I used to do this and I’ve noticed in old secondhand books it’s very common, the person’s name and often also a date. Do you do this?
Poll to follow.
No, I’m not really sure what purpose it would serve. It’s not like I leave my books lying around in public places where they could be confused with somebody else’s books. The only use I can think of would be for books I’ve loaned to friends, so they could remember from whom they’ve borrowed each book, but I’ve never actually known any of my friends to have a problem with this so it still doesn’t seem like there’s much reason.
No, I haven’t done that since I was about 6 years old. When I was a kid and had those little Golden Books they had a space for your name and my mom would let me write it there. All other writing in books was a no no. I’ve always loved books, especially the crisp feel and smell of a new book, so I’d never write in them these days.
Yes, with the caveat that I don’t write my name until I start reading it. (Probably like many Dopers, I accumulate books at a far greater rate than I read them.)
I do this mostly because I used to love going through my parents’ bookcases when I was a kid and see names written by their young (pre-me!) selves on the front pages. This is also, now that I think about it, perhaps the truest reason that I’m resistant to e-readers.
I don’t write my name, but I emboss it with my “From the Library of Strainger” notary public-style embosser.
Tried embossing my Kindle, but ended up wrecking the screen.
I’ve always assumed that this is what people do who loan their books to friends a lot. However, someone who’s likely to forget to return a book isn’t likely to be looking for a name inside the cover, so that’s probably why you see this in used book stores.
I’ve also thought that for some it’s a subconscious attempt to intellectually tie oneself to a text, for whatever end. After all, you don’t write your name on your clothes or your furniture, do you?
No, because I might want to sell them someday. In my experience, people will pay a bit more for a clean book.
On the other hand, I like it when a used book has “To Adabelle, Christmas 1937” on the flyleaf. 
Oh I almost always dedicate books but rarely if ever write my name in one I’ve bought or received. I might start doing it again.
I used to write my name in my books when I was young. I remember that people used to borrow books more, and pass them around, so if you ever wanted your books to come home, you were wise to put your name in them.
I used to do this as a kid, but books are now give-away items for me. Except for a treasured few, once I read it, I either give it to a friend or to the library. I love reading, but I have no desire to accumulate books.
I rarely write my name in a book. I tend to sell or give away books once I’ve read them and don’t put my name in a book that I’m not sure that I’m going to keep. But I live with two other people and if I know I’m going to keep it, and it’s a subject that more than one of us is interested in, then I’d tend to label it, just to keep the confusion level down.
I only write my name in a book if I’m lending it to someone else and I want to get it back.
I don’t because I’m too shy. Also, for years I held out because I was hoping to get married and have a different name soon.
Now I’m happily married and likely to live at the same address for at least twenty more years. Maybe I should get bookplates.
Back in school when I bought expensive textbooks (which were sadly often lifted), I would write my name on the page that could be interpreted as my birthday (eg, if my birthday were March 4, I’d write my name in the margin on page 304.) This was to prevent any arguments over ownership if someone were to try and claim that my book was theirs. (And yes, it did work to prevent a couple of arguments.) It sucks if your birthday is Dec 31, but I guess you could pick a suitable alternate date.
That’s one of the reasons why I’ll do it.
I also put my name in all of the role-playing game books which I buy. They tend to get passed around during game play, and I want to make sure I get all of my books back. If one goes missing, I can just look for my big nameplate on the first page.
I did my thesis (partly) on the history of books. The habit of writing one’s name and the date of purchase (i.e., making a “provenance note”) on the inside cover of a book was one of the major tools people in the field use. This was much more prevalent in days gone by, but out of respect for that tradition, I do indeed sign and date my books now.
It depends on the book:
- is it a long term reference book?
- am I likely to be lending it to others?
- am I going to use it in situations where it could be mixed up with identical copies owned by other people e.g. textbooks, musical scores?
- was it very expensive?
Hell yeah I do. I also love buying used books and googling the names of the previous owners!
This.
And you didn’t want to create evidence of having a different name at an earlier point in your life?
I usually write my name in my book. It’s a habit from childhood. When I go through my relatives’ books, I love seeing their handwritten names and dates.