To loan or not to loan...

[Michelle Isenhoff]

Do you loan out your books?  I'm always excited to share a great story I've discovered, but I've lost more books this way.  I never remember where they went.  Anyone else have this problem?  How do you get them back, lol?

[Kira]

I usually only loan to my cousins -- and I know where they live! (j/k -- well, I do know where they live, but we constantly riffle through each others' collections anyway, so it doesn't really matter. I could always just "borrow" it back if it's been gone a little on the long side). I do, on occasion, loan out to others with the hopes of having my books returned to me, as I am usually fairly timely in returning the ones I borrow (my momma raised me right!), but I realize it probably won't happen, and am pleasantly surprised on the occasions they are returned.

I've already had to replace one of my books (HP7, actually, which I wasn't too happy about, but what can you do? I'm just anal and have to keep my collection complete.) because of a "loan" (more like gift), and a few others are still missing, but I haven't seemed to care so much about their loss, so yeah.     

[Michelle Isenhoff]

I just lost another.  The Giver, by Louis Lowry.  Can't find it anywhere;  no clue who I loaned it to.  Darn it.

http://www.michelleisenhoff.wordpress.com

[Ms.Tiptress]

Lol. Well I hate lending books but Im just like you when I get a good read I want to tell the world about it. and let you read it if you don't have your own..BUT. I do get my books back.. Im a hounddog. I have this paper that I make people sign out with my books. They have to put thier phone numbers and address so I can knock on their door if need be.. lol

 

My friends think Im crazy with it I say no, Im just determined to keep my library alive!

 

Ms. Tiptress

Passion Reads

[Hellen]

I sometimes lend books to friends, but I always get them back. I also return every book I borrow. I think it's very rude to keep things that were not gifts.

What I do is keep a list of what I lend and the person who has the book. It's not that I don't trust my friends, it's that otherwise I would probably forget they have my books.

 

http://hellensreadingcorner.blogspot.com/

[Nina D'Angelo]

I've had some nightmares cases of loaning to friends. I've had books returned with no covers, pages ripped, books returned that have looked like they've been dropped in a puddle. I even had one book returned to me by someone who highlighted words with a magic marker. Another person returned one of my books to me and had written in it "property of...." and her name.

I had a housemate, without my permission, loan out of all Vampire Chronicles to one of her friends and I never saw them again. And of course, I've loaned books out and never seen them again.

These days I don't loan them out as much if they are my favorite books but if they are books I already have on my kindle then I'll loan them out and not be fussed if I don't get them back. A lot of my friends are slow readers though so I have a rule to never loan our books I have not read yet because it means I will wait forever to get them back. I had one friend who I would go bookshopping with and as soon as I bought a book she would want to borrow it but then would take 7 months to read it.