Do You Lend Books??

[Mary @ The Sweet Bookshelf]

Do you lend your books out?

When you read a really good book and want to share it, do you let your
friends/family borrow your copy?
Do you ever get them back?

Yesterday I just got 3 books back that a "friend" borrowed
back in July. Yes, July 09. Among them was my coveted Hunger
Games! I've been after this "friend" to
please give my books back for months and months. She at one point
said she didn't have them anymore because she let one of her friends
borrow them! WHAT?! I am currently on the hunt for a remaining 5 books
that are amongst "friends."Am I a library?
When did it become OK to NOT return
a book that was borrowed? Is there a borrowing
code? Do any of you have a system
you use when you lend out your precious books? Any ideas for getting my remaining 5 books back?

What do YOU think?

The Sweet Bookshelf

[Pete Karnas]

I tend to lend books out quite often. Living in China, good English books are hard to come by. Most expats are pretty free about lending out books that have already been read. Sometimes they get back to you, sometimes not. Sometimes you end up with a book that you borrowed from someone and you don't know how to get it back to them. My rule is usually not to lend a book out unless I've already finished or if I know the other person well and have a few of their books as collateral. It's a pretty good system.

http://petekarnas.wordpress.com

[melydia]

I very rarely loan books, and if I do I keep very careful track of who has it, and I pester them if they keep it for too many months. However, I give away books left and right, so I don't find much need to loan in the first place. But most of my books I know where are because they are registered on BookCrossing.com.

[Mary @ The Sweet Bookshelf]

Oh I like that! I've never seen this website before. This is a really good idea! Thanks for sharing!

[Joanna Lima]

Here's my lending story: I lent a book to a friend (I'll call her S) a long, long time ago. I ended up forgetting about it. Then one day--years later--I was browsing a different friend's bookshelf (let's call her Y) in the office at her workplace. I spotted a book I remembered owning. I plucked it off the shelf and skimmed through it. I was about it put it back, when I noticed the bookplate--it had MY name on it! It was the very copy that I lent out to S! I pointed this out to Y, and asked if I could please have it back. And I wanted to know how Y came to have it. Y said that V had given it to her. V? Well, she turned out to be a friend of S. ARGH! (Y did let me take my book back.)

So, in answer to your question, no. After that incident, I do not lend out books. When I'm feeling generous, I give away books.

As for getting your books back, if you know who has them, just toss out "Hey, when you get a chance, please give me back my copy of ___. Thanks so much!"

www.joannareads.com

[Mary @ The Sweet Bookshelf]

That is this same situation!!! I'm livid! I have been texting, calling, mentioning every time I see this person...and nothing. I even showed up at her house to grab the books but she wasn't there and her family wouldn't let me take MY book back?!?!?!

I'm SO not lending again....

[This Blonde Reads]

I know, it's awful when people don't return the books they bororow. I loaned my mom my fav book that was given to me (with an inscription from friend no longer with us). She misplaced it then loaned it to a friend who loaned it and it's gone forever. I was Not Happy, esp since we lived in the same house still so it wasn't an expected loss. Then w/o asking she loaned others out that a friend of hers saw on my bookshelf. W/o verifying the titles or number of books. I had all of andace camp and norah roberts to that date & was left with less than half. Needless to say,i never saw them again and do not loan out books anymore.

[Mary @ The Sweet Bookshelf]

One of the books my sister inscribed something VERY special to me. When I finally got this book back (hard back), it had gone through BOOK ABUSE! I hate to think of what would have happened if it was paperback. Now I have a beat up hardback book I can't part with because my sister wrote something special in it! I'm livid!

[Bethany Anderson]

NO.

I am SO ANAL about how I keep my books. They must always always be in pristine order.
And my mum has lost so many books thanks to lending them out.
I gave one to a friend about three years ago and still don't have it back... So never again.

[Anne Bennett]

The only people I loan books to are my mother and my sisters. Why? I know I'll get them back AND none of them will go out and buy the books or get them from the library if I don't. Well, maybe my mom will, but I like sharing with her. Part of my reason for this is that I hate it when people loan me books because then I feel like I have to read them right away and the books may not actually be on "my list" of must-read books. If I don't loan, then I am less likely to be loaned-to. Does that make sense?

[Colleen Corliss]

My mom told me this: never lend out a book unless you don't care if you get it back.

Those three books you did get back - that was just luck.

In the event that I forget my rule and lend out a good book, I will ask them how the book is going and what they thought to get it on their mind and possibly give it back. Then as a last effort to get my book back I will let them know that somebody else has asked to borrow it once they are finished. That tends to get it back right away. Good Luck!

[Mary Salvato]

My husband lends out his DVD's all the time and they never come back. Some good souls bring them back but weve lost many this way. I let a friend borrow a precious book of mine but she wasnt very interested in it so I told her to bring it back! I didnt want it sitting over at her house for a year while she got around to reading it. Maybe I'm a scrooge but I like my things in good condition and other people just mess them up!

[Danielle (Book Whore)]

Im really terribly selfish. I dont allow friends to borrow my books for this exact reason. My books are my friends in a way. Every so often when I do allow people to borrow books same thing happens.. What is it with books?