Welcome to another edition of Booking Through Thursday. Today’s thoughts zero in on book borrowing.
I’ve asked before how you feel about lending your books. I’ve asked how you feel about libraries. But—how do you feel about borrowing books from friends? Is this something you like to do? Does it make you feel uncomfortable or rushed while reading? Does it affect how you feel about the book you’re reading, pressured into liking it?
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I am not usually a borrower, but I do have one friend with whom I swap books: she borrows one or more of mine, and she lends me one or more of hers.
There is no real pressure, as the books she borrows are books I’ve already read—I would never lend books on my TBR pile!—and the same goes for the ones I borrow. And no, I don’t feel pressure to enjoy it. And I wouldn’t borrow books that I didn’t think I’d enjoy.
Right now I have all four books in the Nora Roberts Bride’s Quartet sitting on my nightstand!
Every time I consider picking one up, I stop. Why? Because I’m thinking I need to read them all, one after the other, and I have so many books on my stacks! Silly, huh?
But I do plan to get to them sometime. I think I’ve had them for a couple of years, because my friend lives five hours away, and neither of us has made the trip in awhile.
What about you? Do you borrow? Or are you squeamish about it?
SNOW SPARKS 
Hmmm…no one can get to books as fast as I can and usually my friends read things that I have already read…so…I guess I am not a book borrower! Isn’t there an old saying that says…never a lender or borrower be? Lol…and I don’t really use the library…by the time I get it I could have read my own copy already! I was getting my teeth cleaned on Tuesday and the dental technician said she just read Gone Girl! Yikes!
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Ha-ha….and yes, I usually prefer getting my own books, and I preorder the must-reads. I request books (online) from the library when I don’t necessarily want to own the book, but I’d still like to read it. So it works out….and yes, love that saying about lending and borrowing. I can almost hear my grandmother saying those words! LOL
Thanks for stopping by, Patty.
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I, too, have all four books in the Nora Roberts Bride’s Quartet, but I have read them all, at least twice. 🙂 If you are a Nora Roberts fan, you will love them. Bride’s Quartet is a great series!
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That is good news, Debra….my friend loved the books, but we don’t necessarily enjoy the same ones. Thanks for stopping by.
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There are only two people with whom I swap books, and I never feel pressured to read them right away, and only loan books I’ve already read. I also only loan to these two people as I know I will get the book back, and in the same condition as it was loaned. I have already read the Bride quartet, but have the Inn trilogy to read, and like you, I know I am going to want to read them, one after the other, so need to work them in between group reads or other books I *really* want to read.
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Yes, it’s very important to only swap books with those who will treat them well. I want to read the Inn trilogy, too; so far I’ve only read the first one, and wish I had bought them all.
Thanks for stopping by, Heather.
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I don’t borrow many books, because I do feel pressured to read them and return them as soon as possible. The library is a different story, I know I have 3 weeks or as long as I want, but again I still feel pressured to read them within that three weeks. I just borrowed 3 books from the library 2 weeks ago and had them read in a week and a half, returned and am reading from my own TBR pile again. Some of my friends borrow books from me but like you, they only get to borrow what I have already read.
The “Bride Series” I read a year or two ago, they weren’t my favorites. It seemed that I felt like after I read the first one, the other three followed the same storyline. But than again I don’t really read many books by Nora Roberts. I did read them one right after the other, so maybe they need to be read a few months apart.
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I agree that the Roberts romance books are kind of predictable and follow a formula. I like her mysteries better, and I’m really hooked on the J. D. Robb books now. Thanks for stopping by, Gigi Ann.
And the books I borrowed I have had a long time, but my friend has also had the ones I lent her…so no worries. LOL
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I prefer my own books and having no pressure to return them.
http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2013/08/booking-through-thursday_15.html
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Yes, that is my preferred mode, too, except in the case I mentioned above. Thanks for stopping by, Mary Ann.
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‘Never lend TBR books’ – just the sensible thing to do.
Hazel
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Absolutely! I have my TBRs separated from the other books…and not where others can actually grab them…LOL. Thanks for stopping by, Hazel.
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I get the ‘read the whole series in one go’ bug too – it’s not fatal but it is exhausting 🙂
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Yes, but if I didn’t have that feeling, I could probably have finished the series by now by reading them here and there! LOL Thanks for stopping by, Vilia.
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I rarely borrow books from friends. Most of my local friends don’t read the same things I do, for one thing. And for another, I usually have so many library books and now ARCs to read that I can’t be sure when I could get to a friend’s book! But when I’m visiting my family, I do borrow books from both my mom and my sister.
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I don’t like to borrow (or lend) either, but I do with this one friend. However, I don’t remember which books of mine she has…and it’s driving me crazy! LOL Thanks for stopping by, Lark.
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