I bought a book of D.H. Lawrence short stories at a used bookstore and being distracted by a *bookslide that I may or may not have caused, I didn't really flip through it before buying. Normally I don't mind little notes in books, but this was too much! Just about every paragraph had a note, and most were undecipherable.
And the note jotter also underlined almost every sentence. 
And yet I read the book, trying to just ignore the scribbles and underlining. Why? Because I needed to read it and didn't want to look for another copy of the book. *I had touched a book in the back of the store and it was part of a huge jumble of overlapping stacks that almost reached the ceiling (like a book mountain) but I was in the front of the store when the slide actually occurred minutes later. I was the only customer but the owner told me that slides happen at odd times; that sometimes he opens the store in the morning and a slide has happened sometime during the night. I looked at the slide area and it was bad. I paid for my books and left.
11 comments:
I believe that store is haunted, Avid.
Avid, even worse, is that you get the book home; all set for a good read....and find a couple key pages have been removed!!
A R: found you a clean copy here
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/l/lawrence/dh/prussian/chapter3.html
A book avalanche. Hm. Can you imagine some poor sod knocked out under a pile of Fulton Sheen's Advice to the Matrimonious and other Sanctimonious Sermons for the Befuddled and Bescrewed?
(but - phew! -glad you made it out safely.)
Speaking of missing pages (Sub's comment) --I once bought a nice history of Rock n Roll --a large book, lots of photos, and had it for awhile before I realized the book had no photos or history on the The Rolling Stones !!!-- I checked the table of contents, and they were there --the pages had been surgically removed so you couldn't tell!
I have a couple college texts of my dad's that have margin scribbles - but I like those, because, you know, it's my dad!
Glad you were safely out of the path of the avalanche before it occurred.
What does one yell when a book avalanche begins? "Four!" perhaps? "Timber" also seems somewhat appropriate...
I only once marked, underlined and made copious margin scribbles in a book. I still have it, and will not likely ever recycle it in my lifetime, but you've made me think about possible future readers. Maybe I'll go back and leave 'em an apology! :-)
The bookslide left flood of books among the shelves--it was at least two feet high-- I'm sure the owner had to wade through books to rebuild his "slipshod" mountain. and he'd need a ladder. It's crazy to build book mountains--but he does!
Well, at least that's one thing that can't happen on Kindle! Like you, I usually like those little notes but these seem WAY over the top.
Wow, that guy must stay busy with piles that large! I would be afraid falling books might hurt a customer?
As for marks in books, I only did that in my college texts, never in library books and rarely in others as they do get passed along.
Sorry to hear you're also amongst the unemployed, Avid. I hope things pick up soon.
There's a place I go called the "Book Bear". Before he moved to the new building( a block down from the old one ) you had to be mindful of the stairs. They too, served as "bookshelves".
maybe the person had a weird sort of reading disorder and could only 'grok' if there he/she was providing some sort of feedback system.... hey, i'm off on a thought tangent, but I just am trying to come up with a reason for underlining almost every line in a book!!!!
in college I will confess to beinga hopeless margin scribbler.... I actually kind of enjoy reading some of my notes in some of these old college texts....
once I lent out my copy to paul starr's book the social transformation of american medicine, when my friend returned it he said 'by the way, I think I liked your margin notes as much as the book' ....I was actually quite embarrassed and had lent the book out forgetting it was one of 'those books' from my library..... nothing like baring one's soul....
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