Is Dog-Earing So Evil?
Dog-Ears or Bookmarks?
Why is it evil to dog-ear your own books? Dog-earing someone else’s book is depraved. But what if it’s your copy, and you don’t plan to trade it in?
I declare that under special circumstances, dog-earing is OK. Some readers might even prefer dog-earing to bookmarks.
What? How dare she? Summon the Book Police!
Book lovers will be up in arms against my declaration. Just look at some of the statements against dog-earing in the article Bookmarks Versus Dog Ears: How You Keep Track of Your Reading — In Pictures from The Guardian.
On the other hand, check out the impassioned In Defense of Dog-Earring by a staff member of The Friends of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Learn more about the history (yes, it has a history!) of dog-earing with the article Dog-Earing Books Is Considered a Shameful Habit These Days — But It Wasn’t Always So.
Dog-earing the pages is what makes some readers comfortable while reading. That’s fine as long as they don’t dog-ear borrowed books!
Also, consider this. Unlike bookmarks, dog-ears don’t fall out of the book. Little bits of yarn don’t fall out of dog-ears in books. Dog-ears also do less damage than most magnetic bookmarks I’ve tried using. (Grrrr.)
