A rant on respecting the book

OK, I realize that I’m preaching to choir here. If you are following my blog you probably enjoy reading and respect the craft of writing. This past December I became a fan of the Kindle but I still purchase some books from bookstores. There is just something magical about walking in a bookstore and for me this week, a part of that magic was missing. It was no fault of the particular Barnes and Noble that I was in but the fault of one person that clearly does not know how to respect a book.

I pre-ordered a signed edition of Cassandra Clare’s ‘City of Fallen Angels’ from Barnes and Noble. I also purchased the book on my Kindle so I read the book on release day. I followed up with the bookstore on release day and was told that the signed editions were not in yet. No big deal. I had all ready read the book. What I really wanted was the special letter from Jace to Clary that was in the Barnes and Noble edition. So I waited.

I got the call last week to go pick up my book. I went to Barnes and Noble and finally had my signed edition with the letter. Or so I thought. Once in the car I was anxious to finally read the letter. I opened my book and saw the problem. Where the letter was supposed to be was a tear. Someone tore the letter out of the book.

Needless to say I have been furious over this and that is why I have waited to write anything until I had some time to calm down. To be clear, I am not mad at Barnes and Noble. They cannot inspect every book to ensure that pages aren’t missing. I am mad at the individual who did this or anyone that has torn a page out of a book.

I love to read. I love the feeling of escaping into a new world and meet new characters. And I know that I’m not alone in my love for reading. If you go to a bookstore, you must, is someway share this love for reading. So, why tear pages out of a book that someone else is going to read? Why take away a piece of the magic from someone else?

If you have ever thought about tearing a page out of book I encourage you to stop and think about what you are doing. You are destroying some of the magic for the next person that will open that book. Please take time to think about what you are doing. Do what is right. And this applies to everything in life.

If this is the first time you’ve read my blog, I encourage you to read past posts. I’m normally not on my soapbox but I had to speak on this issue.

Announcements:

My non-fiction, “Caring for Your Special Needs Dog” published by Who Dares Wins Publishing is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. A percentage of the profits go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine. For more information click here.

You can read my interview at Who Dares Wins Publishing here.

I was a guest on Rachel Harris’ blog, Ending Unplanned this week. I spoke about going outside the box for writing communities.

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