I've received somewhere around 10 WL books in the last two weeks. Yay - Right? Well, maybe.

1. Three of them were stinky. REALLY stinky. And I'm usually not that picky about smell. They are currently airing out in my entryway, because I don't want them in my bedroom. I'm not sure I'll be able to read them.

1a. I also received a stinky Etsy package. Unrelated, but part of my overall frustration.

2. One had smudges along the page edges that appeared to be food.

3. And yesterday, I received one that had wavy pages.

I've already marked 1 and 2 as received OK. It's the third one that's really bothering me. The wavy pages are kind of ambiguous, IMO. They could be water - or they could be where someone gripped the pages too hard. They're not discolored, but they are all together in one section of the book.

Would you RWAP this? I'm not sure if I want to RWAP it because it doesn't meet PBS criteria, or because I'm in a bad mood over the other books.

Wavy pages could just be a sign of cheap paper.  However, usually most if not all pages would be wavy.  If the pages are all in one section, I'd think it was water damage.  I would RWAP it.

I live in the Northeast. When it's humid out, the pages of paperbacks can get wavy. The waviness is usually uniform throughout the book. Once I had someone mark it RWAP, which is really frustrating as it was boought new, read once, and if you went to the bookstore, all of the new copies looked exactly like mine.

If the book was left open at a particular page, the pages closest to where it was left open might be more wavy than the others if it's due to humidity. It's hard to judge without seeing it. If there are no water stains, no crinkling, I'd assume it was not water damage and not RWAP.

I buy many brand new books where the pages are either wavy when I buy them or soon after.  Humidity and cheap paper are not a good combination.  I wouldn't mark the book RWAP unless the pages showed water stains or had a stiffness to them that would signify water damage.

Water damage will usually change the texture of the page.

The waviness is not uniform - it's on the upper third of the page for about 50 pages. There's no crinkling and no discoloration.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am starting to think I should not RWAP it. I'd honestly rather *not* RWAP it, but I also want to repost the book with a clear conscience when I'm done.

heheh - maybe I should read the book and find out if those 50 pages are especially intense "page-grippers". LOL!

If the pages are not stained, it's probably not water damage.  Sometimes pages get "wavy" if the book is kept in a basement or garage (where some people keep their books.)  It's because of the humidity in those areas, but it doesn't damage the book, since it doesn't damage the print.  You can't tell people where to keep their books, but if it bothers you, put in your requests that "no books kept in garages or basements."  (I do neither, but I have space for books where others don't.  Plus, if someone lives in an apartment, they may not have the room and keep the books in the garage that is available for their car.  People keep books where they have room, and if it's not a book they want to keep, they aren't as careful with it.  I've received books like this, but as long as the pages themselves aren't damaged, wavy doesn't bother me.

That's frustrating.  About a month ago I got a WL book that smelled like someone sprayed every single page with perfume.  It was SO bad.  I had to put it outside for a day and it still smelled pretty strongly.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to read it....I have allergies to a lot of perfumes/colognes/hairspray, etc.  :(  And my husband agreed it was bad...it wasn't just because I'm already sensitive to it.

If the pages have become stiffer, rougher, then it's probably water damage.  Otherwise maybe just humidity.  Sometimes you can tell better if you take the book out into the sunlight.

Thanks guys. I ended up marking it as received with no problems, and feel OK about that.

Had more stinky books come in over the weekend, though. I don't have a smell RC, and don't plan on adding one, but just wondering why the rash of junky books. Is it library book sale season, maybe? Or did we get a bunch of new members recently?

I was thinking of borderline / unpostable books in general (described as "junky" above), since I've received books with different kinds of problems over the past couple of weeks. I've noticed sometimes new members make honest mistakes in posting books with stains, for example, or the wrong ISBN. I also suspect they're more likely to post that collection of books that has been boxed up in the basement for years - of course that's where you'd start.

IDK, though - my recent issues could just be randomness. Or the types of books I've been reading recently.