Do you rent or own?

Being an avid reader and someone who wants to go into the publishing industry, I love books. LOVE them. I can't say it enough. Actually, sometimes I can't even find the words to express how much I love books, that's how much I love them. Some days I will sit and fantasize about the latest read I want to pick up at Barnes and Nobles. I'll often conjur up some logical reason for me to go to Barnes and Nobles just so I can buy a book or just get lost in the shelves of the store. So I guess you can tell that I am a proud bookowner. If there was a bumpersticker saying "Proud bookowner" I would stick it on my car.

The other day I got into a debate with my boyfriend about buying books versus checking them out of the library. I adore him, but we are complete opposites, especially when it comes to this issue. He is a big saver, which is a great and admirable quality that I am in no way frowning upon. In fact, I like that he is a saver; his head is screwed on right. But he does not understand why I buy my books when I can just check them out of the library like he does.

He did bring up some valid points about library books. Most obvious, they are free (I'll admit, a big advantage to his side of the argument). If you need more time to read them, you can renew them. When I pointed out that you never know who checked out the book before you--like someone who was the complete antithesis of a germaphobe--he said the same thing goes for books to be purchased during the packaging, shipping, unpacking, displaying process that they go through. This may or may not be true, but I would rather have people paid to handle those books with care touch the books I read rather than who knows who.

The money issue does weaken my side of the debate, as most paperback reprints don't go for less than $15 nowadays. And hardcover doesn't help my side either ($25+, which is why I buy paperbacks WAY more often that hardcover). But I drew from my passion for books to support my side. First off, once you buy the book, it's YOURS and no one else's. You can read it at your leisure because guess what--no return date! Keep it as long as you want, do with it what you want. When I purchase books that I find helpful for academic, professional, or personal reasons, they bleed with ink and highlighter. With library books you don't have the liberty of doing that. I also believe in the reading experience. Also, with new releases you can buy them right away. If you want to check one out of the library, sign up because you have to wait at least a year for it to hit library shelves. And with the invention of the Kindle (for those who don't know, and electronic device onto which you can download books and read on a screen), I want to support writers and their craft by buying their books.

Most important to me is the way a book looks, the way it feels in your hands when you turn the pages, the way it smells when you stick your nose so far in it you can't pull yourself away--that enriches the experience of reading. Each book on my shelf elicits a memory of my experience with it whenever I look at it--when I read it, what was going on in my life, how I felt while I was reading it. This same thing can go for library books, but for me it's about holding onto and owning those literary memories. And I can share these memories with family and friends by lending them my books, which has a much more personal touch than checking out library books.

I don't think there was a clear winner to the debate. Boyfriend thinks he's right, and I of course think I am right. We're both stubborn. It's all personal preference I suppose.