Where is the proper spot to sign a book or leave comments?
I’d be annoyed if somebody wrote something in a book I loaned them. However, I love when people write something in a book they’re giving me as a gift. It’s nice to have that little happy birthday or merry Christmas or whatever. I especially like it when the year is noted. I also get kick out of used books with inscriptions from total strangers from, like, 1928. I have some books that were passed down which have inscriptions from my great-greats to my greats, neither of whom I knew. I also have one that my grandfather received as a prize in school with an inscription from his teacher. They make the book special by adding to its history. Both as a gift-giver and as an author, I write on the first convenient blank space, which is generally either immediately before or immediately after the copyright page. When it’s my book, I sometimes remember to cross out my typed name, and sometimes don’t.
Where is the proper spot to sign a book or leave comments?