I miss the old days...

[Rosalind]

My mom on the other hand.....she went through a book every three days, and by the time she was done with it.....If it was used, you couldn't tell the difference, but if it was new, when she was done with it, it would have 80 million creases, the spine would be shot, the pages would be yellowed. The covers would be falling off. Nobody could destroy a book like mom. It got to the point that whenever she wanted to borrow one of mine, I'd simply go out and buy her her own copy.

wow, I can't even imagine that. read a new book in 3 days, with the end result of the book look like it's been in a library for years. that's talent!

I learnt treating books with care from my Mum. We still have some of her books from 30 years ago, the colours might have faded a little, but they're not so different from when she first got them. When she borrows books from the library, she would even repair them when they are torn.

 

[RandyS]

My mom on the other hand.....she went through a book every three days, and by the time she was done with it.....If it was used, you couldn't tell the difference, but if it was new, when she was done with it, it would have 80 million creases, the spine would be shot, the pages would be yellowed. The covers would be falling off. Nobody could destroy a book like mom. It got to the point that whenever she wanted to borrow one of mine, I'd simply go out and buy her her own copy.

wow, I can't even imagine that. read a new book in 3 days, with the end result of the book look like it's been in a library for years. that's talent!

Yeah, mom was talented in that area. Her reasoning was that books were meant to be enjoyed, then shared. She would trade books constantly with my aunt, who was every bit as hard on them as she was. It used to amaze me if there was anything left of it after the two of them were done.

Mom taught me the value of reading, but book care was not her thing.

 

[JD]

I'm another person who likes their books in perfect condition. I don't even like to let people touch my books, because it seems like the first thing people want to do is fold it in half and start skimming the pages. (Which can be rather awkward when you're reading something like Southern Vampire Mysteries or A Song of Fire and Ice.)

 

[UncleMac]

I'm another person who likes their books in perfect condition. I don't even like to let people touch my books, because it seems like the first thing people want to do is fold it in half and start skimming the pages. (Which can be rather awkward when you're reading something like Southern Vampire Mysteries or A Song of Fire and Ice.)

Same here. Been burned too many times with people not treating my books well.

 

[UncleMac]

Indeed. It is entirely possible to read a book multiple times without cracking its spine, dog-earing its pages, getting food stains on it, etc. It simply has to be handled with a reasonable degree of care.

From my experience, some people treat reading as a full contact sport.

 

[Thrawn]

^ Yep. Once I got a job, I just started buying books for people that I especially wanted them to read.

 

[Rosalind]

Been burned too many times with people not treating my books well.

I got burnt from people not returning the books. I remember when I was young, Mum lent a great book to one of her colleagues, never saw that book again. It took both of us 10 years to find another copy of that book.

 

[seigezunt]

Depends on the book for me. I made a point of getting whatever trek books came out in hardcover, in hardcover. The Arnold era books, I don't care so much what condition they are in. And if I read a book and really love it, I often try to find a copy in better condition, and buy it. Frinstance, I hunted down the hardback single volume book club version of Vulcan's Soul, and tried to get one in as best condition that I could. Got a copy of the Invasion! ominbus, got the cheapest used copy I could get: it's so dog-eared and bent, it looks like one of those Thanksgiving table decorations.

 

[UncleMac]

^ Yep. Once I got a job, I just started buying books for people that I especially wanted them to read.

Me too. Should've started my own library.

 

[pookha]

Been burned too many times with people not treating my books well.

I got burnt from people not returning the books. I remember when I was young, Mum lent a great book to one of her colleagues, never saw that book again. It took both of us 10 years to find another copy of that book.

i have a wooden box were i keep the library books and books loaned to me.
so to keep them from folding into my collection.

 

[Nardpuncher]

Heck, I even throw books in the garbage once I'm finished. Or leave them somewhere.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Don't bin your books! Donate them to charity or give them to a friend or something so other people can enjoy

 

[Trek Survivor]

100% agree with the Original Poster. With the greatest respect to those writers currently working on the "ongoing mission" novels, I've been hugely disappointed by... well, all of them I've read (actually, I enjoyed "Death In Winter" to an extent, but I've always liked MJF's style).

I know it's all personal opinion, but the "Titan" novels are just dull (for me), and the relaunch of the Borg was hamfisted. "Before Dishonour" is an embarassment! Granted, I haven't read the "Destiny" trilogy yet (despite owning them) because I wanted to read the whole lot in chronological order. But I don't think I'll get that far.

The comment about it feeling like the Star Wars EU (and that's not a compliment) really rings true for me.

Anyway, yes, more in-series stuff would be fun. Not every story has to be earth-shattering and life-changing for these characters. I'd settle for a good, well-told and engaging tale.

Mind you, there are lots of novels from the nineties I never read, so I can always go back there for my fix. And I have a real hankering to read some of the (by my definition!) nostalgic classics that I remember such as "Contamination", "A Call To Darkness" and "Metamorphosis"...

 

[F. King Daniel]

Forget reading them in order. Read Destiny now and if you like it go back to fill in the blanks. If you don't like it, and since you didn't like the books you've read so far, I don't think the current Trek line is for you.

What's the point of forcing youself though books you don't enjoy? I tried that with the Enterprise relaunch and it isn't worth it. If you've read the first Titan and Before Dishonor, you already know all the important people (i.e. the Titan and current Enterprise crews). Go for broke.

 

[Thrawn]

Yeah. Read Destiny. It's leaps and bounds more exciting than the earlier Titan books (though I personally like Titan's slow pace as well, Destiny is definitely more rockin'), and leaps and bounds better than the earlier TNG books. Give it a shot.

 

[stonester1]

I love the Titan books. They (and now Voyager) are hard core about the exploration/idea side of Trek.