So there was a MYSTERY at the library today.
April 4, 2018 8:12 PM Subscribe
This whole thread is great! I love the solution to the mystery.
This contribution is also great:
@Martin Belam: We once found this notepad at my nan's house that was really disturbing. Lots of disjointed sentences, names we didn't recognise, references to crimes/sex. Really odd
Turned out that what she was doing was each time she put her book down, she was copying out the last sentence she'd read, so she'd know to pick up again in the right place cos her memory was going
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:30 PM on April 4, 2018 [82 favorites]
This contribution is also great:
@Martin Belam: We once found this notepad at my nan's house that was really disturbing. Lots of disjointed sentences, names we didn't recognise, references to crimes/sex. Really odd
Turned out that what she was doing was each time she put her book down, she was copying out the last sentence she'd read, so she'd know to pick up again in the right place cos her memory was going
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:30 PM on April 4, 2018 [82 favorites]
Adorbs! I'm old enough to remember when you filled out the pasted slip on the back with your name and got a due date stamped. I liked to see the old names, and sometimes I even recognized them.
A while back, I got a used copy of The Valley of Horses from a senior center's jumble sale. (Look, it had been 20 years since I read the book and it cost a quarter.) On reading it, I found that some delicate hand had inscribed "skip to page 42" and so forth at certain points in the narrative. These instructions, if followed, would bring you entirely past the sex scenes and leave you with an inspiring story of a woman carving out a life in the wilderness. Whose grandma did this and how well it worked, I cannot know.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:32 PM on April 4, 2018 [83 favorites]
A while back, I got a used copy of The Valley of Horses from a senior center's jumble sale. (Look, it had been 20 years since I read the book and it cost a quarter.) On reading it, I found that some delicate hand had inscribed "skip to page 42" and so forth at certain points in the narrative. These instructions, if followed, would bring you entirely past the sex scenes and leave you with an inspiring story of a woman carving out a life in the wilderness. Whose grandma did this and how well it worked, I cannot know.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:32 PM on April 4, 2018 [83 favorites]
My grandmother lived most of her life in the same small town. She got her first library card at the age of 5 (she was very proud of this) and passed away at 102. She always had two or three library books next to her living room chair, and told me that her local librarians let her 'leave a mark' in the back of books she'd read -in pencil, she clarified - so that she wouldn't take them home a second time. I'd imagined that her local librarians were happy to extend certain privileges to someone who'd been coming every week for 90 years.
posted by Silvery Fish at 8:35 PM on April 4, 2018 [66 favorites]
posted by Silvery Fish at 8:35 PM on April 4, 2018 [66 favorites]
My grandmother use to do this with the cheap
2nd hand romances she bought. She would put a
letter on the cover of the book before
she sold it back to the used book store. It was
not uncommon for books to have several markings or
initials on them from other people.
posted by quazichimp at 8:39 PM on April 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
2nd hand romances she bought. She would put a
letter on the cover of the book before
she sold it back to the used book store. It was
not uncommon for books to have several markings or
initials on them from other people.
posted by quazichimp at 8:39 PM on April 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
This is so great! Still reading down, but really laughed about the Star Trek book editing. Never quite got the Riker love, though.
posted by annsunny at 8:40 PM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by annsunny at 8:40 PM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
Countess Elena: I'm old enough to remember when you filled out the pasted slip on the back with your name and got a due date stamped. I liked to see the old names, and sometimes I even recognized them.
Ugh me too, I miss those days. It was always so exciting taking a book out from the library and having them stamp it and watching the stamp do that little flip around that it does. It looked like such an official, heavy duty machine, made of steel and expert, mechanical craftsmanship.
posted by gucci mane at 8:54 PM on April 4, 2018 [43 favorites]
Ugh me too, I miss those days. It was always so exciting taking a book out from the library and having them stamp it and watching the stamp do that little flip around that it does. It looked like such an official, heavy duty machine, made of steel and expert, mechanical craftsmanship.
posted by gucci mane at 8:54 PM on April 4, 2018 [43 favorites]
That's one of many special-purpose tools that I have never had any justifiable use for, but wanted them anyway because they were so cool.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:57 PM on April 4, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:57 PM on April 4, 2018 [21 favorites]
On finickier-than-thou replies "Why not do what I do and keep an index book of those you have read." This is followed by a photo of one page of his notebook with tiles from Moorcock through Mieville visible.
What does this guy do if he reads someone who comes alphabetically before M? Or is he on a one-way journey to Zahn, Zelazny, and Zola?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:05 PM on April 4, 2018 [12 favorites]
What does this guy do if he reads someone who comes alphabetically before M? Or is he on a one-way journey to Zahn, Zelazny, and Zola?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:05 PM on April 4, 2018 [12 favorites]
A while back, I got a used copy of The Valley of Horses from a senior center's jumble sale. (Look, it had been 20 years since I read the book and it cost a quarter.) On reading it, I found that some delicate hand had inscribed "skip to page 42" and so forth at certain points in the narrative. These instructions, if followed, would bring you entirely past the sex scenes and leave you with an inspiring story of a woman carving out a life in the wilderness.
When I was very young, like first grade or so, my mom used to read to me every night. One night I wanted her to read to me what she was reading, which, as it turned out, was The Valley of Horses. I don't know if I was very insistent or what, but my mom agreed to do so, and used exactly this trick of skipping all the sex scenes. (I don't think she wrote down notes or anything, but she might have.) So this went on for some time.
Then one night my grandfather was babysitting, and when it was bedtime, I asked him to read me the book from where my mom had left off. So he did.
The next night when I told her about it, my mom was mortified. She never figured out if we just got lucky and there were no sex scenes in what we read that night, or if he quietly skipped over them as well, or what. Apparently she never got up the courage to ask. She told me about it much later, when I was "rereading" the book as a teenager.
Maybe someone else's mom was using the same trick with her kid!
posted by biogeo at 9:10 PM on April 4, 2018 [25 favorites]
When I was very young, like first grade or so, my mom used to read to me every night. One night I wanted her to read to me what she was reading, which, as it turned out, was The Valley of Horses. I don't know if I was very insistent or what, but my mom agreed to do so, and used exactly this trick of skipping all the sex scenes. (I don't think she wrote down notes or anything, but she might have.) So this went on for some time.
Then one night my grandfather was babysitting, and when it was bedtime, I asked him to read me the book from where my mom had left off. So he did.
The next night when I told her about it, my mom was mortified. She never figured out if we just got lucky and there were no sex scenes in what we read that night, or if he quietly skipped over them as well, or what. Apparently she never got up the courage to ask. She told me about it much later, when I was "rereading" the book as a teenager.
Maybe someone else's mom was using the same trick with her kid!
posted by biogeo at 9:10 PM on April 4, 2018 [25 favorites]
I remember reading the Valley of the Horses - my very Catholic mother tore the raunchy pages out! And when I lent her a book, she would read it and return it with, you guessed it, the sex scenes torn out. Well I guess it's one way of figuring out if you've read it before but I wasn't impressed at all, I can tell you.
posted by Jubey at 9:27 PM on April 4, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Jubey at 9:27 PM on April 4, 2018 [15 favorites]
You know, when I was working for the library back in high school, I loved using the hand stamper. It was a tiny little thrill. Much less fond of the electric one that would practically shake the counter as it KERCHUNKed off a little chad while it stamped. People would always bring in these beat-up old library cards and it was a real trick getting them to fit in the machine.
Did teach me about chads years before 2000 though.
posted by traveler_ at 9:28 PM on April 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
Did teach me about chads years before 2000 though.
posted by traveler_ at 9:28 PM on April 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
One on my local libraries has an 'i have read this book' form glued in back of every book, including of course tables of formulae, Bible's, encyclopedias...
posted by unearthed at 9:38 PM on April 4, 2018
posted by unearthed at 9:38 PM on April 4, 2018
I read a copy of Flowers In The Attic which had been doctored by my friend’s mother, who carefully razorbladed out the pages with the offending incest/rape scene. I was very confused until we figured out that there were pages missing. Not a library book, though.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:59 PM on April 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:59 PM on April 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
Do libraries print checklists for people who can't or don't know how? It would be nice if a wee old woman (or anyone else) could get a list of all the books in the library by a certain author.
posted by pracowity at 1:32 AM on April 5, 2018
posted by pracowity at 1:32 AM on April 5, 2018
my very Catholic mother tore the raunchy pages out!
They're under her bed in a box labeled 'bobbins'. You can read them all sequentially like Cinema Paradiso for readers.
posted by pracowity at 1:39 AM on April 5, 2018 [15 favorites]
They're under her bed in a box labeled 'bobbins'. You can read them all sequentially like Cinema Paradiso for readers.
posted by pracowity at 1:39 AM on April 5, 2018 [15 favorites]
You know, when I was working for the library back in high school, I loved using the hand stamper. It was a tiny little thrill.
It's obligatory to mention this scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade here.
posted by XMLicious at 3:02 AM on April 5, 2018 [15 favorites]
You know, when I was working for the library back in high school, I loved using the hand stamper.
Oh yes... I worked in our local library all through college, and loved the cardboard tickets and the date stamps. Each of the branch libraries in the borough used different colo(u)red ink, so you could tell where a book had been issued even if it had been loaned from another branch.
Dam' computers and bar codes spoilt all that... (get off my lawn & c)
And occasionally I'd get to help out in the music department, where they'd managed to get a very decent hi-fi setup, so we'd play all manner of vinyl all day.
Happy days.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 3:16 AM on April 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh yes... I worked in our local library all through college, and loved the cardboard tickets and the date stamps. Each of the branch libraries in the borough used different colo(u)red ink, so you could tell where a book had been issued even if it had been loaned from another branch.
Dam' computers and bar codes spoilt all that... (get off my lawn & c)
And occasionally I'd get to help out in the music department, where they'd managed to get a very decent hi-fi setup, so we'd play all manner of vinyl all day.
Happy days.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 3:16 AM on April 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
When I was young and the library ran totally on card files, each book had a card. I got in the habit of checking the card to see if it had a "1600" listed, which was my library card number. (If it had a "1599," that meant my Mom had read it.) If it was a good book, I'd check the date to see how long it had been since I last read it. I was slightly let down in the '90s to come home and find they'd gone to a newer system.
The school library didn't require students to have an account, so we just signed those cards, meaning we could all see who had read a book before we did. I tried to get my name into all the best books, but I was probably the only one who cared.
posted by Miss Cellania at 3:38 AM on April 5, 2018 [11 favorites]
The school library didn't require students to have an account, so we just signed those cards, meaning we could all see who had read a book before we did. I tried to get my name into all the best books, but I was probably the only one who cared.
posted by Miss Cellania at 3:38 AM on April 5, 2018 [11 favorites]
I once asked at the Toronto Public Library if I could get a list of books that I had checked out in the past, since I was trying to remember the title of one of them, but they said they couldn't/wouldn't do it for... privacy reasons, I think? Which is weird, since it's information about me, but maybe I'm misremembering?
posted by clawsoon at 3:52 AM on April 5, 2018
posted by clawsoon at 3:52 AM on April 5, 2018
Libraries often don't keep information on past checkouts because they are routinely asked to turn that info over to law enforcement agencies. They can't turn over what they don't have, so they stopped keeping the information in the first place.
posted by odd ghost at 4:03 AM on April 5, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by odd ghost at 4:03 AM on April 5, 2018 [39 favorites]
On finickier-than-thou replies "Why not do what I do and keep an index book of those you have read." This is followed by a photo of one page of his notebook with tiles from Moorcock through Mieville visible.
What does this guy do if he reads someone who comes alphabetically before M? Or is he on a one-way journey to Zahn, Zelazny, and Zola?
My grandad does this and carries a small notepad around in his coat pocket to check books. It's basically one page per author and he just sort of guesses how to space the letters. The authors aren't perfectly alphabetised within a letter, so Mieville might come after Moorcock if he read Moorcock first (the idea of my grandad reading either is laughable, but anyway), but that narrows it down enough to find an author quickly. I think he might have "miscellaneous" page per letter for authors he doesn't usually read or who've only written one book or whatever. He has filled a notepad and had to laboriously copy it over into a new one. At that point, he culls some authors from the list if he thinks it's not worth including them any more.
posted by hoyland at 4:30 AM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
What does this guy do if he reads someone who comes alphabetically before M? Or is he on a one-way journey to Zahn, Zelazny, and Zola?
My grandad does this and carries a small notepad around in his coat pocket to check books. It's basically one page per author and he just sort of guesses how to space the letters. The authors aren't perfectly alphabetised within a letter, so Mieville might come after Moorcock if he read Moorcock first (the idea of my grandad reading either is laughable, but anyway), but that narrows it down enough to find an author quickly. I think he might have "miscellaneous" page per letter for authors he doesn't usually read or who've only written one book or whatever. He has filled a notepad and had to laboriously copy it over into a new one. At that point, he culls some authors from the list if he thinks it's not worth including them any more.
posted by hoyland at 4:30 AM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
7
posted by the quidnunc kid at 4:44 AM on April 5, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by the quidnunc kid at 4:44 AM on April 5, 2018 [15 favorites]
"I tried to get my name into all the best books, but I was probably the only one who cared."
Oh, I cared.
And I'd blush and fumble with my book every time you came into the room.
posted by Floydd at 5:07 AM on April 5, 2018 [8 favorites]
Oh, I cared.
And I'd blush and fumble with my book every time you came into the room.
posted by Floydd at 5:07 AM on April 5, 2018 [8 favorites]
OK, probably not YOU, per se, but I did care.
posted by Floydd at 5:09 AM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Floydd at 5:09 AM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
I worked in my hometown's public library for a few years before I went to uni; our system wouldn't give you a list of books any particular patron had checked out but would give a notification if a patron checked out a book they had previously checked out (I think in the last year?).
I believe the rationale was to protect privacy, as odd ghost says, while also helping out people who couldn't remember what they'd already read.
posted by aussie_powerlifter at 5:22 AM on April 5, 2018
I believe the rationale was to protect privacy, as odd ghost says, while also helping out people who couldn't remember what they'd already read.
posted by aussie_powerlifter at 5:22 AM on April 5, 2018
This suggests that there needs to be a hobo code for library books.
〰️: Bit uneven, but tolerably so
✉️: Half the plot is advanced via correspondence
➰: Author needlessly belabors points
➿: Seriously, this fuckin guy
〽️: Libertarian “ideas”
🌙: Better than melatonin
💦: MAN they’s some good fuckin scenes
🔱: Deus ex machina is literally Neptune
posted by middleclasstool at 5:26 AM on April 5, 2018 [97 favorites]
〰️: Bit uneven, but tolerably so
✉️: Half the plot is advanced via correspondence
➰: Author needlessly belabors points
➿: Seriously, this fuckin guy
〽️: Libertarian “ideas”
🌙: Better than melatonin
💦: MAN they’s some good fuckin scenes
🔱: Deus ex machina is literally Neptune
posted by middleclasstool at 5:26 AM on April 5, 2018 [97 favorites]
My grandad does this and carries a small notepad around in his coat pocket to check books. It's basically one page per author and he just sort of guesses how to space the letters.
My dad did this exactly, and he had another notebook where he noted down which books he had lent out to whom and when. He also spent ages copying all the data into new notebooks when he ran out of space, but his handwriting was tiny, so it didn't happen often.
posted by mumimor at 5:28 AM on April 5, 2018
My dad did this exactly, and he had another notebook where he noted down which books he had lent out to whom and when. He also spent ages copying all the data into new notebooks when he ran out of space, but his handwriting was tiny, so it didn't happen often.
posted by mumimor at 5:28 AM on April 5, 2018
I work in a public library and we have some, not too many, borrowers who do this. Especially the romance and western readers. Usually thought they put their mark on the date label, so they aren't actually defacing the books although, to be honest, I don't think a little mark like an initial or an underline actually defaces the books.
Our system is opt-in only for borrower history and only the borrower can see what they've taken out. There is a special category for Housebound borrowers where we the system will alert us if the borrower has taken out that book before, but only for that specific bibliographic record, so a different edition of the same title won't alert.
I think for most borrowers browsing the shelves their own little mark is as handy as anything.
posted by Fence at 5:36 AM on April 5, 2018
Our system is opt-in only for borrower history and only the borrower can see what they've taken out. There is a special category for Housebound borrowers where we the system will alert us if the borrower has taken out that book before, but only for that specific bibliographic record, so a different edition of the same title won't alert.
I think for most borrowers browsing the shelves their own little mark is as handy as anything.
posted by Fence at 5:36 AM on April 5, 2018
I once asked at the Toronto Public Library if I could get a list of books that I had checked out in the past, since I was trying to remember the title of one of them, but they said they couldn't/wouldn't do it for... privacy reasons, I think? Which is weird, since it's information about me, but maybe I'm misremembering?
My understanding is that they don't keep that information for privacy reasons, although now their Overdrive system for ebooks does keep it (with an opt out function), so maybe the library will change their policy for paper books?
posted by jacquilynne at 5:43 AM on April 5, 2018
My understanding is that they don't keep that information for privacy reasons, although now their Overdrive system for ebooks does keep it (with an opt out function), so maybe the library will change their policy for paper books?
posted by jacquilynne at 5:43 AM on April 5, 2018
A while back, I got a used copy of The Valley of Horses from a senior center's jumble sale. (Look, it had been 20 years since I read the book and it cost a quarter.) On reading it, I found that some delicate hand had inscribed "skip to page 42" and so forth at certain points in the narrative. These instructions, if followed, would bring you entirely past the sex scenes and leave you with an inspiring story of a woman carving out a life in the wilderness. Whose grandma did this and how well it worked, I cannot know.
When I worked at the library, well-read copies of popular-but-raunchy books (like Valley of the Horses) would usually fall open directly to the sex scenes since so many people focused on those and the spines got bent. The version you found is a lot sweeter than what I remember from the circulation desk.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:59 AM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
When I worked at the library, well-read copies of popular-but-raunchy books (like Valley of the Horses) would usually fall open directly to the sex scenes since so many people focused on those and the spines got bent. The version you found is a lot sweeter than what I remember from the circulation desk.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:59 AM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
"Why not do what I do and keep an index book of those you have read."
I actually started a book blog back in 2004 for this very purpose, yet I have on MORE THAN ONE occasion read something I had no memory of reading before. So I find these solutions to be fairly ingenious.
posted by leesh at 6:00 AM on April 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
I actually started a book blog back in 2004 for this very purpose, yet I have on MORE THAN ONE occasion read something I had no memory of reading before. So I find these solutions to be fairly ingenious.
posted by leesh at 6:00 AM on April 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
I can't believe I've never heard of The Valley of the Horses . . . .
posted by JanetLand at 6:14 AM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by JanetLand at 6:14 AM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
A wee old women came in and said "I've a question. Why does page 7 in all the books I take out have a glowing pentagram with a holographic goat skull whispering medieval Latin?"
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:23 AM on April 5, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:23 AM on April 5, 2018 [6 favorites]
🔱: Deus ex machina is literally Neptune
I see you've read the Percy Jackson books, too.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:35 AM on April 5, 2018 [7 favorites]
I see you've read the Percy Jackson books, too.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:35 AM on April 5, 2018 [7 favorites]
I see you've read the Percy Jackson books, too.
One day my son will be old enough to realize that that dude just kept writing the same stories over and over except now with different gods. And he will come to me, tears in his eyes, and I will nod sagely and hold him tight.
posted by middleclasstool at 6:39 AM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
One day my son will be old enough to realize that that dude just kept writing the same stories over and over except now with different gods. And he will come to me, tears in his eyes, and I will nod sagely and hold him tight.
posted by middleclasstool at 6:39 AM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
*eye twitch*
Maybe it's because I spent a lot of my early childhood in libraries and I had Proper Library Etiquette drummed into me from as early as I could read, but the idea of marking up a library book, even in the teeniest, tiniest way, causes some sort of visceral reaction. IT'S NOT YOUR BOOK. DON'T MARK UP SOMEONE ELSE'S BOOK. YOU WANNA MARK UP A BOOK, DO IT WITH YOUR OWN BOOK. AAAAAAAAAAA.
I mean, hell, I have an English degree, and I read books for class, and had the idea of Marginalia drummed into me by all my professors, but because of my childhood, I have enough trouble just marking up my own books. Let alone someone else's book, be it borrowed from an individual or a library.
Another thing I picked up from a childhood in libraries is how to properly organize and alphabetize media. My books _and_ my records are all sorted by name, last name first for authors and solo artists, and then by year of original publication. This is the only right way to do it.
posted by SansPoint at 6:41 AM on April 5, 2018 [12 favorites]
Maybe it's because I spent a lot of my early childhood in libraries and I had Proper Library Etiquette drummed into me from as early as I could read, but the idea of marking up a library book, even in the teeniest, tiniest way, causes some sort of visceral reaction. IT'S NOT YOUR BOOK. DON'T MARK UP SOMEONE ELSE'S BOOK. YOU WANNA MARK UP A BOOK, DO IT WITH YOUR OWN BOOK. AAAAAAAAAAA.
I mean, hell, I have an English degree, and I read books for class, and had the idea of Marginalia drummed into me by all my professors, but because of my childhood, I have enough trouble just marking up my own books. Let alone someone else's book, be it borrowed from an individual or a library.
Another thing I picked up from a childhood in libraries is how to properly organize and alphabetize media. My books _and_ my records are all sorted by name, last name first for authors and solo artists, and then by year of original publication. This is the only right way to do it.
posted by SansPoint at 6:41 AM on April 5, 2018 [12 favorites]
Business reference books had a habit of walking away from my desk so I started writing my name on page 51 near the inside crease. One day my friend Brent thought it would be funny to write his name on page 52 of all my books. Brent was an asshole :)
posted by ShakeyJake at 6:44 AM on April 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ShakeyJake at 6:44 AM on April 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
I had heard of this phenomenon before, but I'm disappointed that I never got to see it in action when I worked at the public library.
posted by Calzephyr at 6:45 AM on April 5, 2018
posted by Calzephyr at 6:45 AM on April 5, 2018
I understand not remembering titles, or authors. But having a book in your hand and not being able to remember whether you’ve read it before sounds like... bibliagnosia?
posted by Segundus at 6:48 AM on April 5, 2018
posted by Segundus at 6:48 AM on April 5, 2018
I can't believe I've never heard of The Valley of the Horses . . . .
caveman sex plus a lot of fascinating paleobotany
posted by poffin boffin at 6:48 AM on April 5, 2018 [8 favorites]
caveman sex plus a lot of fascinating paleobotany
posted by poffin boffin at 6:48 AM on April 5, 2018 [8 favorites]
I understand not remembering titles, or authors. But having a book in your hand and not being able to remember whether you’ve read it before sounds like... bibliagnosia?I mean, the thread does specifically mention these are elderly patrons, implying potential memory issues to begin with. And if you're reading heavily in a fairly formulaic genre, I can understand the need for a bit of a guide -- not to mention, flipping to a specific place to check for your mark is a lot quicker than reading for several pages to see if you've read it before (assuming you forget the title/author).
Heck, I am still sometimes surprised/uncertain about whether I've read certain books during my childhood. At one point -- I forget what age -- I tried to write down every book I'd read, and it turned out about 500 titles I could remember. Years later when I checked back in that document, there were at least one or two things that I had reread without quite being sure it was a reread at the time.
posted by inconstant at 7:17 AM on April 5, 2018
I understand not remembering titles, or authors. But having a book in your hand and not being able to remember whether you’ve read it before sounds like... bibliagnosia?
I read a lot. Like, A LOT. It usually doesn't take me more than a couple of paragraphs to realize it's familiar and then I can refer back to my "Read Books Log" to double check.
But yeah, I don't really even pay attention much to the covers of books, and sometimes they change from the hardcover edition to the softcover. And did I mention LOTS OF BOOKS?
posted by cooker girl at 7:20 AM on April 5, 2018 [8 favorites]
I read a lot. Like, A LOT. It usually doesn't take me more than a couple of paragraphs to realize it's familiar and then I can refer back to my "Read Books Log" to double check.
But yeah, I don't really even pay attention much to the covers of books, and sometimes they change from the hardcover edition to the softcover. And did I mention LOTS OF BOOKS?
posted by cooker girl at 7:20 AM on April 5, 2018 [8 favorites]
Yeah, there's nothing sadder than an elderly patron - for whom getting to the library is not always easy - returning a stack of books they have already read. I turn a blind eye to page markers.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:21 AM on April 5, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:21 AM on April 5, 2018 [9 favorites]
My first job was doing inventory at my college library, and I can't tell you how many times I've wished I could do it for a living.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 7:50 AM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by DrAstroZoom at 7:50 AM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
"I tried to get my name into all the best books, but I was probably the only one who cared."
Oh, I cared.
And I'd blush and fumble with my book every time you came into the room.
Obligatory link to Whisper of the Heart, where this is close to the plot.
posted by Four Ds at 9:40 AM on April 5, 2018
Oh, I cared.
And I'd blush and fumble with my book every time you came into the room.
Obligatory link to Whisper of the Heart, where this is close to the plot.
posted by Four Ds at 9:40 AM on April 5, 2018
ricochet biscuit: if you look at the right side of the image with the booklist, it looks like it's an address book, with tabs for each letter, and that just happens to be showing M.
(I had the same thought, and then realised the list is not strictly alphabetical either. But doing it by last name would mean you could thumb through and see what you'd read by a given author reasonably efficiently.)
posted by modernhypatia at 10:40 AM on April 5, 2018
(I had the same thought, and then realised the list is not strictly alphabetical either. But doing it by last name would mean you could thumb through and see what you'd read by a given author reasonably efficiently.)
posted by modernhypatia at 10:40 AM on April 5, 2018
A similar thing happened in the large-print books at the library I worked at in college; readers wrote their initials, or things that looked more like brands, on the first page.
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:46 AM on April 5, 2018
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:46 AM on April 5, 2018
We have a bunch of patrons who write their names or initials on the flyleaf at the end of any of the large-type books they've read. Fortunately in pencil.
We also had for a long time a gentleman who would write his due-dates in ball-point pen on the back of his books. Fortunately, he only checked out hardback books (thus wrapped in plastic) or large-type (thus library-bound) so we could scrub the pen off when he was done, as nothing we could say would convince him to stop doing that.
posted by darchildre at 11:07 AM on April 5, 2018
We also had for a long time a gentleman who would write his due-dates in ball-point pen on the back of his books. Fortunately, he only checked out hardback books (thus wrapped in plastic) or large-type (thus library-bound) so we could scrub the pen off when he was done, as nothing we could say would convince him to stop doing that.
posted by darchildre at 11:07 AM on April 5, 2018
> I can't believe I've never heard of The Valley of the Horses . . . .
caveman sex plus a lot of fascinating paleobotany
"Fascinating paleobotany" of course being Jondalar's pet name for his manhood.
(Jesus, how do I still remember Jondalar's name?)
posted by biogeo at 12:07 PM on April 5, 2018 [9 favorites]
caveman sex plus a lot of fascinating paleobotany
"Fascinating paleobotany" of course being Jondalar's pet name for his manhood.
(Jesus, how do I still remember Jondalar's name?)
posted by biogeo at 12:07 PM on April 5, 2018 [9 favorites]
Although writing in books can be terrible, I had an epiphany a few years ago. Writing notes in cookbooks is fantastic! more or less of an ingredient, different cooking times, etc. I now firmly believe not all writing in books is bad.
posted by annsunny at 12:09 PM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by annsunny at 12:09 PM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
Because he gave you pleasures?
I cannot fucking believe my mother gave me that book when I was thirteen.
posted by stet at 12:10 PM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
I cannot fucking believe my mother gave me that book when I was thirteen.
posted by stet at 12:10 PM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
Although writing in books can be terrible, I had an epiphany a few years ago. Writing notes in cookbooks is fantastic! more or less of an ingredient, different cooking times, etc. I now firmly believe not all writing in books is bad.
That's how I learned that I could get the juice out of sopophorus beans by crushing them with the side of my knife instead of trying to cut those slippery, bouncy bastards.
posted by mhum at 12:48 PM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's how I learned that I could get the juice out of sopophorus beans by crushing them with the side of my knife instead of trying to cut those slippery, bouncy bastards.
posted by mhum at 12:48 PM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
Knife sides are under-utilized.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:59 PM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:59 PM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
A while back, I got a used copy of The Valley of Horses from a senior center's jumble sale. (Look, it had been 20 years since I read the book and it cost a quarter.) On reading it, I found that some delicate hand had inscribed "skip to page 42" and so forth at certain points in the narrative. These instructions, if followed, would bring you entirely past the sex scenes
This is the exact opposite of my experience. My junior high copy of Valley of the Horses has pencilled numbers on the title page that lead directly to the sex scenes.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 2:00 PM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
This is the exact opposite of my experience. My junior high copy of Valley of the Horses has pencilled numbers on the title page that lead directly to the sex scenes.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 2:00 PM on April 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
I admit to having a tiny burst of "argh, don't write in the library books aaaargh" but I feel like this is so unobtrusive that it's not a huge deal. Or maybe it just charms me so much that I don't mind it. I wonder if anyone at my library is doing this?
posted by sarcasticah at 2:09 PM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by sarcasticah at 2:09 PM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
> I feel like this is so unobtrusive that it's not a huge deal
I usually have the same impulse, but there's something about this that feels fine to me. Maybe because it seems like an accommodation for people who need one.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:54 PM on April 5, 2018
I usually have the same impulse, but there's something about this that feels fine to me. Maybe because it seems like an accommodation for people who need one.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:54 PM on April 5, 2018
"Fascinating paleobotany" of course being Jondalar's pet name for his manhood.
Hmm.
posted by pracowity at 3:19 PM on April 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Hmm.
He has also been endowed with a "prodigious manhood," and, as no woman has had the ability to accept his full measure save Ayla, he has been unable to find total abandon and sexual fulfillment, despite some gratification.I guess this Ayla was endowed with a prodigious womanhood.
posted by pracowity at 3:19 PM on April 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
I actually started a book blog back in 2004 for this very purpose, yet I have on MORE THAN ONE occasion read something I had no memory of reading before. So I find these solutions to be fairly ingenious.
I have occasionally gotten 10 or 20 pages into something before the déjà vu accrues enough for me to say, “Yeah, I read this twenty years ago.”
I do occasionally reread books for enjoyment, and at least once — “The Forever War” by Joe Haldeman, I reread* with increasing bewilderment. The book I was reading was in almost every way different from what I recalled about my earlier pass through it. I liked the Haldeman book well enough, but I am mystified by what I actually did read a decade or two earlier and misremembered as TFW.
*Or so I thought.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:58 PM on April 5, 2018
I have occasionally gotten 10 or 20 pages into something before the déjà vu accrues enough for me to say, “Yeah, I read this twenty years ago.”
I do occasionally reread books for enjoyment, and at least once — “The Forever War” by Joe Haldeman, I reread* with increasing bewilderment. The book I was reading was in almost every way different from what I recalled about my earlier pass through it. I liked the Haldeman book well enough, but I am mystified by what I actually did read a decade or two earlier and misremembered as TFW.
*Or so I thought.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:58 PM on April 5, 2018
Damn. And here (as a kid) I thought I was clever writing my initials in pencil next to the binding on page 35.
Until today, a -deep dark secret-
posted by Twang at 7:25 PM on April 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Until today, a -deep dark secret-
posted by Twang at 7:25 PM on April 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
ricochet biscuit: I do occasionally reread books for enjoyment, and at least once — “The Forever War” by Joe Haldeman, I reread* with increasing bewilderment. The book I was reading was in almost every way different from what I recalled about my earlier pass through it.
I read The Lord of the Rings five or six times as a young teenager. You'd think that after that many readings I would've remembered all of it, but when I re-read it as an adult there were whole chapters of elves that were not in my memory at all. (I wonder if they were the same chapters that led Hugo Dyson into "lying on the couch, and lolling and shouting and saying, 'Oh God, no more elves'" during readings.)
Perhaps I need to add "skip to page 356" notes like the ones Countess Elena found in The Valley of Horses, but for elves.
posted by clawsoon at 6:50 AM on April 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
I read The Lord of the Rings five or six times as a young teenager. You'd think that after that many readings I would've remembered all of it, but when I re-read it as an adult there were whole chapters of elves that were not in my memory at all. (I wonder if they were the same chapters that led Hugo Dyson into "lying on the couch, and lolling and shouting and saying, 'Oh God, no more elves'" during readings.)
Perhaps I need to add "skip to page 356" notes like the ones Countess Elena found in The Valley of Horses, but for elves.
posted by clawsoon at 6:50 AM on April 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Someone at my library underlines p.32. I never knew why, but now I see! I have picked up books I already read because I did not remember the title, this seems like a good way to fix that.
posted by mermayd at 9:59 AM on April 6, 2018
posted by mermayd at 9:59 AM on April 6, 2018
Here's a just-posted interview from CBC with the librarian in question.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:03 PM on April 6, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:03 PM on April 6, 2018 [5 favorites]
This system really makes sense when someone else is picking out the books for the patrons. My mother used to volunteer at the library to bring books to homebound patrons. Many of them had similar codes, which were known and shared by the library staff. Since the volunteers would change over time, and they didn't have any computerized records, this was an easy way to make sure that the volunteer delivering "3 westerns per week" to Leo wouldn't bring the same 3 Louis L'Amour novels that a different volunteer had picked last month. Since Leo's been getting books from that library for quite a few years, he would have gotten quite a few duplicates otherwise. Bookmobile staff would similarly use that information to rotate out titles when they knew they were going to the stop a particular patron visited.
posted by yuwtze at 3:42 PM on April 6, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by yuwtze at 3:42 PM on April 6, 2018 [5 favorites]
mandolin conspiracy, I loved listening to her say "wee old women"!
I have often thought at least one As It Happens staffer walks among us here at MetaFilter....
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:30 PM on April 7, 2018
I have often thought at least one As It Happens staffer walks among us here at MetaFilter....
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:30 PM on April 7, 2018
Ok, but what about how this librarian is really into guinea pigs?
posted by medusa at 8:40 PM on April 8, 2018
posted by medusa at 8:40 PM on April 8, 2018
Although writing in books can be terrible, I had an epiphany a few years ago. Writing notes in cookbooks is fantastic! more or less of an ingredient, different cooking times, etc. I now firmly believe not all writing in books is bad.
Yes! This is my long-held family tradition: notes about the occasion ("Marie's third birthday cake"), feedback ("a little dry"), variations ("used buttermilk instead of milk, rich flavor"), cautions ("be careful that pot doesn't boil over"), reception ("dad loved these"), or planning ("must soften butter first"). Every time I write in a cookbook, my anti-book-marking boyfriend is *horrified*. I think he's coming around, though. The books become such a treasure trove over time (and besides, what cookbook is really staying prisine anyways?)
Cookbooks are also some of the only books I like to buy/own, and for just that reason.
posted by mosst at 10:45 AM on April 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yes! This is my long-held family tradition: notes about the occasion ("Marie's third birthday cake"), feedback ("a little dry"), variations ("used buttermilk instead of milk, rich flavor"), cautions ("be careful that pot doesn't boil over"), reception ("dad loved these"), or planning ("must soften butter first"). Every time I write in a cookbook, my anti-book-marking boyfriend is *horrified*. I think he's coming around, though. The books become such a treasure trove over time (and besides, what cookbook is really staying prisine anyways?)
Cookbooks are also some of the only books I like to buy/own, and for just that reason.
posted by mosst at 10:45 AM on April 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
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How far do I have to read into the comments before the obligatory anti-book desecration pitchforks come out? I'm really surprised they didn't seem to start right away, but maybe people were charmed enough by the idea that they're letting it alone?
posted by jacquilynne at 8:26 PM on April 4, 2018 [5 favorites]