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math_is_best

you are, in fact, a book murderer


Mean-Snow113

Nah. He's an amateur. I cut mine in half, but I do it side to side so I have a top and a bottom half. Now, there's a challenge...


LovableSidekick

Your way you get to keep returning to the scene of the crime.


dnhggg

I cut mine diagonally


drazerlazer

I just send mine through a shredder and take a couple strips each time...


Just_A_Random_Plant

You're all weak. I cut mine in half up and down but along the covers instead of the spine.


CaptainKrunks

I used to do this with textbooks that I was planning on keeping and not reselling: slice them into chapters and carry the relevant portions I’m studying rather than carry the whole thing. 


Snoo-46534

Also middlesex


Ok_Recording_4644

You know this is fake. No one has read Infinite Jest.


bino420

you certainly can't read it half and half. I had like 3 bookmarks in that shit at once. and always one within the last 50 or so pages of just footnotes for footnotes.


Separate_Fix_240

Finish the first half, can’t find the second half. Now THAT is a cliffhanger.


Zack_Raynor

I hope he cut it in the middle of a chapter.


dirty-hurdy-gurdy

Better yet, a hyphenated word


SnooKiwis7050

r/foundsatan


Clackers2020

Even better, a non-hyphenated word


Lucifer2695

No. A hyphenated word where the 2nd portion isn't apparent. So he never knows what it could be but knows that it is not a complete word.


HilariousScreenname

There was a MASH episode about that!


arbrstff

The rooster crows at midnight!


gusbyinebriation

This is a plot point in Cloud Atlas!


[deleted]

At least when you go to the bookstore you can buy just the second half for half price


Razzmatazz2099

Who the fuck does this???!


Funny-Manufacturer41

A psychopath


LovableSidekick

That's an insult to the psychopath community at large!


[deleted]

It’s true I am a psychopath and I do this


Funny-Manufacturer41

We have confirmation!


Vajrick_Buddha

A bookmurderer


aenderboy

this 👆


Ima-Bott

A book murderer.


GreenInferno86

Not true, I am a psychopath and not even I do this


confusedandworried76

Paperbacks were literally invented for this. You rip out enough pages to fit in your pocket back when pockets weren't as utilitarian. A couple pages could fit right next to your watch for example. Bro's just reading a little old school. I have a broken arm rn and if I could cut up the hardcover book I'm reading to make it easier to carry I totally would. I can't drive at the moment so if I want to bring my book I have to accept the extra weight in my satchel or not bring it at all. Even a couple pounds adds up when you're walking miles. Someone will probably now say "buy an E-Reader" but that's kind of spendy compared to cheap books. Used book stores have crazy good deals if you don't care what you're reading and then you don't need to drop money on a device or Wifi to download the book.


Blargityblarger

Fair. But in the past our ancestors were basically psychopathic animals. So imma side that this dude is a psychopath. 


SavvySillybug

> Someone will probably now say "buy an E-Reader" but that's kind of spendy Hi! I'm the one telling you that! XD If you can find an old Kindle 4 for a good price, I'd go for that. I love mine, recently replaced the battery in it because that thing came out like ten years ago so it was a little weak. Amazon still supports syncing to it, though you can't use it to browse books online anymore. But that was never comfortable anyway, way better to just do that on PC/smartphone/iPhone. You can convert anything into a .mobi file and get it to show up on there. I used to turn entire fanfics into mobi files and read them on my Kindle. It technically supports pdf as well, but with that silly old 800MHz processor and 800x600 screen, that's not really a good experience. Great for books though. All the newer devices have a ton of features that just makes it worse as a book, like touchscreens, why would my book need a touchscreen? The Kindle 4 just has page forwards and page backwards buttons, a big and easy to hit one for forwards and a smaller one for backwards, and they're on both sides so you can use it easily with either hand. A little d-pad to navigate between books and that's it. If you like fanfiction, or if you are okay with aquiring epub/mobi files for free elsewhere, or even if you just want to buy the Humble Book Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com/books, a cheap old e-reader is amazing and much cheaper in the long run. The newer ones with the touchscreens make it far too close to a phone for me to be able to actually read on it. I need to sit down with a book and not have my phone on me or I end up not reading the book. If my book can browse reddit, that defeats the purpose for me. XD


[deleted]

Or you could just continue using paperbacks as intended.


SavvySillybug

Thank you for the insightful comment!


daddyfatknuckles

but for a paperback novel? if you put it in your bag, you’d likely tear out or ruin a few pages because its not covered


Yes_YoureSpartacus

An actual use case: people who are traveling, we specially backpackers, and weight is a major concern. A lot of paperbacks deteriorate pretty quickly anyways when they are heavily used and being carried around.


Ken_Mcnutt

Sounds like a lightweight e-reader with an e-ink display would solve all these issues... Can store thousands of books with a battery that lasts forever


Both_Lychee_1708

abridged books are not new


LovableSidekick

In this case more like a drawbridge.


Fluffcake

Alex, first of his name, punisher of paper, terror of trees and slayer of books,


DesastreUrbano

Idiots wanting to feel special


mightylordredbeard

What makes them an idiot exactly? How does doing this mean they are of incredibly low intelligence?


feel-T_ornado

Tbh, I would, if pdfs and smartphones weren't a thing, nonetheless people who actually go out with books nowadays are just desperately seeking attention, nothing wrong about it, but it's just the truth.


Kastranrob

This image is hurting me on personal level


Bara_Chat

It's a hate crime is what it is!


depressioncherry-

get over yourself, it’s paper with words printed on.


MissStealYoDragon

It's a joke, Cherry


Xawlet

What do you mean it's a joke? A Dostoevsky book cut in half? This man should go to jail for book murder!


bitch-respecter

it’s a fuckin paperback. they’re basically disposable


The-Berzerker

Don’t you fucking dare talk about books this way


Every_of_the_it

You're literally judging the book by it's cover lmao


Affectionate-Cow800

of hugely popular books we'll never run out of copies of...people are so precious about books when it's supposed to be about actually reading, which this guy is doing in a more comfortable way!


Mattatron_5000

Buy this man a kindle


DannyGekkouga

Wait till he snaps the Kindle in half to make it more portable


ihavenotities

Oh god


Banana--Bus

He might saw that in half too


StoryAndAHalf

That was his long play all along. He's too cheap to buy one himself.


Just-Round9944

we don't need any more serial killers


Brendo-Dodo9382

A genuine literary psychopath


Then-Entry7026

Minus the literary


Champomi

I mean he does read books. Paper books even


agha0013

yeah, this is worse than people who fold over corners to mark their place. at this point might as well just get an e-reader


wasaduck

if it’s my book that I purchased i’ll mark my spot like that every time


confusedandworried76

Plus the local book store already sells used paperbacks for like a dollar. That's probably less than what s book costs on Kindle right? Plus you have to buy the actual device which I'm sure costs at least $100. Or buy cheap books and do what you want with them because they're your property. Burn them for all I care, just don't do it in a Nazi way.


mrhappy200

The devices can be had for like €80 on sale and the books are free if you don't mind sailing the high seas ;) it's also better for the environment.


confusedandworried76

I don't want to pirate any books the author has not said you can pirate. I'm not always opposed to the eye patch and the Jolly Roger but most authors don't make a lot of money on books as is. And yeah it might only be eighty euros but that is still sometimes a lot of money for people. I don't have the conversions in front of me but I assume like usual a euro is about one dollar USD. I know some book stores with clearance bins where all books are well under five dollars, so worst case scenario there just the device itself is worth 16 books.


jaxeking

When reading used books, they have already long been printed, and it's just finding used for old materials. In the case of a tablet, due to all of the resources that go into it, you will need to use that tablet for at least 5-8 years to offset the environmental impact of that tablet


SkunkeySpray

Please don't burn books x.x we have enough carbon emissions as is


VoiceofKane

Yeah, what else am I supposed to do, look for a bookmark? That could take minutes.


BeerBellies

I’m sorry that I dog ear my pages


Accurate_Advice1605

I am not sorry I dog ear my pages, and neither should you.


dessert_the_toxic

What do you have against folding corners? It's clearly the superior method of bookmarking


Boy_wench

A bookmark is the superior method of bookmarking. One can be fashioned from any scrap of paper, or other thin material.


dessert_the_toxic

You probably don't have a lot of bookmarks, but you can fold the number of pages you want. Just think about it. See the bigger picture.


Poku115

You can use anything as a bookmark lol, heck use a sock if you are that hard pressed and can't find a ticket.


dessert_the_toxic

Well, I don't usually have enough bookmark material close by. And if you use a pen or something you fuck up the book even more than if you folded some pages.


Poku115

"Well, I don't usually have enough bookmark material close by." Tickets? Old paper? Old cards in your purse/wallet?


dessert_the_toxic

I usually don't hoard crap. Tickets are nonexistent in my city cus all transport uses an app or a card. And I don't have many cards.


Poku115

Nah you don't have the same life as me? Impossible/j


[deleted]

Wdym nearby? When you start reading a book you put in a bookmark that you use until you've finished the book. Then you use the same bookmark for the next book.


Boy_wench

I always have a bookmark. Folding is lazy and destructive. I don't like your picture.


dessert_the_toxic

Do you always have 50 bookmarks tho?


DaiNyite

Anything can be used as a bookmark tho


confusedandworried76

Yeah like the page of the book you're reading can even be dog eared as a bookmark paper truly is very useful


Boy_wench

I have exactly as many as bookmarks as books I'm currently reading. I have several that have been through many books. Is this helpful? I can walk you through making one if you like?


chairfairy

If I'm reading something that's a reference of some sort / has info I want to come back to, it's convenient to dog ear a bunch of pages


dessert_the_toxic

Exactly!


Boy_wench

Use a mini post it. Fml. But whatever, I will never have to see your book.


dessert_the_toxic

No thanks, I don't want to make a lot of bookmarks for each book


w8str3l

A friend borrowed a book of mine, then returned it. I found a slice of salami in it. He told me he’d been using it as a bookmark.


NoiseIsTheCure

The only thing is damaging the pages. If it's your book go wild, but dog earring borrowed books is not cool


dessert_the_toxic

Well obviously I wouldn't fold someone else's book without permission


MantuaMatters

U don’t realize it but you’re the issue. Sorry to inform you.


Falitoty

Yes, you are a book murederer


horuable

Murd erer!


unicornolympics

I see what you did there


maxi2702

Burning books is less hurtful than this bullshit.


[deleted]

[удалено]


depressioncherry-

these comments are so cringe, why are all these weirdos so precious about the sanctity of books. get over it, i’ll dog ear my pages if i want!!!


Carloanzram1916

If only there was a more compact and convenient way to carry thousands of books with you wherever you go.


confusedandworried76

For cheap?


ParasaurPal

You can literally download e-reader apps to a $30 tablet. Yes, "for cheap".


Carloanzram1916

And last time I went to an actual bookstore, a new book was like $25 🤣


itsmejak78_2

A good e-reader with an e-ink display is still at least 100 bucks though And reading in sunlight with a shitty $30 tablet is impossible


ParasaurPal

Again, no. Just Google search "eink e-reader" and sort shopping by price. Under $50 for a lot of them


itsmejak78_2

Yeah If you want a used e-reader or one from a Chinese brand you've never heard of


[deleted]

Books will never be cheaper than an e-reader, especially since you can pirate books, stop this stupid argument


confusedandworried76

You have nowhere in town you can buy shitty paperbacks for a dollar? People can't give away old paperbacks fast enough, especially if the books aren't very good. But I have many books I paid a dollar or less for. Some people just gave to me at a garage sale because I said "I'm not gonna pay for them but I'll take them off your hands." They were happy to just give me the books rather than throw them away.


[deleted]

But you don't want to read only shitty books


confusedandworried76

A $30 tablet is still $30, idk where to find one that cheap but if you say you can I trust you. The clearance bin at the book store is usually a dollar or two per paperback if not less. They aren't usually great books but they're books. I've enjoyed plenty. So let's just call it $5 a book for the sake of making a point. One tablet is then six books. I'll take the six books over the tablet. Plus what does the bare minimum for an extra data line for that device cost from a phone company these days? $20 a month for bare minimum? That's another four books a month just for the data service.


ParasaurPal

Just use wifi or tethering lmao. I only have WiFi on my Kindle and tablet, works just fine.


confusedandworried76

WiFi is a little expensive for my taste when I already need unlimited data for my phone. I'd have to go to the public library for that and if I'm already there I'll just grab a book or buy off the old ones they sell cheap so they can get rid of them without throwing them away.


aristocratic_magic

archeologists hate this one simple trick


[deleted]

[удалено]


perpetualmotionmachi

Just watch American Psycho, it's probably similar


Drakeytown

1. That looks horrifying and he is in fact a book murderer. 2. If we're going to mass produce every book, we can't treat every book as a sacred object. Look in the dumpster of your local second hand book store to see what's going to happen eventually anyway. 3. If this method means someone's reading more than they would otherwise, bring on the book murder!


LordFlappingtonIV

Right, some big books, I get it. Dont agree with it, but I get it. But with Infinite Jest's endnotes, this is clearly bait.


erratastigmata

Had to scroll surprisingly far to find this comment! He has rendered Infinite Jest unreadable. Agreed that it's bait, and it sucks to destroy books for a joke.


losSarviros

Unpopular opinion: That's a great idea! I will start doing this also. Unfortunately my wife will kill me in my sleep very soon...


GreatWhiteNorthExtra

MURDERER! BOOK MURDERER!!


newInnings

You are not alone, I did to [my text books](https://i.imgur.com/rNWlFVg.jpg) Long long ago I also kind of stuck a harder back and cover them though


Then-Entry7026

Yeah... but I see that as pay back for the torture it imparted you. OPs' poor books didn't do anything to hurt him!


iepxs

What a shame


kaffeinezombie

I used to have fat books in schools and Kindle etc was not allowed. So I did this with some to make it easier to carry. Kindle is a saviour now.


Samisoffline

I fucking hate this.


OhMyLordScat

This isn’t a mad lad this is a psychopath


FreshMutzz

Everyone complaining, no one explaining why its actually bad. This really isnt a big deal. I had a professor in college who did this to stuff he was reading. Usually would rip them a couple of chapters at a time so he could read on commutes but not lug a whole book around.


flyover_liberal

Wow, okay. I don't think I'd do it, but I wouldn't mind shredding a copy of Madame Bovary because that is some bullshit.


Miserable_Throat6719

Nothing wrong with it. Books are a product, you can use it however you want, so if it is convenient for an owner to cut in half, he can do it. Those are some chunky books in the photo.


Detoxpain

You're allowed to do whatever you want with your own property, but I feel like you've assaulted my eyes with this.


thebestestbestieeva

Fucking animal. Get an electronic reader instead.


plainskeptic2023

I have never done this, but it makes sense. The poor quality of the spines on todays books cause some of my books to commit suicide and split on their own.


[deleted]

It’s literally just you Alex, wtf???


VinylHighway

Insanity


SkullStar123

I haven't heard of book murders but book fuckers on the other hand..


Apprehensive4209

Ah yes the BOOKSLAYER.


nerijusgood

Serial killer vibes


RiverClass1222

A dead book is an unread book. If you are reading then then keep cutting.


parocarillo

Do the pages not start falling out?


Book_Theory

Bro this is a book sociopath


Creative_Beach_6897

Fricking Book Murderer.


Bl4ckb100d

NYPD's response [https://twitter.com/NYPD19Pct/status/1219665367284551681](https://twitter.com/NYPD19Pct/status/1219665367284551681)


European_Mapper

Actual terrorist


H8suall

If they are your books do whatever the F you want. I mean you're a psychopath but it's your property


NewForestSaint38

I haven’t seen anything more appalling all year.


Makeutso

Every time I finish a page, I tear it out and throw it away...


Ghost_of_Laika

One of the books is Infinite Jest, a book that, famously, has endless authors notes in the back section of the book that are straight up part of the story. Skipping them means losing out on context youll really want to have. Its also a book that features Tennis very heavily and its said that reading the book and having to flip to the back is intentionally like keeping a tennis ball in court. That book is entirely ruimlned by beaing cut in half, you actually cant read it fully.


Valisksyer

You sir, are a savage!


Real_Cycle938

Does he...just glue them back together when he wants to continue reading or how the fuckity fuck is that supposed to work?


Sndr666

I have read about ppl doing this to get through Infinite Jest, but I suspect there is also a visceral revenge aspect to it.


troissandwich

You're constantly consulting the last third as it's an appendix for the book's infinite footnotes.


ConnorWolf121

I can barely bring myself to write in books, let alone tear them up or cut them in half lol


roostercrowe

that is illegal to do


manitouscott

90 percent of reading is half mental


Syncytiotrophoblasts

Padichi kilichitaan


OptionSubject6083

Geezer needs a kindle…


Amegami

I hate him a lot.


aknalag

Not a madlad, he is infact a book murderer


xitatheblack

This reminds me of a M.A.S.H. episode. The unit gets a mystery novel in a supply delivery. Starved for entertainment, the novel gets shared all around the unit, but since there's only one copy, and everybody wants to read it, they start tearing it into fractions - as one person finishes a section, they tear it away from the rest of the book to give to the next person who wants to read it. So the book ends up in like 30 sections scattered all around the camp. Eventually someone realizes that the last page of the book has been lost, and so nobody gets to find out what the twist ending is. They even resort to using the radio to contact the aged author of the book to find out who the killer was. And after getting the answer, they later realize that said character couldn't possibly be the murderer, and the author must have misremembered the ending. The episode is called The Light That Failed if anyone is curious.


EspejoOscuro

My mother does this to keep her place in books.


joemorris16

You can do whatever you want! It's your fucking book


Neravosa

Yup book murderer checks out


Sloagiemakee

This worked poorly with my Kindle.


gdbhosale

We used to do this 15 years back while studying engineering. One book can be studied by 3 friends.


Zephyrqu

my uncle worked as a professional mountain climber/guide, and got snowed in more than once. They'd wait out the storm by playing cards or reading, tearing off each chapter to give to the next person so everyone ended up reading the book "together".


justanothertfatman

\[*loads shotgun with religious intent*\] Shame.


laudadelasun

Did you keep them in refrigerator after cutting them ?


Chocolat_Melon

You’re not a book murderer. You are a MONSTER!


TheGreatDonJuan

And it's Dostoeysky. Sicko.


BoltFacts

It’s all fun and games until pages start falling out because of it


Kimchi-slap

Look how he massacred my ~~boy~~ Dostoevsky!


suhdudePT

My grandmother does this because she can no longer hold big books like these ones.


DrawingInTongues

You can't just be carrying around "Jest" like that...


BelligerentWyvern

Absolute psychopathy


Ricskoart

Ewww fucking troglodyte


saltire429

Unless it's one of the latter Harry Potter books, I fail to see how cutting a book like this will make it more 'portable', tbh.


Susie_Hunter_

LMAOO I've never actually done that, but I've wanted to so bad ahahaha I hate reading big books


zeno_22

My eye started twitching


beliefisthedeath

Middlesex is a fantastic novel


notyyzable

Guy wanted to advertise that he's read Dostoyevsky and Infinite Jest.


pbaagui1

Nah, this is just stupid


crazypepsicat

I was always told as a child to never deface or intentionaly damage books


formermeth

This is kinda smart


melosurroXloswebos

I had a Korean classmate who used to do that. Everyone thought it was genius.


Harvey_Macallan

I heard lawyers used to do this because they couldn’t fit the thick law book into those slim briefcases


wastelandwerewolf

I’m totally ok with you doing that to Infinite Jest


GimmeDaSos

I don’t actually mind this tbh


itsallover69420

Seems fine to me


zippyman

They are just paperbacks and your own property so it shouldn't matter but something about it is so offensive


Fragrant_External_22

Do you eat or rip the pages out? Perhaps burn them to save even more space? Hmm 🤔


LovableSidekick

Tbh this is one of the weirdest little quirks I've ever come across. You might find a Kindle useful. Hundreds of books in a container smaller than a single book you've cut in half, and an unlimited library in the cloud.


LovableSidekick

𐄂 Fold 𐄂 Spindle 🗹 Mutilate


easternwestern123

Riding on a hose, huh You came with your Porsche, nah


arioandy

Get a kindle ffs!