Northanger Abbey<br />you know the secret message to be revealed......Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03964291132366262298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-85254923009867651112009-10-30T10:46:53.998+00:002009-10-30T10:46:53.998+00:00I have been travelling for a few days, and it is p...I have been travelling for a few days, and it is perfect bliss to sit down at my computer -- with a cup of tea -- and read through these interesting and thoughtful comments. I am FASCINATED.<br /><br />(Claudia, I WAS thinking of that scene in Charing Cross when I wrote this post.) <br /><br />I thought that I would share a book-related anecdote: On Wednesday night, I got a flat tire coming home from Cambridge. It was dark, and smack-in-the-middle of the 5 o'clock traffic on the M4 (very busy motorway). The AA told us to get out of the car and stand behind the barrier -- for safety reasons. For an hour and a half, my daughter and I huddled in the dark and frighteningly clamorous sound of traffic . . . but happily, we both had books with us (of course). I read mine by flashlight, while she used the light from her cell phone. Yet again, an experience confirms one of my maxims in life: ALWAYS carry a book!Beehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02375981493145612394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-64824513051134641672009-10-30T01:59:41.414+00:002009-10-30T01:59:41.414+00:00Books go everywhere with me - in the car, stuffed ...Books go everywhere with me - in the car, stuffed in my purse, even to the bathtub. <br /><br />And I've discovered that the foil around gum folded up makes a perfect bookmark, as does the receipt from the library. ♥♥ Boomer ♥https://www.blogger.com/profile/11304000268484230167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-74261803245516312432009-10-29T23:52:27.530+00:002009-10-29T23:52:27.530+00:00Oh, I really enjoyed this post! I'm decidedly...Oh, I really enjoyed this post! I'm decidedly carnal, except for writing. I cannot even write in books that are supposed to be written in, like workbooks. It feels wrong somehow.<br /><br />And yet I have in my collection an old French/English dictionary that I bought precisely because some long-ago French student wrote things in the margins and left little notes to herself tucked in the browning pages...<br /><br />(I can't imagine the point of a bath without a book. Might as well take a shower and have done with it!)Meredithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11454557080455458675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-76237107167603107492009-10-29T12:15:26.623+00:002009-10-29T12:15:26.623+00:00What a fabulous post!
I fall beween the two grou...What a fabulous post! <br /><br />I fall beween the two groups as you do, stuffing anything at hand in as a bookmark, reading while eating or drinking tea, and carrying my book with me wherever I go. But I never write in books, never, not ever.<br /><br />Courtly yet familiar is my approach, as if my book was my BFF. Thanks for this Bee. Fantastic.Reya Mellickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13076092659507965666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-25230880545002123692009-10-28T23:49:38.746+00:002009-10-28T23:49:38.746+00:00i'm never without a book somewhere on my perso...i'm never without a book somewhere on my person <br />yes i have circled the occasional delicious morsel with a pencil<br />but<br />only in a 'keeper'<br />and i treasure a copy of 'the potter's book' by Bernard Leach, actually given to my mother but [luckily for me] not required by her <br />it's full of margin notes by a former owner<br />and having spent too much time trying to retrieve <br />lent books<br />from people who kept them for years<br />i no longer lend. if i feel that i can't give it away, i keep it. and that's that.<br />and if whoever inherits my library can't cope with the occasional pencil circle/tea stain/pressed flower/lost banknote<br />TOUGH.<br />glad to have found your pages<br />best wishes<br />indiaindia flinthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01510066677833871579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-78684115896620811802009-10-28T15:52:21.649+00:002009-10-28T15:52:21.649+00:00I'll give you a clue. This morning I caught s...I'll give you a clue. This morning I caught someone staring at me with an incredulous expression as I had turned my book with the spine facing towards me and was trying to massage out the <i>tiniest</i> crease. I must have sighed audibly and I think she thought I was a freak. Not many people get to almost the end of a book and still have the spine in near perfect condition!<br /><br />I've also replaced my Harry Potter books a couple of times over as people borrowed them and returned them to me looking like sorry paperbacks in a yard sale. It is my own fault really as I prefer paperbacks to hardbacks.<br /><br />Having said that, I did learn to write in my textbook at university with a very soft pencil that could be erased at the end of term. They were never erased in the end as I never had the courage to give them away.<br /><br />Great post!Mandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11931248631361366673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-61599738738579776682009-10-28T15:51:31.797+00:002009-10-28T15:51:31.797+00:00For me, it depends on the book. If it's a how-...For me, it depends on the book. If it's a how-to kind f book, I'm okay with marking it up. If it's not, I feel guilty even turning down the corner of a page.Barriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04678698296265168217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-10034323983072198112009-10-28T15:44:09.321+00:002009-10-28T15:44:09.321+00:00I am definitely a courtly lover. I used to arrange...I am definitely a courtly lover. I used to arrange my books years ago in the way I imagined their authors would become acquaintances with each other. Wacky, I know, but hey, I am a bookworm!<br /><br />Beautiful post.<br /><br />Greetings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-51598312418207120152009-10-28T14:10:31.145+00:002009-10-28T14:10:31.145+00:00Flog me with a bookmark; I am a carnal reader. I ...Flog me with a bookmark; I am a carnal reader. I write notes, underline and star the margins, although in pencil. I have been known to correct typos and grammatical errors in published books. Mostly, I look for the passages that make my heart sing. It is the only way to review a book and to reference it later while I’m writing. I also bring the book everywhere: to the beach, to lunch and, yes, even in the bath. Call them love marks. I’d prefer them to be mine than someone else’s. <br /><br />I am still not a careless lover. If I borrow a book from the library or a friend, I treat it with due courtly respect. I wash my hands before touching my husband’s collection of old books and appreciate the history of past owners. I would never fold back a page or place a break any book’s spine. There is a fine line between passion and abuse! <br /><br />I love this post, Bee!Sarah Laurencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00423008641739156182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-84438864604138081982009-10-28T14:05:50.301+00:002009-10-28T14:05:50.301+00:00This reminds me of the delicious variety of physic...This reminds me of the delicious variety of physical forms that books take. I love opening a really old book and noticing the differences in typeface and organization. Whether the paper is fine or acid cracked. <br /><br />Paperbacks range in sturdiness from the ones that fall apart almost on the first reading to perfectly weighted little books that last for years. I love to buy Penguin paperback just because of their size and heft. <br /><br />I bought a couple of old science fiction paperbacks from the 40s at a library sale last year. They are starting to flake and fall apart because they are true pulps. But that's why I like them. Ephemera that's lasted longer than expected.Nimblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16426446791363667887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-28089357738644931352009-10-28T03:48:24.555+00:002009-10-28T03:48:24.555+00:00I am courtly and overly fussy about my books but I...I am courtly and overly fussy about my books but I will buy a book if it is inscribed by someone I'm familiar with. I'm really snobby about lending...just won't do it. And I love finding old books with uncut pages. <br />Have a great week, Bee!<br />Catherineceeceehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15962254736526651858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-16764429074073029112009-10-28T01:47:39.785+00:002009-10-28T01:47:39.785+00:00I'm trying to decide what kind of book lover I...I'm trying to decide what kind of book lover I am. I don't really fall into the courtly love group. I mean, I love my books, but not for the paper they're written on. So I don't think that's me. But I also don't see myself as a carnal lover. I never write in the margins unless it's a textbook... <br />Hmmm, I think I'm an absentee lover. And that kind of distresses me.rxBambihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14334316477460537688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-55248979741180348342009-10-28T01:06:34.665+00:002009-10-28T01:06:34.665+00:00One of the best scenes in 84 Charing Cross Road is...One of the best scenes in 84 Charing Cross Road is the one when she receives a present from the shop's staff - a rare book. So precious, they had decided to write their gifts inscriptions in a separated sheet. She feels almost angry they did that, for she would love to have her present marked with their love messages. <br />The funny thing about it is that she concludes that the courtly behavior was quite British...Cláudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14210701864800583846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-484915268092812945.post-55054540289169075252009-10-27T23:18:50.539+00:002009-10-27T23:18:50.539+00:00Thanks for popping by my blog today, your comment ...Thanks for popping by my blog today, your comment did indeed show up in my inbox!<br />As you'll already know by now, then, I am definitely courtly...<br />You've reminded me that I must re-read Ex Libris soon.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.com