Etiquette For Writing In Books

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LoveLoveLovix

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I just finished my first Buffy novel today- Little Things. One thing I noticed while reading it was all the mistakes- I caught seven- with both canon and grammar. It got so bad that I made a list of the ones I caught (and I wasn't even searching for them, these were just what I came across), then went to the school librarians and begged them to let me write in the corrections (they said no, and advised me to complain to the editor).

I was wondering if mistakes were a common thing in Buffy and Angel novels, or if I just got lucky. How have the books you have read measured up to your basic high school grammar? Did you find capitalization errors? A wrong last name? An author who seemed to have decided that Tara and Willow weren't girlfriends, only really close buds (okay, that was me inferring from the fact that Willow kept being referred to as Tara's "friend" or vise versa. Still bugged me). Something else?

Also, when you do find errors, do they keep you from reading the story?
 
I don't know about Buffy and Angel novels, but I'm hyperaware of grammar and punctuation issues. The most frequent (across all of my reading material) seems to be the comma-and-coordinating-conjunction thing, which makes me wonder if editors just don't know that rule. It really drives me insane when I notice these problems. Some can be blamed on the editors, but for some, the author should have known better.
 
This is exactly why I hate libraries. I generally ALWAYS buy my books because I can do whatever I want with them. I do sometimes write in my books. I underline passages and write notes in the margins about how to find the journal entry(ies) I wrote about that particular passage, line, chapter, character, etc. If I find a grammar mistake, I correct it. If I find a content mistake, I'll underline the passage and basically complain about in a journal entry. I keep a reading journal (as you could probably already tell) so when I read and want to talk about what I'm reading, I write it in my journal. It could be a response to something, a note about something, a rant about something, or even just a "I like that" or "I don't like that."

I read this essay in English class a few semesters ago about writing in your books and how a book that is worn, the pages are written in, folded back, the binding is broken, is a book that has been read and a book that is loved and appreciated. I completely agree.

And if I were you, I'd go make the corrections anyway.
 
S
Spikefan31
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Oh no no no. I grew up in the public school system where it was DRILLED into or head never to write in books, or you will die a very painful death and go to hell. Right next to judas in the 9th circle.

I can't do it. I make all my notes on a separate paper that can go with the book.
 
brinkster130
brinkster130
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Zoe, do you mind if I steal that reading journal idea from you? It's kind of sort of brilliant.

Also, I seriously might go and correct all the mistakes... I wrote down page numbers so it won't take too long. And I also plan to go through all the other Buffy books in the library, then the Roswell books and if I've seen Charmed by then, probably them too.

I am so glad it's not just me, I was afraid it was my rabid fanfic (because isn't that really what this is?) reviewer coming out to bite.
 
Z
zobothehobo
go ahead. I don't remeber who told me to do that, but I love it. it is brilliant.
I can't comment on the Buffy novels since I've never read them, but I'm incredibly anal about grammar and spelling in books. It gets so bad that I refuse to finish a book if I come across too many mistakes, and I have written letters of complaint to publishers before.

Still, I'm with randi here - writing in books is Bad with a capital B even if they belong to you, but in my world, a special place in hell is reserved for people who scribble in library books.
 
M
msfantastico87
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TheFirstSlayer
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Ollehh
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brinkster130
brinkster130
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randiann
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No matter how bad the punctuation and grammar, it is simply reprehensible to write in a book! THAT IS WHAT NOTEPADS ARE FOR!

And on the Buffy novels issue: yes, you do see these inconsistencies quite often. My number one offender was Seven Crows (or whatever it was called).
 
I couldn't write in my books or anyone else's, it gives me the heebie jeebies to even think about it, but that's my OCD talking.

I recall finding mistakes in Little Things, but I don't think I've found any more in other Buffy novels.
 
I hate spelling errors just as much as the next person. If it's a novel or what not, I won't write in it. Textbooks, however, that's another story. It's easier for me to write down my notes in the actual textbook, but I never reword or scratch out anything that was written.

This is the main reason I buy all my books. I hate going to the library and finding a page missing, Or finding that someone had "reworded" a sentence to their liking. It's not right. Buy your own books and you won't have that problem. I'll never write in a book unless it's a textbook. That is that.
 
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Ollehh
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If you write in the books, you might get banned from the library. Also, the next person reading them might be more bothered by the distracting notes than the errors. Just write it on a paper and put that piece of paper in the book. Or if you do decide to write in them, don't use ink.
 
I love spelling errors in books, or missing quotation marks. Reminds me that this idea, this book, all came from a human thus the error. To correct them manually by pen takes away from someone else who'd find them 😛
 
LoveLoveLovix said:
I just finished my first Buffy novel today- Little Things. One thing I noticed while reading it was all the mistakes- I caught seven- with both canon and grammar. ?
Click to expand...

I'm so curious...what canon errors did they make?

I must admit that I have written in pencil in some of my own books in college.
 
The only thing that bothers me more than spelling and grammar errors in a book is finding someone else's notes and writing in it. It drives me crazy...like nails on a chalkboard.
 
I didn't end up doing it, but it's seriously been bugging me all through spring break.

Mistakes... hmm, they didn't capitalize a couple things, they decided Anya was NOT named Jenkins (honestly, watch the series, author person!), there were misplaced quotation marks and the like.
 
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TeamSunnydale
LOL you should write a letter listing all the complaints, and maybe they'll send you free Buffy merchandise in compensation :)
I'm perfectly happy to write in the margins of books, and underline phrases or paragraphs. I wouldn't go as far as correcting mistakes - though if it was a canon mistake I'd maybe say so - and I certainly wouldn't write in a library book. But any of my books? They're for me. 😛

Honestly, I would think that to an author, the greatest compliment would be to be handed a well-worn, dog-eared, battered copy of your book to sign. A pristine copy says nothing of the reader's experience.

Of course, there ARE some books I have that are just far too pretty to not keep in as close to perfect condition as possible. And I like to keep them all organised. But writing isn't a problem to me at all.

On the other hand, if someone else borrowed one of my books and scribbled all over it, I would be most unimpressed!
 
LoveLoveLovix said:
I didn't end up doing it, but it's seriously been bugging me all through spring break.

Mistakes... hmm, they didn't capitalize a couple things, they decided Anya was NOT named Jenkins (honestly, watch the series, author person!), there were misplaced quotation marks and the like.
Click to expand...

When was the book released?

If I recall correctly, we didn't find out Anya's name until Checkpoint. Was it written before then?
 
Opening my decade-old copy of Karin Boye's collected poems feels a bit like flicking through a diary written in code. The notes are sufficiently vague for me to be able to show poems to others or even lend the book to someone, but seen with the poems they are so clear that I am almost transported to the time and place where a particular poem touched me. I like writing in my books, and like to borrow books that the owner has jotted down thoughts in. Writing in library books, though, is an absolute no-go.
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In answer to the original question, as far as I am concerned, there is no etiquette that applies to writing in a book. If it is your property, then it is yours to do with as you see fit. If, on the other hand, it belongs to a library or some individual or organization, you have no right whatsoever to deface or damage it in any way, period. I was raised to believe that books are just one step short of precious, things to be respected at the least and cherished at the best.

(On the other hand, my mother owner every translation of the Bible that she could lay her hands on. The margins of each and every one of them are filled with her notes and I doubt that a single page in any of them didn't have at least one verse underlined, highlighted, or marked in some other way, and whenever my sister or I read one of them, it's like she's there with us. But, as I said, those Bibles were her property, so she felt free to write in them. She would never have done that with someone else's Bible.)
 
I'm with y'alls. For me writing in my own books is fine... I like to make notes in the margin or underline and highlight (not so much in fiction).

However... library books... when I find library books that have been written in I feel more than willing to hunt the culprit down! Because to me books are precious. If I write in my own it's because I feel passionate about them, but if it's someone elses.... no no, there's no excuse for doodling or notetaking!

(I borrowed 'Veronica decides to die' from my library and someone had written long letters to well no one in particular in them. But long letters nonetheless... it was very very irritating!)
 
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