I recently was gifted a very nice illustrated edition of The Hobbit. I’d love to read it but I’m tempted to keep it in pristine condition and keep it on the shelf. This got me thinking. What do you guys do? Do you read your special editions and “fancy” books and just accept that they’ll be well loved and worn, or do you keep them on the shelf and opt to read a mass market version instead?
by hobbiton1214
7 Comments
Yes but I put cloth covers on them, and I’m extra careful, the cover does a great job at protecting the book, other than that, don’t eat Cheetos while reading and you should be good.
a well read book is beautiful . an unread one is just sad.
It depends!
My signed Harry Potter books have been read to the point of falling apart!
But my first edition hobbit .. I have only opened it to make sure that chapter 5 was the right version 😂
I don’t tend to read my physical copies just because I often get migraines due to varying text sizing and lighting, so to avoid significant eye strain and brain pain I read exclusively on my kindle.
I do collect books though. The copies I’m less concerned with I will loan out, but I do have favorites that will never leave my shelf like my copy of The Two Towers that was signed by John Rhys-Davies and the set it came in.
[My shelf](https://www.instagram.com/emilys_ethereal_library?igsh=N2lkdjNpZnpjdDgw&utm_source=qr)
Yes I do. But I’m especially careful with them, just like with my comics.
My Granma bought me Lord of the Rings when I was 12.
She took it when I was about 25 and fixed it up.
It’s my precious now.
It’s a broken book, but I’ll not fix it. Only my Granma can….
Absolutely, and I read it exactly the same way as any other book. Books are experiences to me not simply a material possession.