I'll admit, before I start to read any paperback, I always find the middle, then turn the book back in on itself to break the spine. If it's particularly thick I'll even go to quarters so I have 3 folds in the spine. The only time I don't is if I've borrowed a book from someone else and the spine isn't broken. I find reading books where you can't open the book up properly really wrecks my enjoyment! Plus I think a bookshelf with a bunch of pristine novels looks like they've never been read, give me a well-thumbed tome over a brand new book anyday
. What about you?