# Vegetarian readers and the leatherbound book dilemma **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 6, 2002, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462 "2002-05-06T01:53:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/61 "2002-05-07T22:50:13Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. I never said that a book was _only_ available in leather. I simply said that the “nice” or “fancy” editions typically are. And so my library consists of paperbacks and books with cardboard covers, and none of them are the really elegant fancy books that I’d like to have once in a while. Try [www.foliosociety.com](http://www.foliosociety.com) Absolutely beautiful and very well made books, only a fraction of which, from my recollection of the 2002 catalog, contain any leather, not even quarter-bound. Ya gotta join the club, and individual books are kinda pricey, but a) they **never** send you one unless you specifically ask for it, and b) you get a pretty fair number of books for very little cost up front. I figure, roughly, I’ve paid no more than $30-$35 dollars per volume after factoring in include the introductory editions. Bindings, covers, endpapers and the typeface are all fully described in the catalog. You’ll know exactly what you are buying. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/62 "2002-05-07T22:54:45Z")
I buy paper backs, second hand, for fifty cents. Then I give them back to the thrift store. Of course, marketing is never aimed at the specialty needs, except in expensive and rare cases. Most people like leather. Most people who are going to spend more than sixty or seventy dollars for a book, especially a book they could get for thirty or less, want leather. They don’t mind killing cows, goats, or other animals, and already wear leather shoes, belts, vests, hats, pants, and even underwear. They sell other types of clothing, and other types of books, but since it would cost almost as much to make a naugahide edition of a best seller as a leather one, and more people will pay higher prices for the leather one, that’s what is out there. But, I do know that modern leather is really not all that suitable for bookbinding, since polychrome tanning leaves acid in the leather which cannot be completely removed. The old well washed leathers used before 1900 were oak tanned. So, the best of modern bookbindings are linen on de-acidified fiber board. Those might well last the three hundred years that the art of bookbinding achieved in the 1600’s. All that said, there is this, as well. If you want to abjure all animal products, you are going to have to accept the alternative. I won’t buy a Nestle product. My five favorite candy bars were bought by the Nestle company. I gave up candy. I still like candy. I hate Nestle, and will not ever buy their stuff. You want to have nice books, there are nice ones. But if you want Naugahide books, you are going to have to either pay sky high prices, or convince a lot of PETA people to start asking for them at Borders. And you will still pay more than the prices for leather. And it isn’t even a conspiracy. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/63 "2002-05-07T22:55:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beeblebrox \* > \*\*These are petroleum products. Think about it. > \*\* Speaking of silly comparisons… ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/64 "2002-05-07T22:57:44Z")
Oopsie. Me, not Hamish. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/65 "2002-05-07T23:00:29Z")
Oh yeah, no dust covers either. They come in a hard slipcase. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/66 "2002-05-07T23:11:21Z")
You aren’t planning on buying the Necronomicum, are you? Because I’ve heard that the newer editions are bound in plastic imitation human leather. Anemone: one option is to send the message to the moderators and hope they like you enough to deliver it. In the case of fruitbat, however, it would probably be simpler to use the e-mail address in ihs/her profile. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/67 "2002-05-07T23:28:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OpalCat \* > …You’re the honored First Person to go on my ingore list with the new board software–congratulations. SDMB posters, please read the FAQ threads in ATMB. Check on them every so often to see if there’s something new. From the [FAQ - guidelines for posting](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1949385#post1949385): > [@](#): > > Ignore list - after much deliberation we decided to keep the ignore list (and buddy list) available to members. Part of the reason we were hesitant is because we didn’t want to see flame wars caused by PosterX telling PosterY “you can say whatever you want to me, I don’t care because you’re on my ignore list.” Hinting that any particular person or group of people is on your ignore list is very strictly frowned upon. **Revealing the usernames of people on your ignore list is forbidden at this board**. We don’t want the ignore list to be used as tool for flaming other posters. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/68 "2002-05-07T23:37:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*I also wear leather shoes, as i have not yet found a substitute that looks good enough, is comfortable enough, and serves the purpose i ask of those shoes. There are shoes available that look and feel like leather, but are not, and these might provide an alternative. However, last time i checked such shoes cost a couple of hundred dollars, and i’m not a wealthy person. Economics is an issue, for me and for many others facing similar choices. \*\* Check out [www.veganstore.com](http://www.veganstore.com) – they have a lot of great shoes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/69 "2002-05-07T23:39:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MGibson \* > \*\* > > I’m sure you could have come up with a better example to illustrate your point. Unless of course you find lampshades made from human skin to be on the same moral level as books bound in cow skin. Do you? > > Marc \*\* Let me introduce you to the concept of the microscope. Having trouble seeing something because it is (to you) too small? A microscope can make the object larger so that you can see and understand it. The objections to the lampshades and the book are of the same type, yet different degrees. I use one to illustrate the other, because the concept is clearer when using the microscope. I guess I was overly optimistic when I thought that people would be able to grasp the concept without making the assumption that both were on equal level or degree. :rolleyes: This board disappoints me more and more every day recently. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/70 "2002-05-07T23:43:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anemone \* > I dont know how one goes about contacting another member with out just posting an email address for all to see. If person A wants to contact Person B, and Person B has an e-mail address listed, then Person A should just e-mail Person B (as stated by The Ryan). Which is your situation, Anemone. If Person A wants to contact Person B, and Person B does **not** have an e-mail address listed, then you could e-mail a moderator/administrator if the matter is important enough. However, I personally would only forward the e-mail if it seemed important **to me**. My opinion is that if someone doesn’t list their e-mail publicly on the board, it may very well be because they don’t want to receive e-mails from people on the board. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/71 "2002-05-07T23:44:07Z")
Eve: see my microscope comment. Apparently no one on this board can grasp the idea that something can be objected to for a similar REASON yet not to the same DEGREE. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/72 "2002-05-07T23:47:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by brondicon \* > \*\*Kind of a sidepoint, now that this is in the Pit, but dust covers can and often do lend greater value to the estimated worth of a book, particularly a first edition and even special editions. Opal, I’m not sure how concerned you are about the rest of your library as an heirloom to be passed down as a thing of both sentimental and monetary value, but dust covers are important for protecting the book as well as making it more valuable to collectors. \*\* The value of a book is of zero importance to me. I keep books because I like to read them. I’m not even that gung ho eager with the need to buy ‘fancy binding’ books at all, I started this thread as a spinoff of another thread because it is something that I have encountered many times when in used bookstores, and have decided not to buy a book that I would otherwise buy, because of the binding. Dust covers are, to me, a huge annoyance. They make it difficult to read a book and if you remove them, then you have to keep track of them. A few I keep, the vast majority I throw away. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/73 "2002-05-07T23:51:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*The equating of Jews and other Holocaust victims to cattle and animals \*\* It was also never done. Again, see my previous posts. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/74 "2002-05-07T23:53:39Z")
OK, after going back to the first page, I see that a couple of people had already pointed out our guidelines concerning the ignore list. I replied to OpalCat’s post as soon as I saw it and checking that no other moderator had mentioned the rule, but without closely reading all the other posts in the thread. :o I think that since it’s been said three times in this thread now, it should be clear enough. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2002, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/75 "2002-05-07T23:54:28Z")
Moderator, this was never intended to be a pit thread. Also, since only a tiny fraction of the respondents have even the vaguest clue as to what is being discussed, can we just close it? ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/76 "2002-05-08T00:23:21Z")
You could get a copy of _Sex_ by Madonna. Of course, metals come from dead stars, so I’m not sure if that’s an option for you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/77 "2002-05-08T00:34:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OpalCat \* > \*\*Moderator, this was never intended to be a pit thread. Also, since only a tiny fraction of the respondents have even the vaguest clue as to what is being discussed, can we just close it? \*\* Oh the poor freakin’ martyr. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by Fenris > The equating of Jews and other Holocaust victims to cattle and animals It was also never done. Again, see my previous posts. [/quote] Indeed it was. See your own self-righteous little freaking posts. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/78 "2002-05-08T00:50:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OpalCat \* > \*\*Moderator, this was never intended to be a pit thread. \*\* Hey, YOU’RE the one who started calling folks “clueless,” and “dense,” and saying “I think I know just a LITTLE bit more about all this that YOU do.” I stand by my decision; I think the Pit is just fine for this sort of palaver. And why, if you’re uninterested in the “value of books,” and are only interested in reading them, do you want to buy high-quality editions at ALL? Buy the fucking thing as a second-hand mass-market. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/79 "2002-05-08T01:11:29Z")
Uh, because it’s purty? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462/80 "2002-05-08T01:11:31Z")
> [@](#): > > . Also, since only a tiny fraction of the respondents have even the vaguest clue as to what is being discussed, can we just close it? Opal, I have tried to stay on topic here and contribute to a calm, interesting discussion. If you are really interested in this, it would probably be more productive if you disscussed the real alternitives that have been proposed by the “tiny fraction”, whom you haven’t even acknowledged. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-readers-and-the-leatherbound-book-dilemma/107462.md?page=5)