Books we have recently had stolen

I never lend anymore with the thought of getting the book back. If I give it to someone, it's gone.

Absolutely. I did manage to get a few relatively hard-to-find poetry books back from someone I lent them to once, but it was something of a campaign.

I never lend anymore with the thought of getting the book back. If I give it to someone, it's gone.

not just books, but money, etc. everything.

Notes from the Underground, Dostoevsky. Lent it to a Russian ex-roommate who'd never read Dostoevsky. One of my favorite damn books. I want it back.

Oh man, I'm in the bad habit of loaning books to people I've made out with and then don't see again. I lost my orig copy of ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS that way but I gained someone else's copy of some poetry book that I haven't looked at in like 3 years. Something about dogs. I'll have to look.

Under extreme emotional blackmail I think I gave up my copy of Anne Moody's "Coming Of Age in Mississippi" for good. bleh! luckily cheap and easy to pick up again.

I have literally had stolen: a new copy of Me Talk Pretty One Day, and three Robert B Parker paperbacks that I'd just borrowed from my friend.

Never got back from ex-boyfriends: Howard's End (why I was lending him books after knowing him 2 days I don't know), The Beach (don't really mind about that one), a poetry journal I featured in (quite annoying).

Never got back from family members: Lyrical Ballads, Romantic Affinities, Score! by Jilly Cooper, possibly a couple of Philip Pullmans. Probably plenty more...

How could you Archel! I mean I have stolen from book shops but stealing from friends! that's too much sir.

I few years ago I lent The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to a friend, and Laurel ended up with it!

Not stolen BY me! Stolen FROM me. (Admittedly I don't think they were after the books so much as the wallet and phone that also happened to be in my bag...)

I do still have a copy of James and the Giant Peach that belonged to Ben Tyrell from Miss Adams' class, so I guess that counts as stealing since it's over 20 years later...

Ack, Rose! Did you get it back? -- I don't think I still have it! Arch, I can send you a new copy of ME TALK PRETTY -- just say the word, ducks (and send me your address).

The poetry book is FIVE SUGARS LEFT by John Hegley, of which I remember basically nothing but it was charming and maybe I'll pluck it back off the shelf. Ian Whateveryournameis, if you're reading this and you want it back, you'll have to trade me the book I loaned you.

Ben's and my libraries are so intermeshed that I'm never getting the Lloyd Alexanders back and he's never getting A PATTERN LANGUAGE. But that's fair.

Don't worry, Laurel, I got it back!

I loaned The Ditches of Edison County (parody of Bridges of Madison...) to my multimedia artist step-mom ages ago. She finally owned up to having cut it apart, along with its evil twin, and interleaving them into a work she gave to a friend. So, no more loaning to her! She also never fails to ask after my ancient student horn ("oh, are you still playing that? well, let me know if you ever need a place to store it") - like I would ever let that get into her artist clutches! She would have it painted fuchsia with lime stripes and hammered flat against a wall with wires and circuit boards sprouting from it in no time.

I would love many of my books to become works of art!Jaq,ask her if she wants lots of modern paperback mysteries, as my crazy mother dumps them all on me when she's finished. She could drill holes in them, recreate significant gory scenes using the book as the victim...or something. I would be happy to ship them all to her.

I have a great relationship with the book borrowers I know - all ladies- and they treat my "library" as, well, a library.
Also, I can say goodbye to some books, if I want them to travel. "The Time Traveller's Wife", for instance. I don't love that book, but many do, and I was happy to hear about it making people happy as it passed from woman to woman.
I just got back a stack of books that travelled to Vieques, Puerto Rico, without me. They probably enjoyed their vacation. There is, sometimes, a little bit of sand that emerges from the pages.

Totally off thread - Archel, I got your email, from a default mode...my new email is aimurchie@comcast.net. Sorry it has taken so long to reply -I couldn't change address books or transfer inbox items between the two emails at all - due to firewalls and other dramatic sounding nonsense. So I have not been able to reply to your message. So email me again-you thief of fifth graders Roald Dahl books!

i received back my last lost book from the ex who had it, friday.

Playboy Book of Short Stories. Lent it to a guy at university. Never returned, never managed to find another new copy.

I might start hunting down all my exes to get my books back. Though I would have to go to the south of France for one of them, and Mexico for another, what a shame...

aimurchie - I just emailed you at that address but my message got bounced right back :(

Laurel - THANKS! Is that your real email address? I will send my address to it if so.

Yep, the addy is the real thing -- although my webmail seems to have broken out into open revolt today, since nothing is working. Still, write me and I'll get to it later.

ex-boyfriend managed to lose the dust jacket of my signed first edition "Fortress of Solitude". Love is stupid

How do you lose a dust-jacket? WTF? It stays with the book, apart from those surreptitious glances and quick feels of the hardback cover.

that's what I wanna know! I shouldn't have dated him anyway; he didn't know Wales was a country

I always take dust jackets off when I'm reading books, especially if I'm carrying them around. Otherwise they get all damaged. But I don't usually lose them! (OK, I did lose one, once, but it wasn't one I especially cared about, and I think I eventually found it.)