I detest stickers on books, especially those that are apparently stuck down with super-glue.
A copy of Julia Child's My Life in France arrived with a silvered exhortation to "Read the Book" - yes, I intend to, that's why I got it! - and the legend "Now a Major Motion Picture" - what does that mean? 'You can tell this book is good because it's been made into a film, otherwise I wouldn't bother if I were you'?!!
As you can see, I'm in full Basil Fawlty mode at this disfiguring of books, all the more so as it took me twenty minutes to rid the cover of its nasty badge. Twenty minutes of carefully pushing, peeling, rubbing and buffing to remove all trace of the unnecessary. Why bother, you may ask; I like my books to be just so - no creases, dog-ears, marks, scuffs or things on them, and I know I'm not the only one!
Here at last is the cover without the sticker, and fortunately no harm was done to the book during the removal process.
I feel better now!
Stickers on books! Especially if the book has an old dustwrapper which has lasted for years until...
No need to spend twenty minutes removing them: try eucalyptus oil. Put a little on a cotton bud, wipe over carefully, leave to dry. If it doesn't peel off straight away, apply a little more oil and try again.
Posted by: Barbara | 18 September 2009 at 10:30 AM
Thankyou, Barbara!!
Posted by: Cornflower | 18 September 2009 at 10:34 AM
I received a review copy of Her Fearful Symmetry yesterday with a sticker on it (Author of The Time Traveler's Wife). It isn't too offensive and I think I may actually leave it there as the mess that could be created in attempting to remove it is too awful to contemplate.
Posted by: Claire (Paperback Reader) | 18 September 2009 at 12:44 PM
Some bookstores are very good about having stickers that peel off easily and leave no residue. But then others...sheesh it is annoying. You would think those working in the world of bookselling would realize the value that many readers put on the physical object itself. Back in May I blogged about a $150 "collectors edition" of a book that had been mangled by the store's security apparatus. The damage to the book, no doubt, rendered the value of the book much less than the $150 they were trying to protect in the first place.
Posted by: Thomas | 18 September 2009 at 02:42 PM
I agree about stickers entirely! And can't wait to read this book which sounds fascinating. I liked the movie a lot, though the Julia Child bit was better than the Julie Powell bit, I thought. And all that food...bad for the waistline just to see it up on screen.
Posted by: adele geras | 18 September 2009 at 03:48 PM
I always remove the stickers too! Especially the Oprah Book Club ones!!
Posted by: claire | 18 September 2009 at 06:24 PM
Or what about people who write - sometimes in pen - in library books? The book doesn't belong to them, they've no right to write in it, not even to correct the spelling or grammar.
Posted by: Mary McCartney | 18 September 2009 at 06:54 PM
Eucalyptus oil sounds much nicer than my suggestion of lighter fuel but it does dissolve the glue through the label very nicely and easily and then evaporates away invisibly.
Posted by: dovegreyreader | 18 September 2009 at 07:31 PM
Worse than stickers are those printed stickers - the Richard and Judy ones which look as if they'll peel off and then you discover they're actually part of the cover! One of my favourite books, THE CELLIST OF SARAJEVO is disfigured in this way - a white circle with a bar of Galaxy in the middle! Horrible. There should be a law.
Posted by: Linda Gillard | 18 September 2009 at 09:16 PM
Yes! And what I don't understand is, given the advent of the post-it and glue that both sticks and is removeable, why that cannot be used so that I don't have to pick savagely at the label with my fingernail for half an hour. Huff-puff.
Posted by: ted | 18 September 2009 at 11:18 PM
Barbara I love the tip!
Posted by: Jodie | 18 September 2009 at 11:40 PM
White Spirit is a great resource for cleaning books (including residue from stickers) if you can abide the smell.
Posted by: Claire (Paperback Reader) | 19 September 2009 at 11:40 AM
I find that annoying as well. If publishers are going to put stickers on books, they could at least use the kind that peel off easily! I'm always suprised to find used books that still have stickers on them (which are harder to take off as they've been there so long), so apparently not everyone minds! I was having problems posting earlier this week--glad things have righted themselves! (Are you being 'warned' by Typepad that a new interface is coming, by the way?).
Posted by: Danielle | 19 September 2009 at 03:26 PM
I do like the title to this post ;-)
And I so agree, especially with Linda - the fake stickers are awful. I always remove stickers as soon as I get the book, I think they're horrible, but when you can't remove them at all...
I tend to go for a bit of white spirit, but eucalyptus oil sounds less abrasive.
Posted by: Simon T | 19 September 2009 at 04:42 PM
Ha ha - this made me smile ruefully. I too remove them immediately along with any price stickers. I am always wondering how much they add (or subtract!) to the sales figures of the books to which they are stuck?
Posted by: Samantha | 20 September 2009 at 05:35 AM
I too dislike stickers and remove them as soon as possible (sometimes I pull a bit off in the store to make sure it won't give me too much trouble). The only thing worse is a movie tie-in cover or when the 'sticker' is a permanent part of the cover. Grrrr.
Years ago when I managed a bookstore, we started offering 20% off the price of selected new hardcovers. Unfortunately the first round of bright red, 1" square, 20% OFF! stickers were impossible to remove from the dust jackets without serious damage. Needless to say that was the end of the stickers in my store!
Posted by: Heather Bond | 21 September 2009 at 05:48 PM
bookdealers' tip: Warm the sticker by holding a hair dryer over the blighter for 2 minutes. many resistant ones come straight off if they are warmed. Sometimes you get half off and have to warm it up again. But it helps get most off in one go.
Posted by: Juxtabook | 23 September 2009 at 08:47 PM
I loathe stickers (especially on books and apples) and I'm sure Julia Child would have loathed them too ... but now you've got it off, I'm sure you'll love the book, she's such an engaging character, full of joie de vivre. I enjoyed this book so much more than Juklie Powell's book of the blog.
Posted by: m | 29 September 2009 at 12:50 PM
and have you noticed that it is always a 'Major film'. Looking forward to the day I see a sticker which says now a 'minor film'.
Posted by: Elaine | 30 September 2009 at 04:32 PM