neurosis of the month club

This weekend one of my patient non-law-school friends, C., listened to my book dilemma.

I don't like writing in books. The only time I ever highlight in my books is when the professor explicitly quotes from the book, my thought being that my professor is far more likely to know which parts of the case should be highlighted. Also, if a professor likes a particular passage well enough to have it memorized, it's probably a bit more important than the rest.

However, this particular neurosis is expensive, because it means I rarely buy used books. I cannot stand books full of other students' random highlights. Therefore, I always get to the bookstore early and go through every single used book in an attempt to find the most pristine one.

Last semester, this paid off. I found two used books with nary a mark to be found. This semester, however, I only found one slightly battered book. It had marks, but they were in pencil.

I debated. The price was good, but would the pencil drive me batty? I decided to take a chance.

I was wrong. The pencil marks do drive me batty. So I compulsively erase them. As I read, I sit there, special rubber eraser in hand, and erase. I find it weirdly satisfying.

After I finished this whole story, C. laughed.

"Okay, T., you win my most obsessive friend of the month award. Congratulations."