“New”

“A brand-new copy with cover and original protective wrapping intact. Books with markings of any kind on the cover or pages, books marked as ‘Bargain’ or ‘Remainder,’ or with any other labels attached may not be listed as New condition.”

• Blissfully unaware of the world
• A child in a healthy family [“original protective wrapping intact”]
• A child just born [“brand-new copy”]
• You don’t feel like a second rate product or like leftovers [“ ‘Bargain’ or ‘Remainder,’ ”].
• An adult with little to no struggles with mental health [“Books with markings of any kind on the cover or pages … may not be listed as New condition.”]
• Healthy mental processing systems

“Used – Like New”

“Item may have minor cosmetic defects (such as marks, wears, cuts, bends, or crushes) on the cover, spine, pages, or dust cover. Dust cover is intact and pages are clean and not marred by notes. Item may contain remainder marks on outside edges. Item may be missing bundled media.”

• You have seen and been through stuff, but you are pushing through with little to no visible evidence: mental, emotional, or physical. You maintain a put together image [“Dust cover is intact”].
• You have a healthier processing of the negative things others have told you and you mostly keep from dwelling on them [“pages are clean and not marred by notes”].
• Some of the wear and tear of life is visible on you when someone gets to know you [when someone pulls you off the shelf – “remainder marks on the outside edges”].
• May be missing family members or estranged from family [“may be missing bundled media”].

“Used – Very Good”

“Item may have minor cosmetic defects (such as marks, wears, cuts, bends, or crushes) on the cover, spine, pages, or dust cover. Shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Item may contain remainder marks on outside edges, which should be noted in listing comments. Item may be missing bundled media.”

• Similar to “Used – Like New” except:
  • You may be struggling to hold up a mask you have used to cover how you are doing [missing your dust jacket].
  • It is harder to do the daily tasks of living like “everyone else”.

“Used – Good”

“All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May include ‘From the library of’ labels. Shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Item may be missing bundled media.”

• Similar to “Used – Very Good’ except:
  • The part of you that is holding you together is starting to show wear and tear [“Spine may show signs of wear.”]
  • The words of others past, present, and even future [anxiety speaking] are starting to sink in and you tend to dwell on them more [“Pages may include limited notes and highlighting”]. More likely to ruminate.
  • Struggling with holding onto something that isn’t true about you any more [“May include ‘From the library of’ labels.”]. A label given to you by someone else or yourself, a relationship that no longer works, a toxic family tie, any instance of trying to live up to the standard of someone else [Rules of their library].

“Used – Acceptable”

“All pages and the cover are intact, but shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes, highlighting, or minor water damage but the text is readable. Item may be missing bundled media.”

• Similar to “Used – Good” except:
  • You may be starting to feel like you are drowning – figuratively [hopefully not literally] [“minor water damage”]. You may be struggling to handle the stressors of life including minor stressors that the healthiest version of you has worked through before
  • It is a big task to push the intrusive thoughts out of your mind. You are functioning [not sure that is the right word] by which I mean you are breathing, eating and drinking [probably more or less than before], and sleeping [probably more or less than before]. You can make out just enough of yourself to hold on [the above definition adds “but the text is readable”].

“Unacceptable”

“Has missing pages and obscured or unreadable text. We also do not permit the sale of advance reading copies, including uncorrected proofs, of in-print or not-yet-published books.”

• Need to Rest, Recoup, and Repair [book hospital/therapy]. This is your body telling you to stop when your mind wouldn’t let you.
• Dissociation – of any type [“Has missing pages”]
• So immersed in the words and thoughts of others that you struggle to make out the words that belong to you and define you underneath [“obscured … text”].
• Racing thoughts and/or repetitive thoughts [“unreadable tex”t]
• Might feel like life is not worth it [“We also do not permit the sale of…” or in book terms, not worth selling]
• Core Beliefs of Worthlessness or Internal Error [“including uncorrected proofs, of in-print or not-yet-published books”]