no offence taken 404. It's interesting isnt it? I dont think it is parental influence in my case as we didnt really have books in my house. I suppose I have an (ahem) intimate relationship with my books, and scribbling on them seems to bring us closer - bit like decorating my room, or altering clothes, it makes them more mine. And i could never sell them or pass them on to someone else, that would be like abandoning a friend.

but of course, you can't get intimate with library books in the same way, because they are already spoken for.

Your views reflect my own EXACTLY aliby - I very much value books, i lurve them, I'm precious over them and have shelves and shelves of them. Fiction and non-fiction are different creatures tho. With novels, I have no need to write on them and duly insert my bookmark before rolling over and switching off my bedside lamp. With information books, I'm intimately involved - it becomes a mutual work in progress; amassing piles of loose sheets doesn't do for me, I'm afraid.

Library books, however, are out of bounds. A unanimous result.

404, that looks just like the book I got back off my student! Grrr. Haven't seen her yet; my supervisor is annoyed but thinks it's up to the library to bollock her, not me or him.

I was suprised at her, she is from a very wealthy family (servants and all) and I would expect she has been brought up pretty well. She was always very polite to talk to. But there's no doubt it was her.

Hey, that photobucket website's good isn't it? Just signed up and thought I'd share this picture of my mother's puppy





Hope it works

Oops, it didn't. Oh well.

Try again:

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w138/Juno76_album/Misty.jpg

Awww very cute.. I love puppies

Is it a Cairn terrier?

No, it's a miniature schnauzer

awwwww it's lovely

Oh dear I'm a jotter and highlighter..but only my books not the librarys.
My cat did once pee on a library book on Freud and being a poor student I did dry it out and drop it in the return bin...so anyone getting a book from Durham library on Freud if it smells a bit iffy its my cat...sorry!!!

lol dazednconfused

do you think that the cat was expressing its opinion? Imagine...

hmmm that makes me understand what one of my cats think about my 2m-high ficus tree in the kitchen

People who do that should have their writing-hand chopped off, to make sure they will never do it again and so they learn their lesson.

I know this is slightly different but I bought a hardback book from amazon market place and it turned out to be an ex-library book. Quite into the book there is a dead insect squashed and stuck to one page. YUK!

H, that's almost like Sharia law.

I know this will sound a bit stupid but I returned a library book with an unopened pack of tights in the book by mistake (I used it as a book mark). I realised it on the same day, and went back to look for the book. It was already shelved, with the tights inside. But on the other hand, an example like this shows the fact that librarians don't check the books before they put them back on the shelves. Therefore they would never realised the highlighting and marks inside.