Everybody has that book (or books) that they’ve read again and again until the pages are tattered or falling out like hair, the edges worn down, the spine cracked, death looming around the corner. I always find those types of books to be: 1. ones you’ve reread a lot and 2. ones that you’ve own for many many years. It’s a tell-tale sign that the book is well-loved. Those books are our precious.
The only book I can think of that I still own and has been worn down so much that it’s a shell of its former self: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
I know, I know. I am in pain too that this beloved book had been broken into halves. I really wore it down. :P It’s not that I didn’t take good care of the book; it’s just the result of owning this book for around 15 years and constant rereading it when I was a pre-teen. It takes a toll on the book. But you know what? I look fondly at it and think, “it’s wearing its wounds with pride.” It really is a compliment to the book (even if it’s falling at the seams).
Oh my god, my copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban looks JUST like that! I don’t even know how many times I re-read that book while waiting for The Goblet of Fire to come out, but obviously it was enough to make the poor thing fall to pieces! It’s still one of my favorites in the series! :)
I treasure books that have been worn because of much love and rereading. My copy of The Truth About Forever is pretty battered but very well-read as the story is one of my favourites by Sarah Dessen and one of the first few books that introduced me to YA and to my favourite genre, contemporary romance. :D
I’ve only done this to one book as well, and that’s actually HP7! The Goblet of Fire is close behind, but since it’s paperback the spine was a bit more durable.
I bought a second set of the books, so I read those now, and my original set is mostly untouched because they’re getting pretty delicate in their old age. I’ll never get rid of them though, and treasure them forever!
I do have a few, but the only book I read and read until it fell apart and I had to buy a new copy was Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.
My HP books look like too! I also have a few others with worn and torn covers but none beat my Harry Potter collection. It’s been my most loved and re-read collection and I’m quite proud at the way they look!
I’ve had to buy several copies of the Little House on the Prairie books.
I love worn books :) Well, I like the look of them and the stories that are probably behind how well loved they are but I prefer mine to be in a more pristine state now lol.
I have two books that I can remember being in such a condition. My first copy of Little Women that’s probably still at my parents house… it completely busted, all the pages fell out, there’s no glue on the spine… it’s basically unreadable. I loved that book so much I think I read it every couple of weeks when I was a child! I also am on my second copy of The Devil Wears Prada, which is a fairly odd choice for a reread favorite but back when I was in university, I wasn’t buying a lot of books because of no money and most of my collections was at my parents house so I would reread this whenever i felt homesick or needed to read a favorite! I think I reread it once a month :P Needless to say that mass paperback was essentially destroyed because it was put through such strenuous abuse haha.
Yaaaasss! This post makes me so happy because my Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is that loved as well! I’ve read it so many times that pages have separated from the binding. I still have it, but I can’t read it anymore because I lost some of the pages during my most recent moved. Luckily, my mom gifted me an entirely new new Harry Potter set for Christmas last year.
That is pretty much how my original hardcover HP books look like. It makes me sad and happy at the same time. I do own the new fancy paperbacks that came out last year, but I have yet to open them from the plastic because I want them to be perfect, but at the same time I could use a reread and would love to break them in and show them some love.
We’re sort of twins, as the book I remember being grossly worn out from rereading is actually Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (which I first owned in paperback). It fell apart, and I had to tape it all together to make sure I didn’t lose any pages! I wish I had a photo, but it’s at home in the Philippines. You’ll just have to take my word for it ;)
I googled “books who were read so much they are worn” because I found my copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I love that this was the first website listed <3