“Book murderer”: Author’s travel hack sparks debate
Carrying books in your trip can be tricky. Some copies may prove too thick, heavy or bulky, taking up precious space in your luggage.
While some resort to e-books and audiobooks, Alex Christofi has something else in mind.
The British author took to Twitter on Tuesday to share his hack. “Yesterday my colleague called me a ‘book murderer’ because I cut long books in half to make them more portable. Does anyone else do this? Is it just me?”
Christofi defended the book cutting as a way to help him keep reading.
“The alternative is I just don’t read them because I can’t be bothered to carry them around,” he shared.
“If people would just publish in sensible sized volumes I wouldn’t need to take matters into my own hands.”
Some fellow readers expressed approval of Christofi’s trick.
“I really like this Alex, and am completely ok with it. In fact it undercuts (tish boom) their hubris in writing such a bloody long book in the first place,” one responded.
“Why are people so precious about the books they buy? Crack the spine, spill stuff on it, dog ear pages who cares as long as you’re reading,” another wrote.
However, most replies were critical of the method. “I’ve never seen anyone do this. It’s definitely a book crime,” one wrote.
“Is it just me, he says, posting a murder on the timeline,” another replied.
“I’ve been an avid reader since I was 2. Carrying around books was never a burden to me, it was a joy. To mutilate a book to save an inch or two/a few ounces, then criticize the author/publisher for making such large/long/big books. His bindings are loose in more ways than one,” one said.
“You’re a monster,” more than one commented.
Publishing company Simon & Schuster chimed in with a recommendation, “Can someone get this man an audiobook or e-book?!”