Here’s this week’s question:

A few weeks back we had a question about borrowing books, this week I was wondering what your policy was on lending books. Do you lend books to anyone? Just friends? Only big readers? How long are they allowed to have them?

I’ll be honest here — I have a really hard time lending out my books. It’s not that I’m really possessive of them, persay, but I guess I’m… really possessive of them! My problem is just that when you let folks borrow them, you rarely get them back — or you rarely get them back in the same condition. With some books, that would probably be okay: I let my friends and coworkers borrow them when I’m finished with them, have no intention of re-reading them and know they’ll enjoy them. But if I haven’t yet read the book or I’m concerned about whether I’ll see it again, I’m really not happy about letting them be borrowed.

In the past, I’ve loaned books to friends, fellow students and coworkers — and I’ve gotten some back! Some I haven’t, but that’s okay. I guess if they’re out in the world being enjoyed by someone else, I should be happy. I’ve never put a time limit on the loans, though I have hinted that I’d like them back after a month or two. It’s a very sensitive operation!