The other day, I wrote a post about libraries freaking me out - and they do! It's the matter of so many books with too many germs on them, and not knowing where they've been.
I know that sounds crazy, but that's me.
Anyway, this got me thinking about bookstores and how people go and handle books there; and where those books have been before landing on the shelves at those places. And you know something? Bookstores don't bother me at all. You see, these books don't have a history of being with every single person in the city before it came to be in my house. It's been to the publishers, the printers, then packed into a box, taped up, tossed into a truck and shipped out to a bookstore.
These books have that gorgeous new-book smell too! I love that smell, it's intoxicating! It's a very clean and sweet smell that a new book has and I love it.
But once a book has been in a library for a few years - or even a few months - it loses that new-book smell. It's been in a few houses and I simply cannot touch it. Yes, I can look at it, but touching it is another thing all together.
Second-hand bookstores vary from each other. There's one at Browns Plains which cleans each and every book as they come in. They wipe them over and spray them, look at them carefully and then add them to the collection after putting them into the computer. 'The Very Good Book Shop' is one place I love going to because of how they handle their books; and I never hesitate to add my books to my collection because I know how they've been handled.
'Archives Books' on Charlotte Street in the city, however, is a dusty bookstore - not to mention haunted (the back section has up to 5 spirits in there who are not happy) and their books aren't clean, but they have history to them. I'll bring them home and clean them before adding them... even put them in apple peelings and coffee and in the freezer if needs be to clean the odour off them (yes I did that once - just once to a book years ago and it worked well!).
However, library books are a no-go zone. I still haven't touched that Nick Earls book I borrowed on Monday... and I now have to return the stupid thing. Now, to pick it up without feeling disgusting and put it into a bag to return it! Oh! Yuk, it's gotta go into my car! I'll put it on the floor in the bag. I can't have it on the seat next to me - I don't know where it's been! Until my next post, happy reading.
I know that sounds crazy, but that's me.
Anyway, this got me thinking about bookstores and how people go and handle books there; and where those books have been before landing on the shelves at those places. And you know something? Bookstores don't bother me at all. You see, these books don't have a history of being with every single person in the city before it came to be in my house. It's been to the publishers, the printers, then packed into a box, taped up, tossed into a truck and shipped out to a bookstore.
These books have that gorgeous new-book smell too! I love that smell, it's intoxicating! It's a very clean and sweet smell that a new book has and I love it.
But once a book has been in a library for a few years - or even a few months - it loses that new-book smell. It's been in a few houses and I simply cannot touch it. Yes, I can look at it, but touching it is another thing all together.
Second-hand bookstores vary from each other. There's one at Browns Plains which cleans each and every book as they come in. They wipe them over and spray them, look at them carefully and then add them to the collection after putting them into the computer. 'The Very Good Book Shop' is one place I love going to because of how they handle their books; and I never hesitate to add my books to my collection because I know how they've been handled.
'Archives Books' on Charlotte Street in the city, however, is a dusty bookstore - not to mention haunted (the back section has up to 5 spirits in there who are not happy) and their books aren't clean, but they have history to them. I'll bring them home and clean them before adding them... even put them in apple peelings and coffee and in the freezer if needs be to clean the odour off them (yes I did that once - just once to a book years ago and it worked well!).
However, library books are a no-go zone. I still haven't touched that Nick Earls book I borrowed on Monday... and I now have to return the stupid thing. Now, to pick it up without feeling disgusting and put it into a bag to return it! Oh! Yuk, it's gotta go into my car! I'll put it on the floor in the bag. I can't have it on the seat next to me - I don't know where it's been! Until my next post, happy reading.
I'm sort of a germophobe myself... Library books are kind of creepy for all sorts of reasons.... Last month, I did a post about the germs found in library books and after reading the article about the germs found in library books, I was like ewww!!
ReplyDeleteSee a link to the post as follows:
http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2016/01/are-there-germs-in-library-books.html
Eeewww!!!! Bed bugs???? OMG!!!
DeleteYup, bedbugs!!
Delete