How on Earth do I avoid cracking the spines /lit/? I want to

Dude, what? Wear and tear is a necessity. It shows you've read the book.

>>7982176
just buy two copes of each book - one for the booskhelf and one for reading

Don't hyperextend it you twat. Don't fold it back on itself and don't push it down on a flat surface. If you don't do those then only the cheapest books will get creased on their own.

>>7982176

Don't buy cheap paperbacks.

Paperbacks are for reading, hardbacks are for collecting.

oh my god get over your materialism

Don't buy mass market paperbacks (squat and stiff), buy trade paperbacks (tall and floppy), and don't bend one half of the book behind the other. If you're in the UK, I notice their paperbacks are of different material and they collect spine lines easier, they're bound stiffer. I don't know, maybe move to the US if you're serious about collecting books. Also: hardcovers whenever you can - and hardcovers with sewn fucking signatures, not hardcovers where they just glue the paper to the board and call it a day. Everyman's Library. Library of America. Knopf Doubleday. These are good publishers that continue to put out well-built books (except City on Fire from Knopf, its binding is glued, probably because they paid $2 million to publish it and it's 900 pages and paper is expensive). Anyway, have a good day and happy book buying! (P.S. Do not buy used, ever: fecal particles, that's all I'm gonna say.)

>>7982176
Mass market paperbacks are not meant to last. Buy trade paperbacks or hardcovers if you want books that last decades in good condition.

>>7982179
No it shows you're an autistic toddler who can't do a simple task like reading without causing destruction.

>>7982285
Then how come I read hardbacks?

>>7982179
Lol how insecure do you ahve to be that you need to show off that you've read a book

>>7982237
That sounds absolutely retarded.
t.poorfag

Don't avoid it. Embrace it. It's the comfiest way to read a paperback.

>>7983339
UK books are shit quality. Continental paperbacks get that nice scent that reminds you of grandma's old bookshelves; the British stuff just stinks of cheap ink, bleach, and child labour right from the start and there's nothing you can do about it.

I'm with OP, I can't stand creased spines or tattiness of books. I'm a UK fag and as >>7984953
said, books aren't exactly bound the best here, but I've managed to read the Picador edition of 2666 without creasing the spine, so it's pretty doable. Best reading position for such is with legs tucked up towards chest and having the spine resting on your thigh just below the knee if it's a big book, and aim for <45 degree angles with the pages.

>>7984588
i was just memeing you fucking idiot

just use two hands and dont open it too far desu

cracked spines are awful to read