Dust Jackets

[Lillie]

On. I never think to take them off, and I like cover art.

But they do fall off while I'm reading, and then they get messed up and creased and they drive me mad.

But I still never think about taking them off.

I use rizlas for book marks. And when I run out I raid my books for skins. They taste of dust and words.

 

[MoLoLu]

Wow, interesting question.

Can't comment for myself as my collection of hardbacks is zero but my dad collects a number of hard covers and, in particular, older books. Up until recently he left them off but embarked on an odysee to return all the dust covers to the books to prevent damage & fading.

I'd support the 'on' category for reasons of preserving the work. My paperbacks never fare well during reading and the hypothetical hardcover would do no better.

 

[Darkshore]

I think a lot of posters are missing the actual question. It isn't for when they are on the shelf, in storage, display, etc. It's specifically when you are holding the books in your hands to read them.

 

[Phaeal]

If it's a freaking huge book, I might take the jacket off, as I find jackets fall off freaking huge books more often. Besides, I like to use freaking huge books as missiles, and missile duty's very hard on covers.

It varies, though. The nice matte dust cover on War and Peace never fell off, whereas the shiny embossed dust cover on my omnibus Alan Lee-illustrated Lord of the Rings is downright treacherous.

For the most part, I like using the dust cover flaps for bookmarks.

 

[Scribe4264]

Off, and they stay off. Ripped up and in the bin. Hate them. Even when they're just on your shelf, they start riding up. Same thing with those cardboard sleeves over DVDs and Blu-rays that are over the actual cover. Tear them them up. Don't want them.

Although I have to admit that I take the DVD covers and toss them too. All of my DVDs and CDs are in binders with page sleeves that hold 8 to a page, divided by category and cataloged. So instead of hundreds of those space consuming plastic holders I have my entire collection in 10 binders on one 2-foot long shelf.

 

[kuwisdelu]

Dust jackets? Are those like sleeves or cases for your ereader or tablet or something? I had a protective skin on my iPad for a while, but I didn't like it, so I took it off.

 

[Dr.Gonzo]

Dust jackets? Are those like sleeves or cases for your ereader or tablet or something? I had a protective skin on my iPad for a while, but I didn't like it, so I took it off.

I have the first draft of a social commentary about the digital age that this post screams to be in.

 

[kuwisdelu]

I have the first draft of a social commentary about the digital age that this post screams to be in.

I do my best.

 

[Darkshore]

I'm oldschool I guess. Though I have both a tablet and a kindle...I can't resist filling a bookshelf with my favourites...

 

[shaldna]

I take them off, lay them flat in a drawer and put them back on when I am done.

 

[Rhoda Nightingale]

For the most part, I like using the dust cover flaps for bookmarks.

My mom does this. It drives me absolutely bonkers, especially when it's one of my books, because then the covers get all bendy and never sit flat and nice on the books anymore. Every time I see her fold the flap about halfway into a huge book, I cringe and want to say, "Stop, you're hurting it!"

I keep them on when I'm reading though. They just look so naked and boring without their covers.

 

[AlishaS]

I take them off to read the novel, keep them in a place where they won't get damaged, and then, when I'm done reading the go back on and the novel get's put on my imaginary shelf (boxes because I don't have book shelfs :O )

Howvever I do not under any circumstances discard them!! Every! They are an important part of the book. I know people who take them off and throw them away!!! That is just abuse, plain and simple.

 

[Kathleen_]

I take them off because they anoy me when I'm reading. Hopefully I remember to put them back on when I'm done because otherwise they can get pretty beat up lying around.
That said, not many of my books have dust jackets these days.

 

[Filigree]

If they're plastic-covered and the flaps taped down, they don't get in the way at all. And I've had certain books survive an accidental splash of tea, because I'd covered the dust jacket.

 

[Jamesaritchie]

First thing I do when I get home with my new book is to remove the dust jacket and banish it to its grisly fate in the trash can.

Can't stand them, refuse to keep them and, since I don't sell my books, it won't matter to me what the value is or isn't without those infernal wastes of material.

To me, that's almost sacrilegious. It's like drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa.

On the other hand, readers like you are why books with dust jackets are so valuable. Your books will deteriorate much faster without those jackets, which also makes books with good dust jackets much more valuable.

I've made a lot of money over the years by buying and selling first editions, and rarity of good dust jackets makes all the difference.

I'd also add that the material you talk about is only wasted if you throw it away. Keep it, and it isn't a waste, it is, in a real way, the most important part of the book as an object. Value aside, it goes a long, long way in keeping the book itself from deteriorating.

 

[Filigree]

Even if you never plan to sell your hardbacks, making them last longer will help your finances. I've worn out two sets, in two different printings, of Tanith Lee novels. Next year when I have a little more money, I'm splurging on a beautiful new set in hardback from an indie press, with Lee's own art inside and her husband's cover art. And before I crack one spine to read them, I'll be covering their jackets.

 

[Hiroko]

I leave dust jackets on as I read. I just like them for whatever reason.

 

[Tasmin21]

I read with the dust jacket on, but my hubby takes the dust jacket off. And we go 'round and 'round about it.

 

[kuwisdelu]

While I can understand the attachment in principle to the physical object of a book, it's difficult for me to feel it in the same way I might with, for example, an album.

I think part of it, for me, is that unlike an album, which generally retains the same cover art no matter how many years later you buy it, with books, lots of times the cover art can completely change in later editions.

Perhaps if authors worked much more closely with the cover artist this would change, but I just don't feel the same way about cover art (and therefore, things such as dust jackets) with books as I do with albums.

 

[KTC]

I read with the dust jacket on, but my hubby takes the dust jacket off. And we go 'round and 'round about it.

funny, my wife is an uncultured heathen too! (-:

DUST. JACKET. OFF. Lest we wrinkle the poor thing.

 

[ShamanDrum]

Always on.

Don't know why.

 

[Alessandra Kelley]

(U)nlike an album, which generally retains the same cover art no matter how many years later you buy it, with books, lots of times the cover art can completely change in later editions.

I wonder why that is. Book cover artists are generally paid a flat fee for specified reproduction rights. Is that how it is with album cover artists?

 

[The Lonely One]

Um, on.

I didn't even realize off was an option.

God I had the same reaction...

 

[Sunnyside]

I throw away the dust jacket. I simply have no use for them.

*has heart attack*

Whuh whuh what?? Given how much work goes into them (dollar to donuts that EVERYONE here has fussed over their cover) I can't imagine having such a cavalier attitude about the dust jacket! Ouch!

I'm a "take it off" guy all the way. I read with it off, then put it back on to store on the shelf. And I've managed to pass on to my 15-year-old daughter my annoying habit.