Wandering books and sticky fingers

[Altalazar]

Well,

thanks to all of you (Janx and Twofalls, especially) for your help. I found the book. So no thief, this time. Yay. I feel like the Grand Poobah of the Great Order of Doofi, but YAY!

So thanks all. It helped.

So - what's the story, then? Where did you find it?

 

[Imperialus]

I bought a reasonably inexpencive label maker that I use to label all my books. I put one on the bottom of the spine and one on the inside cover. I've never had a problem with theft, it's mostly just for fast identification after a session since books tend to get scattered to the 4 winds around our table and there is a 3 year old child/10th level rogue who absconds with books and dice on a regular basis so his mom and dad will typically find them a few hours after the game ends. One downside is that the labels on the spine tend to fall off the high gloss covers of the hardcover WoTC books after a while, which is why I have the labels inside too.

 

[Whimsical]

I had a ink stamp created for me that says "This book belongs to Frank Steven Gimenez" for $20. I stamp the inside of the hardcover and the bottom of all of my gaming books. Stamping the bottom of the book allows for quick ID at the game table without needing to open the book. So far, I have only lost an unstamped 3.0 Monster Manual at a game day.

 

[GuardianLurker]

So - what's the story, then? Where did you find it?

I, the Great Grand Poobah of the Great Order of Doofi, found my book ....

...(no, I don't wanna tell you, it's too stupid)...

...

... on my desk under a small whiteboard (that I use for init-keeping) that I didn't think anything was under. {Ducks many, many nerf-balls}

 

[Harmon]

Lost a couple of books in the past, thought I miss placed them (house needs a maid ).

While back lost a sword letter opener- nice one. Then a few months later lost the other one. Both were in plain sight at the beginning of the night in the same place I leave them every day. I was pretty bummed, but can prove nothing, and to accuse is to get yourself in trouble because you can't prove diddly when it's left your house.

It sucks, but remember- friends won't steal from you, they barrow (asking you, getting a "sure," or "okay," before it leaves the house).

Being lied to and stolen from by friends sucks.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

My group tends to have books shuffle hands unintentionally. Many of us have just started writing our names inside the front covers so we can make sure the right books end up in the right hands.

That's what we've been doing.

As far as the original poster: Quit loaning out your books. If they want info, then make them buy their own books. 'Nuff said. That'll stop the bloody thievin' right there.