Have you ever burned books?

[sadya]

Suddenly you are one of my favourite people on this board.

Usually I'm against setting books on fire, even when I don't like them, but books like that 50 shades are just too horrible.

[TheOceansVeil]

No need to harm the environment. Recycle not burn.

[naomi_perrin]

I have never burned a book! Usually I just donate to the local bookstore, or recycle it if it's falling apart or missing pages.

[ejcogan]

The only book I ever burned was the phone book when I needed to get my fireplace going. Not sure if anyone considers that a "NO NO", but it kept my kids warm. Other than that I wouldn't consider burning a book, like gali, it makes me think of the Nazis. I think that whether I consider it a good book or not there's always someone out there who might appreciate a recycled book. I donate mine to the local library.

[ssued2894]

Yes I have! Of course, this was many years before recycling. Though I believe in freedom to read, there's a different in my mind between what happens in a library and my personal collection. In the book burning case, I remember having a few books that I felt were not worth passing on to someone else because they had the high potential of hurting someone else, like it did me.

Bottom line, if there is a book in my possession (most likely one given to me) that has the potential of creating harm to another, it gets trashed.

I have never burned a book. You say it is because the book could cause harm. However, I am not very sure I understand what you mean by this? Could you give an example as to what you mean by a book that could cause harm to someone?

[zeldas_lullaby]

I have never burned a book. You say it is because the book could cause harm. However, I am not very sure I understand what you mean by this? Could you give an example as to what you mean by a book that could cause harm to someone?

Can I give an example? Dangerous Personalities by Joe Navarro, an FBI profiler who claims, among other things, that all paranoiacs (such as myself) should be avoided, because we're all gun-toting maniacs, who, if pulled over for speeding, would take out the officer with our AK-47's before he could say a word to us.

That book hurts me! Seeing it on my sister's coffee table at Christmas hurt me. The fact that it has a 5-star Amazon rating really hurts me. The fact that it spreads fear-mongering hurts me. In that instance, I wouldn't burn it for several reasons (safety first and foremost--I don't know how to burn things), but I would shred it or recycle it, or something.

[ssued2894]

I have never burned a book. You say it is because the book could cause harm. However, I am not very sure I understand what you mean by this? Could you give an example as to what you mean by a book that could cause harm to someone?

Can I give an example? Dangerous Personalities by Joe Navarro, an FBI profiler who claims, among other things, that all paranoiacs (such as myself) should be avoided, because we're all gun-toting maniacs, who, if pulled over for speeding, would take out the officer with our AK-47's before he could say a word to us.

That book hurts me! Seeing it on my sister's coffee table at Christmas hurt me. The fact that it has a 5-star Amazon rating really hurts me. The fact that it spreads fear-mongering hurts me. In that instance, I wouldn't burn it for several reasons (safety first and foremost--I don't know how to burn things), but I would shred it or recycle it, or something.

I understand now, I guess I just never really thought about that. I can see what you mean by hurt and I think I would probably do the same thing. It's never right to be judged and categorized.

[zeldas_lullaby]

Hey, thanks for understanding!!

[CataclysmicKnight]

Nope, I wish I could say something original, but I've never burned a book and never really considered its even though I was slightly pyrotechnic as a teenager. I also don't feel any ill will against anyone who would burn or otherwise destroy them, though... as has been pointed out, sometimes there are some good reasons!

[zeldas_lullaby]

Slightly pyrotechnic? Hee hee. I was actually pyrophobic as a teenager. This thread made me remember something... about ten years ago, I was reading a self-help book that suggested making a "blue, healing fire." So I followed the instructions, and gathered everything together. Then, due to a storm, there was a sudden power outage. "Perfect," I decided. And then I lit the match... and recoiled about three feet in an immediate panic. The fire in the bowl was in the middle of my bedroom floor, and it was shooting straight up about three feet. I just crouched there, petrified, even though there was an extinguisher within arm's reach. Eventually, the fire died down, and I was just a little bit mad at the author. (Just a little bit.) I never messed around with healing blue fire after that.

[CataclysmicKnight]

Healing blue fire sounds fun! I still love to melt and burn things, but I'm not as obsessive about it... Fire is dangerous and powerful, but gorgeous and fun as well... The fact that I hate being hot doesn't go along with having fun with fire well though...

[zeldas_lullaby]

Yeah, that sounds like the sad story about the figure skater who hates the cold ice rink.

Oh, hey. Your talk about melting things reminded me of a haiku I wrote. I'm going to include it in a future novel, so I don't want to post it here. Hold on, I'm going to IM it to you.

[GreenBookworm]

No, never and I never even thought at the idea.

[Cher+Pot]

I have never burnt books. We actually have a tradition of burying books that are not used anymore or in really bad shape. It just feels better than burning the words of someone else, but, as Joseph Brodsky said, "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them."

There are of course books that ask to be burnt...like the "Burn Book" in Mean Girls.

[Morgan_Malone]

Never!