Many years ago I gave up on loaning books altogether. I started just giving my books away instead. If it was a book that I knew I would want again, I would just buy myself another copy the next time I ran across it at a used bookstore. (I have bought at least five copies of Neil Gaiman's American Gods this way.) If not, then I just shrugged and released the book to the universe. "Keep it, sell it, pass it along - whatever you want," I tell people.
Those of you with a lot of attachment to the book as a physical object may cringe at the thought. But hear me out.
First of all, it prevents you from having to be the Book Police. You loan someone a book, you don't hear about it for six months… do you ask for it back? What about a year later? Two years later? No one wants to be a nag, but people rarely return loaned books back promptly.
You can get bookplates and custom page embossers, of course. But don't you feel just a little bit crotchety when you brand your books this way? It's the ultimate passive-aggressive move. I used to use bookplates, until I realized they made me feel churlish.
And finally, there are no fears about the book's condition. The reader is free to read it however they want - in the bath; destroying the spine by turning each page over so that it meets the back cover as they read; whatever. And it frees you up from worrying about every ding and nick and foxed corner on your formerly-pristine copy. If you want a pristine book, buy yourself another one and go on with your life.
Passing along a great book is one of life's joys. But do yourself and your friend a favor, and don't make it a loan. You'll be happier for it, and so will they.
Image courtesy Flickr/olliesvensson
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