Nerd Rage is a series of bookish problems and nerdy rants.
I don’t know about you guys, but I treat my books as my babies. I don’t like my niece (or even my mom, for that matter) going anywhere near my bookshelves. I want my books to be in an awesome condition and that that I can brag about them being in an awesome condition.
At the bookstore, I have to make sure that I pick up the copy that’s the least dent-y. But sometimes, I can’t leave the house (thanks, school) and have to ask my parents or cousins to pick up my books for me. And when they get me those copies with little, itty-bitty chips or dents on the spine/cover/jacket…
Even those really small chips like these:
Yep, you guessed it. They make me rage.
Why? Well first, with one wrong move, they can turn into BIGGER chips and dents. I’m one of those people who need to move around a lot because I can’t find a comfortable reading position. So yes, I may accidentally scratch my book on the buttons on my shirt, or even on my school ID.
Another reason is because I just hate seeing those odd flecks of white against the covers/jackets. It’s distracting. And I usually have the tendency to pick at these stuff, and then they’ll end up being odd holes where small parts of the jacket used to be.
So yes. I hate dents and chips on my books.
How about you guys? Do you all feel this way, or am I just being really nitpicky?
About Aimee
Aimee loves being a little bookworm (okay–she doesn’t like being little). She also loves chocolates and sweets but is freaked out by the thought of possibly getting diabetes.
Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | all of Aimee’s posts →
I Adork You 
I’m not a hardcover fan anymore but if I do read a hardcover, I immediately take the dust jacket off. Like you said, moving around damages the paper easily. The dents don’t bother me as much if there’s nothing to be done and they came that way from the publisher to the bookstore, but I do get upset if I caused them.
LikeLike
Aw, I can’t take the dust jacket off since I always forget where I leave it. Or if I do remember, my niece would probably rip it, or my mom will put it somewhere else and she’ll forget that. :/ But it’s a good strategy!
LikeLike
Totally agree. I was at Barnes and Noble and there were new paperback versions of Catching Fire and Mockingjay and the cover was already warped and bent in the front from people’s misuse and reckless behavior. grrrrr!!!
LikeLike
I feel like I can’t have an opinion on this. I batter my books. I like them looking well-read :)
LikeLike
Hehehe, I’m kind of hard on my books…. I don’t mean to! But when I tote them around in my bag, they tend to get a little…bent, or rough around the edges….I never really mind (unless like, there’s humongous tears and severe damage, then yeah, I get that “NERD RAGE!”) because I feel like it gives them a little bit of personality :D
LikeLike
Not to that extreme per se. But I do get mad when I’m reading along when a page of a book floats away unexpectedly. It happened to me once! It was maddening. Needless to say, I had to buy another copy. :)
LikeLike
Oh my gosh this post is brilliance. FINALLY THERE IS SOMEONE LIKE ME. I hate, hate, hate lending people my books (not in a selfish way… If I own a really good book that I want my mum to read, I’ll get it from the library for her, because I know my copy will come back all tattered) and even the slightest blemishes on them annoy me to no end. I once pulled out all the copy of a certain book I wanted in a bookshop, just to find the “perfect” copy. Needless to say, I got a couple of weird looks… :)
LikeLike
I am so with you on this. I’m totally OCD as well in the bookstore, and I alwaaaays pick up a few books and compare their quality. And you know what, I’m not ashamed with being this way because then I will have a pristine book sitting on my shelf. I’m not fussed about cracked spines though, because it shows you’ve read and loved a book … but if a book is dented/used looking before I even buy it, then I wouldn’t pick it up. Sigh.
LikeLike
I don’t think that you’re being nitpicky at all Aimee, I’m very particular when it comes to my books. I usually have to go through several copies at the bookshop before picking my copy and I only have a handful of people I let borrow my books! Great discussion post Aimee!
LikeLike
I also don’t like dent, creases on my copies. They don’t know important to us bibliophile the crisp condition of our books. But sometimes, things like this happens, and the only way to cope is to avoid denting it even further. I just handle it very carefully.
LikeLike
Haha I’m the same way! When I buy a book in the store, I always look for the cleanest copy – I can’t help it! Lately I’ve been trying to get over it though – as long as it doesn’t look *too* bad, then I try to tell myself that it’s what’s inside that counts. :P
LikeLike
Haha, I commented on your Instagram picture about this but YES, I hate it too when a brand new book comes with chinks or slightly folded corners — especially for paperbacks! I know it’s to be expected, though, if I ordered in online and the book has been stuffed into a package for about two weeks, but it still ticks me off. Hardbacks aren’t cheap, too. :( Another sort of related pet peeve is when the price tag is so FREAKING sticky that every time I try to peel it off, it leaves glue residue all over the back of the book, or little white flecks of paper. Ugh!
Luckily, the people I lend my books to are pretty responsible, so they mostly come back in the same conditions they were when I first lent it to them. xD
LikeLike
I can totally relate to this! I hope there’s a cover for book dust jackets. (Unfortunately, I can’t find it here) To avoid these dents, I usually remove the dust jacket, put it on my shelf and leave the book naked hardback to avoid the damage.
Btw, I’m tagging this blog to do the “Seven Deadly Sins” tag. ;)
http://beatricemasalunga.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-seven-deadly-sins-tag.html
LikeLike
It used to bother me, but sometimes it’s inevitable to get some of those chips in the dust jacket at the bottom. There is one thing I can’t stand and that’s when the sides from your paperbacks fold or when the spines crack, but those little chips.. I can deal with them.
LikeLike
I usually hate them and I wish I would be able to pick, but as majority of my books come from TBD well I don’t have much choice, do I. But still I completely understand you as when I pick up books here from bookstores I always look for the one that’s in perfect condition. Great post, Aimee :)
LikeLike
Arg, yes this! It makes me sad when I accidentally chip/scratch them, but it makes me even sadder when I receive the book in that condition ): I usually take of the dusk jacket for travelling, haha.
LikeLike
I despise the little dings and dents on HC books -_- Amazon has been pretty wonderful about not leaving any. Bookstores are wonderful at keeping the books clean and unsullied. I dropped an HC book yesterday and the spine got detented. It hurt my bookish heart!! :P
LikeLike
I’m a freak about books being absolutely perfect. ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!! No creases, scuffs, etc. Even after I read it. I could never dog-ear a page or write in a book. NEVER! Except for an author’s signature, of course. ;)
LikeLike
omg dude this exactly. I get so flipping pissed and i want a refund because MY HARDCOVERS MUST HAVE TO LOOK PERFECT. No tears, not the smallest one. I feel you, girl.
great post! <33
LikeLike
Most book bloggers would be horrified by how I handle my books– I break book spines, spill coffee on dust jackets, destroy paperback covers because who thought it would be a good idea to put a sticker there, and oh gosh, WHY IS IT SO DARN STICKY *cue the sound of tearing paper*. I have such high anxiety when people let me borrow the books (it’s not like I even ask to borrow the book).
LikeLike
I’m with you on this! I try to keep my books as pristine as possible, I usually take the dust jackets off of the hardcovers and put them on the shelf out of the way. There are some days when I just don’t care what happens though.
LikeLike
Oh I’m exactly the same Aimee, I have to check each book at the store to check that I’m getting the one in the most perfect condition! I recently lent a book to a friend and it came back with a bent cover and terrible chips in the spine, I was so upset :S
LikeLike
FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT. I’m a terrible book-buyer because by the time I get home, that’s when I notice the little chips or dents at the bottom of the spine or the dirt in pages and URGH. It just infuriates me. Books should really come with a HANDLE WITH CARE sticker or warning.
LikeLike
I’m exactly the same, and one of the reasons I stopped buying from TBD. All my covers were turning up tatty, badly scuffed covers and with those little rips in them. It’s hard when you love books so dearly, sadly not everyone treats them with as much respect as we do.
LikeLike
I’ll be the odd duck here, but I don’t mind it. which is strange, as I have legit OCD (I take meds for it and everything). however, this may be because I prefer buying used books, so I’m used to it. why used?? because I love seeing the notes that other people have written in the book. I like seeing another perspective on reading the same thing.
LikeLike