Book spines...

[Memory]

I'm curious! When reading a paperback book do you tend to break the spine or not? And if possible I'd love to hear your reasons why/why not! 

Personally, I always break the spine. Sometimes even before opening the first page! I much prefer how much easier it is to read the book when the spine is broken as opposed to all the pages squishing together and refusing to let me see the edge words! I also love the look of a well read book, and broken spines are a sure sign of that!

Though I've always admired people who can keep their book spines in pristine condition... I simply couldn't even if I tried, so if you have any tips then feel free to leave them below LOL.

[lycoseadae]

usually yes! books tend to feel so stiff and hard to comfortably hold it open if i dont

[BananaBoots]

I pretty much always do, I find them harder to read if I don't! My girlfriend on the other hand hates it. She doesn't dog ear pages, doesn't break the spines, all her books are pretty much in perfect condition. I'm annotating my favourite book for her as a gift (The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, if anyone's curious) and she gave me one of her copies (because she has, like, three for some reason? Even though she's never read it??) and, when she did, she specifically said that I was allowed to break the spine and dog ear pages because that's how I read books and she wanted it to feel like one I've read

[sunosin]

I read something once about how to safely "break in" a book and I've been doing that ever since! This isn't the same source ( I don't remember) but here's someone demonstrating it!

[Rosaria Delacroix]

Breaking the spine of a new book is one of life's little pleasures. I will read books I love to literal tatters- especially as I prefer soft cover editions, due to the reduced weight, price, and strain on my wrists, which can be a serious issue with the risk of joint hemorrhages. It's viscerally satisfying to mark a book as yours by leaving that crease down along its back, and it helps splay the pages out better- I usually flick roughly through a book back and front to help fan out the pages, and then settle down to read. I don't fold books back over onto themselves, normally the books I read are too chunky to do so- but it is really lovely to see how the time you spend together reflects on the book overtime, especially as the corners of a softcover blunt down and blur to reveal that smooth white interior beneath the glossy print from where you're turning the pages.

[candycanearter07]

I always feel kinda bad when my books get creased.

[TheFrugalGamer]

I pretty much always do, I find them harder to read if I don't! My girlfriend on the other hand hates it. She doesn't dog ear pages, doesn't break the spines, all her books are pretty much in perfect condition. I'm annotating my favourite book for her as a gift (The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, if anyone's curious) and she gave me one of her copies (because she has, like, three for some reason? Even though she's never read it??) and, when she did, she specifically said that I was allowed to break the spine and dog ear pages because that's how I read books and she wanted it to feel like one I've read

This is such a sweet idea for a gift  I'm sure she will treasure that copy once it's finished.

As for myself, I usually don't break the spine completely, though sometimes I'll bend it a little depending on how large the book is. I don't particularly mind it either way, but I get a lot of books used via thrift stores and booksales, and I guess I'm just aware of how entropy ends up affecting them. I'm not anal about it, but especially for books I like I do try to lengthen the process for as long as I can, just so that they don't end up getting beaten down quickly. I figure the wear and tear will happen eventually, and that's fine, so I just try to be careful while I can.

[mothpanic]

…I don’t think it’s ever occurred to me to do this? is it supposed to be difficult to hold a book open without breaking it in? is there another reason for this? I just went to go watch some people breaking their books’ spines and couldn’t think of anything but the possibility of the books getting torn. :(

[jensen]

Pretty much a must for me to spend some time carefully breaking in the spine before I start reading a book. I know if I don't then I'll accidentally break it whilst reading and then get that ugly crease down the spine. (The book I'm currently reading I forgot to break it in and now I do indeed have a crease.) I think the books look better with a nice curve in the spine rather than a crease or not being broken in!

is it supposed to be difficult to hold a book open without breaking it in?

I wouldn't say it's difficult to hold but once it's broken in you can spread the pages further apart and read it flat rather than reading into the middle of the book where its on an angle or in shadow.

[Junebug]

Yes and I feel terrible every time. I don't mean to break the spine. I try to spread the pages out first so that the chances of the spine breaking is lower. And yet, most of the time I break the spine. I feel like I'm reading from a book that's dying afterward.

[haumeaGeth]

Break the... spines? I genuinely had no idea this was even a thing, and had to look it up to make sure I was understanding this thread correctly.

I don't break my spines. I like keeping my books in good condition, sure, but I guess it's more that I've just never opened my books that widely before? Not on purpose, either, I've never even thought about the spine creasing. It's just how I read, I guess. I've never had issues with squished text or particularly stiff books either.

I read something once about how to safely "break in" a book and I've been doing that ever since! This isn't the same source ( I don't remember) but here's someone demonstrating it!

I might start doing this actually, if it increases the longevity of the books! Neat!