You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

So, I've recently started writing in my books and even hilighting important parts and putting a matching colored tab with it. Then I got to thinking what if I do this to a book I'm reading and don't like. Can I still donate it and give it a way?

Sure you can still donate and give it away. Charity shops etc may not take them and some people may not want to buy them as they've been highlighted, but others won't mind. I've bought a few books which have been highlighted with comments. They've mainly been non fiction books though.

I used to underline stuff in books too at one point but I stopped, mainly so that if I decided I didn't want the books afterwards, I could still sell them. These were mainly textbooks which were expensive in the first place.

Now I have a kindle and use the highlight and note function on there which is fantastic.

I like it when books look read, but to me, writing in books is sacrilege. I don't mind if other people do it in their books, but I don't do it in mine. Although I may have highlighted sections in my study books...

If I buy second hand books, I'd still buy them if there are a few small notes, but not if there are lots of notes and if there are highlighted parts. When I buy second hand books online I skip the books that say 'there may be highlights or notes inside'.

But I'm sure there are many people who wouldn't mind!

For me, I don't like writing in books. I will go out of my way to get a pristine edition, banishing bent corners and all of that. Even if it means spending more money, I never bought a second hand book.

Like Peggy said, many people wouldn't mind so I do think it is OK to donate it, even if you've wrote in it. I know people who love second hand books and love seeing the input of the previous owner(s).

I agree with Clement. My childhood training really stuck!

Again I agree with Clement, I try keep my books in pristine manner, I put protetive plastic on dustjackets. I will annotate a study book if i have bougt it for that purpose but thats a rarity these days.

What you do with your owned books is your business, but please do not do it to library books. I cannot believe that people disrespect library books by eating and getting food particles in them and underline or scribble with pencil in them. (I always try to clean up the pages and straighten out bent and dog-eared corners before I return them, when I get them that way.)

I am not above buying a used book that has highlighter or pencil marks or notes. Sometimes it is fun to see what was interesting to someone else. That said - I personally, do not write in my books or highlight things though.

If you want to sell your books back to a book re-seller (like Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon), they will not buy them if they are not in good order. No marks, or highlighter, or food bits, or bent/torn pages accepted.

Cherie I will never do anything to any book unless it's specifically my copy. I respect other people's property and I'm with you 100% I don't like getting a library book that's been defaced. it's just rude.

I recall buying a book at a thrift shop some years ago that had quite a few passages underlined along with some notations. I found it interesting to see sections that were meaningful to another person, almost like having a dialogue.

Generally, I don't mark up my books. I use post-it notes. I might mark a passage with an asterisk, but put any comments on the post-it note.

I really enjoy that I can highlight and make notes in ebooks. Bonus is that they are searchable.

I think it's fine to give them to a charity shop. A lot of people don't mind books being written in and I have seen plenty of books in charity/thrift shops over the years that had writing in from the previous owner. Personally, I never write in books as I like them to look neat and tidy and new for as long as possible. I use post-it notes if I want to make notes. Dog eared pages and the like are also a no-no for me. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to my books! Lol!

When I was little, my mom and I would walk to the library and I would get to choose some books. When we got home, I had to wash my hands, before we could start reading (and wash my hands afterward as well). I was taught to never mark in a book or dog-ear it. When I got to college, I would highlight my textbooks and now I will highlight a study book that I know I will keep. I never mark in any book which has been loaned to me, including library books.

Ugh, the plastic film on the paperback library books are awful. I constantly have to wash my hands after handling the books. I don't like the smell either.

=)