Poll: Would you ever burn a book?

[k-ossuburb]

Depends on the book. If it's a first edition of a classic that has absolutely no other copies available then no, I'd leave it.

But if I needed to burn it to survive then I would, after all, in this digital age burning a book means nothing now. I can destroy a million books in half a second by simply loading them onto my hard drive and then deleting them. It doesn't really mean as much as it used to (or at least it shouldn't, since some people seem to think it's a big deal for some reason) since books are readily available and copies of them are extremely easy to get either online or in physical form simply because we now have the technology to mass-produce them to a much higher scale than we ever did in the past when book-burning was an issue.

However, burning books for ideological reasons is pretty stupid to me. Obviously it's a powerful visual message you're sending but it has no meaning whatsoever. It's just lazy as far as I'm concerned when you should be putting some effort into tearing the book to shreds with arguments against it in a constructive debate. That's far more effective and respectable, in my opinion.

EDIT: Nothing to add to my post, but I just noticed that this is my 881st post and this is the 88th comment. I just thought that was cute.

 

[NightRavenGSA]

And if so why?

it gets cold in Minnesota, and some books just aren't that good, I'd rather live minus a few books I don't like than die with an intact library

 

[Moromillas]

If there was nothing else to burn and I needed a fire, then yes. Normally I would find some wood to burn.

 

[icame]

I have.

I was reading a book called who has seen the wind, and it was horrible. We were at a camping trip and wanted to start a fire so we could cook marshmallows. Usually we use newspaper under the wood to get the flames going, but we had none. So I grabbed the book, ripped out about half the pages, crumpled them up, and threw them to the bottom of the fire-pit. Problem solved.

 

[kasperbbs]

If there was a reason to do it and the book was cheap or just bad, why not? It`s not like theres a shortage of books these days, and if it was a religious book i would simply burn it for my amusement.

 

[Dana22]

Too heat my shack during cold winters, perhaps.

 

[sergnb]

Such a general question. Which book? I suppose you are aiming for the "are you one of those that accept all kind of information even if it is toxic towards your personal interests?" question. You could have asked it that way.

I wouldn't burn any kind of legitimate book. Not even Mein kamph (and just to let you know the book is perfectly fine even tho it contains the nazy ideologism in it, I've read it and I've not turned into a blackpeople-hating, perfect race-seeking fanatic) because everyone's free to inform themselves about any subject no matter how controversial this subject would be.

I would burn a Justin Bieber book tho.

 

[Marik Bentusi]

I could either die a slow and painful death because of the coldness or I could use Twilight as efficiently as possible.

HMM.

No, seriously, books don't hold any more or less value than any other item to me. They tell stories and are full of the author's intentions, sure, but it's not the story I'm burning, it's just an insufficient material manifestation that coexists with any other piece of creation that is in itself an artistic expression. Chairs are art, too, by not even the widest of definition. Wouldn't stop me from ripping them apart to make a makeshift weapon to defend myself.

Would I burn a book out of disagreement or dislike? No. I just don't see how it would improve the situation in any kind, leave alone relieve stress.

 

[dancinginfernal]

Sure.

Not for symbolism or anything, I just hate the ending of the Dark Tower series.

 

[geier]

Yes, everything Brian Herbert und Kevin J. Anderson published what was Dune related.
I read one of there books and when i wasn't falling asleep, i was angry how he could do something that awfully with his fathers legacy.

 

[maninahat]

Besides the amount of waste involved, I couldn't destroy something that has had so much labour and though put into it. Even the most meager mills and Boon has hundreds of hours of graft behind it, often the produce of a soul writer. Whether it is a painting or a book, I just plain couldn't destroy it.

 

[LadyZephyr]

I had to buy a used copy of Twilight to write a paper on its sexist bullshit. I'd happily burn my copy. I'd never burn someone else's copy though.

 

[itf cho]

Yes. Reasons:
1) I'm cold.
2) To prove a serious point.
3) Twilight
4) Twilight
5) Mein Kampf
6) Twilight

Ha! Thanks for the laugh. Twilight as kindling actually sounds like a pretty good idea.

 

[Mannayz]

Depends on the book and my current circumstances.

Burn Twilight? Sure! Burn anything posing as political propaganda? Absolutely! Burn anything that is a poorly written train-wreck? Sign me up!

Am I in a library that feels like an ice-box? Burn books for warmth! Am I carrying a heavy spellbook that only casts spells of setting itself on fire? Might as well!

 

[Folksoul]

Does it contain Bella Swan, or dragon bestiality? BURN THE MOTHER F*CKER!!

Dragon besitality!? What the...

Look up tv tropes' "so bad it's horrible" page for literature. It's there. I was given the entire trilogy as a gift in high school. One of the most of disturbing/depraved and outright psychotic "things"(I can't call it literature) I have ever read.

 

[Pig Mazurka]

The bible.

Darnit... I was going to say that.

 

[Snotnarok]

Yes, so I can keep people from reading things like Twilight.

 

[Sandytimeman]

If by burn a book you mean erase all existance of that book, then no. But by burn if you mean physically burning copies of a book while digital copies still exist. Sure I like fire.

 

[BarbaricGoose]

Of course I would. If I was cold and that was the only way to heat myself, you bet I would. Wouldn't even hesitate.

 

[KingGolem]

I never burn books on principle. If it's okay to burn one book, that's basically saying it's okay to burn any book, while it is not. Twilight and holy texts have nothing to fear from me, save for my damning vitriolic hatred.