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40 Times Book Lovers Got So Triggered By The Things They Saw, They Had To Post Them Online
There are dozens of pet peeves that get on book readers’ nerves. Like Amazon shipping you every single book in its own separate box when order loads of them or when the bottom parts of 2 pages are still connected. Then there are the big no-no’s that will make any book lover mad. Like people burning books or tearing off the pages of the books that they’re reading. One. [Rip.] By. [Tear.] One. [Rip.]
We know that you enjoy books, dear readers, so we here at Bored Panda have collected a list of pictures that will infuriate any book lover and literature enthusiast. Scroll down, upvote your fave pics, and let us know in the comments what other book-related things get your blood boiling.
Bored Panda reached out to The Willoughby Book Club, the UK's leading personalized book subscription service, and spoke with Director Marianne Chala about the pet peeves that book-lovers have and the things that infuriate them the most. “Our staff are comprised of book obsessives, booksellers, and library assistants—I was a bookseller myself for 20 years before joining The Willoughby Book Club, so we have seen a lot of abominations towards books in our careers!” she said. Scroll down for our full interview with Marianne, as well as our chat with the founders of the Book Box Club.
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The Only Book In The Store That's Wrapped In Plastic Is This One
No God, Nooooo. God, Please No
Ordered 27 Books From Amazon On A Single Order. Got 27 Boxes With 1 Book Each Delivered
Marianne said that some of the pet peeves that she and The Willoughby Book Club have include artsy houses where people arrange their books with the spines facing inwards. “This is a crime against literature,” she told us.
Cracked spines also anger Marianne and her staff, especially when it’s done on purpose and in front of patient, long-suffering book lovers. The book club also hates film tie-in covers (“We’re all snobs, and loathe these!” Marianne exclaimed), as well as books bought just for show without any intention of reading them.“
Bored Panda also spoke to Marianne about the worst things that she’s ever seen somebody do to books. Among these was a beloved book lent to a family member that was mauled by a dog, a burst pipe that destroyed a whole collection of books and ‘might have’ made Marianne cry, and a large hardback that was sawn in half with a breadknife because it was “too big to read in bed.”
This Price Sticker That Ruined The Cover Of This 1908 Book
Instead Of Putting In A Bookshelf, This Coffee Shop Cut The Spines Of The Books And Glued Them To A Shelf
Now I'm angry about the books AND those terrible fake pockets!
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Imagine being a book collector and spying a 1st edition of a rare book on those shelves...
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Books are not meant to be glued to the wall or be decor. Use plants or something else.
I detest the DIY crafts that suggest gutting a book to make a cute, secret hiding place!
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And it's not even a few books, that looks like about a 100 noooooooooooooo
I was at a bar once where the books had been glued together, then removed (and thus ripped apart) again! Poor books! I saved one, but had to give it awsy when moving
Loudest scream aka #4. What's the point then of displaying them then? Might as well put them in the morgue for Show & Tell.
So many books wasted :( It would have taken less time and effort and possibly less money to just get shelves
I've seen some places like some pubs use wallpaper with a picture of bookshelves printed on. Surely that would be better than this and still give a nice effect?
This is a crime! If they don't want people sitting in their coffee shop all day reading, don't put books there at all.
It's the usual books-are-decor thing, and the full depth of say 15cm/6inch eats into the retail space I guess. Saves some wood too.
Why?? I like to read anywhere and would want to read a book there, but that would make me mad.
I bet they wipe their hands on their shirts while they eat fried food.
For the cost of labor and supplies it took to cut each book and glue it would have saved them money just to build the bookshelf.
What? I do not care how good the coffee is, they do not deserve customers.
Please don't be unfair to animals. Only hoomans get such horrible ideas.
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I hate it when I see decorator/DIY shies tear out pages of books for wallpaper etc! This is criminal.
This one actually made me nauseous. Who DOES such a stupid and villanous thing?
no... I would put up signs warning book lovers to stay away for their own peace of mind.
But seriously, some books aren't worth saving. This at least acknowledges the inherent beauty of books.
-and then there was the guy buying big books, doesn't care what they are, just big ones because his parrot likes to tear them up.
What did they do with the rest of the book? It pains me to think about it.
Why? Space issues? Decor with a difference, Not wanting to share but seem intelligent??
WHAT IS THE POINT OF A SHELF JUST FOR SHOW????? IF IT WERE A BACKGROUND FOR A PLAY I WOULD UNDERSTAND, BUT DECORATION??
nooooooooooooooooooooooo i mean there probably just going to take the rest and throw it out and not even recycle it
This Is The Last Page Of A Book In My School's Library. This Isn't The Only Time It Happened Either
“From working in bookshops, I have had books returned for a refund that have been dropped in the pool on holiday and are crunchy with sand… or when 50 Shades of Grey was the thing, we’d get copies returned with the spine cracked on the saucy bits. I have seen sandwiches, burgers and on one memorable day, a whole burrito tucked into the shelves with the books… and a large coffee upended on the Christmas display tables of bestsellers— ugh, it’s giving me hives to have to re-live it,” Marianne told us about all the horrible things she’s seen done to books. Poor books. They deserve better.
Marianne went into detail about book borrowing etiquette and how long it’s polite to hold onto them. “I’m cringing a little at this because I am a notorious book magpie and have ‘accumulated’ quite a few books that were lent to me in good faith. This is Not Okay and was the most frowned upon behavior from the Willoughby team,” she said.
Looking Through An Old Cookery Book I Just Found And There's A Squashed Frog As A Bookmark
This Hardcopy Ela Book Is Complete With Useless Hyperlinks And And Unwatchable Videos. Go American Education System
Got Bumped To First Class (Super Sweet) Only To Witness This Lady Tearing Off The Pages Of The Book She's Reading
“We’ve all fallen victim to it (but I’m the only one owning up to doing it myself!). It also raises the issue of hurt in the poor lender. As Alisha says, the lender can feel very let down that the book they love is not being cherished to the correct degree… ‘It’s like seeing a friend mistreated.’ None of us set deadlines, that’s just not how it goes, but I think if you don’t see it back in a few months, you can wave goodbye to it forever.”
Marianne added: “Despite the risk of books not being returned, we all love books and will take that risk to pass the love on. It’s so great when someone loves a book you’ve recommended, and we’re really lucky to be able to do that for a job!”
Burned Down The "Take A Book, Leave A Book"
What an a*****e thing to do. Geez some people have zero respect.
This Hotel Doesn't Allow You To Use Books For Their Intended Purpose
Books should not be decor. They’re meant to be passports to other worlds.
I Don't Think I Should Read This Deign Chapter In My Book
The Willoughby Book Club offers personalized book subscriptions: they’ll provide you with a bespoke selection of books they think you’ll love and all you have to do is answer a few questions about your reading tastes and genre.
“Subscriptions are available for 3, 6, or 12 months in a variety of genres from Contemporary Fiction to Wellness and each month, one title arrives beautifully gift wrapped to your door,” Marianne explained what services the book club provides. “This makes the perfect gift for voracious readers, difficult to buy for relatives, and children building a lifelong relationship with reading alike. We also make the perfect gift for lockdown: let us take the stress out of choosing reading matter for yourself or your gift recipient, and as each subscription is selected with the reader in mind, no two subscriptions are ever the same.”
The Willoughby Book Club also donates a book to Book Aid International for every subscription purchased. They do this to “work toward their vision of a world where everybody has access to books that educate, inspire, and change lives.”
This Store Sells Books Wrapped In Packaging So Readers Can Pick A Book From Just A Sentence. Somebody Opened All Of Them
Only one shelf of the store sells books like these. People usually get these as gifts or when they want to explore new books without judging them by their cover. There are other books in the store so I don't know why the person felt that it was okay to do this.
The same person opens other people’s birthday presents.
Book Murderer
Three Books In The Same Series Produced By The Same Company
Bored Panda also spoke with Kate Morris-Double who founded the Book Box Club together with Libby Harris. “We're both a bit laid back when it comes to books,” Kate told us. “Of course, we love beautiful books and we've got lovely editions and signed copies of things that we like to keep pristine, but generally if someone is enjoying a book (even if that means folding down the pages, eating their lunch and crumbling over it!) we don't like to criticize! The worst thing someone could do to a book in my opinion is buy it, put it on the shelf and never read it!”
Neither Kate nor Libby are worried about people who borrow books keeping them for a long time. “If I've lent someone a book it's because I want them to read it, and I know that everyone is busy and that might take time. I wouldn't loan a book that I was worried about getting back,” Kate said.
The Book Box Club is a subscription box and online book group for fans of young adult fiction. “Every month, we send our members a brand new, beautifully wrapped YA book and an invitation to an online book group, where they can meet (virtually) the author of our featured read, ask their questions and chat to our other members,” Kate explained. “We choose books of all different genres, the only criteria is that they have to be completely brilliant! Books are often signed or accompanied by signed bookplates and we have an option that also includes lots of themed exclusive goodies made by small businesses (Book Box Club) and an option for just the book and book group membership (Purely Books).”
Folding A Page In A Library Book When It Has A Built-In Bookmark
About Finishing The Book Only To Discover That 10 Pages Are Missing
Polish Catholic Priest And Kids Burning Stuff Such As Harry Potter Books, Lord Of The Rings, Buddhist Figurines
As it turns out, there are lots and lots of things that get on people’s nerves if they’re big fans of books. Like “borrowers” who fold up or even rip your books. Not to mention folks who borrow a book and hold on to it for months or even years without finishing it (most of us are guilty of having done this at least once in our lives, so let’s cut each other some slack).
Some literature fans are also merciless when they see somebody folding the book to make it easier to hold while reading. While books should be shown the proper respect that they deserve, we should also ask ourselves if the point of a book is to look pretty or to show that it’s been read. Time and time again. Passionately. Enthusiastically. In our opinion, a bit of wear and tear gives a book character. (You should see our Harry Potter sets!) Not too much wear, though. There’s always a limit!
Books That Have This Much Paper Before Chapter 1 Even Starts
Dammit USPS. Go Ahead And Stuff A Hardcover Book In My Mailbox
The Downside To Checking Out Books From The Public Library
Another thing that annoys us is when the publisher decides to completely change the book format for sequels in a series. There you were, putting those books nicely on your shelf and out comes the long-awaited sequel. But there’s something wrong: it’s way bigger/smaller than the other books. And the cover art! Ugh! They completely changed the art style. It’s not like you’re not gonna read the sequel, right? (It’s still a book after all.) But the fact that the set isn’t uniform anymore is going to be like a thorn in your mind for a long, long time.
Dust jackets also really infuriate us. They’re supposed to protect hardcover books from dust, damage, and sunlight, but what they really do is annoy the heck out of us! They get in the way, they rip easily, and they end up cluttering our homes when we take them off to read without distractions. When you look at all the things that we book lovers get mad about, it’s surprising we manage to get any reading done at all!
The Perfect Book For A Price Sticker That Won't Come Off
Use a wet kitchen sponge. This book wouldn't get damaged and the sticker comes off within seconds.
This Harry Potter Box Set Doesn't Fit All Of The Books If Any Of Them Have Actually Been Read Or Taken Out
What A Kid At My School Did To A Library Book
This Bookshelf Containing Books Placed With Their Spines Facing The Wall. Why?
This looks like an installation with a Message about censorship. See the artwork on the walls.
Every Book Was Blocked Like This
So irritating. If I can't read the summary then I won't be able to buy the book, Karen - I mean, Bookstore!
Occasionally A Book Will Arrive Damaged - Never Had One That Looks Like It Was Run Over
It's A Library Book. Don't Be That Person
This Bookshelf
Opened The Wrapping On A Fancy New Book With A Pen. I Hate Myself
When You Borrow A Library Book And Someone Else Has Annotated All Over It In Pen
Lent My Friend This Book In Perfect Condition And Get It Back Like This
Really, Used Book Distributor? Was This Really Necessary?
Found In A Dumpster Behind NYC High School. Donating Books Is So Over Rated
Paperback Books
Check ventilation and sprinkler systems. The air humidity is way too high. When you get the humidity down to a reasonable (i.e. really too dry for humans) level, the book will flatten out again.
Who The Frigg Wrote This Book?
My Friend Found This Inside A Math Book
These Book Covers
Paid $18 For This From A Used Book Seller On Amazon. They Left Their Price Tag On It
The Bottom Of These Two Pages In My Book Were Connected
As a book lover, I find this cruelty unnecessary. My eyes are bleeding.
At least Lord of the Rings was only destroyed in one of them
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I love books but I want them to be loved and read and used. There is no intrinsic value in keeping them pristine. But it's not ok to deface and abuse public library books.
The person who cuts books in half is an insult to this planet. This article was incredibly painful.
I think I need to go lie down..this was truly awful..Gonna go hug my books now
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When I started college I was against marking in books, by the time I was in graduate school I was writing all over them and bending pages left and right. I even breaking in the binding before I even start reading. I only do this to my own books, not any library books, but when you constantly need to refer back to certain books and you build your own library that you use when writing research papers, it is just far faster to bang that book up and put tons of notes in it. Sorry not sorry. My personal library has some rough looking reference books.
I have a habit of smelling new books, and I recently bought a new comic book and forgot you aren't supposed to smell that kind of book. Do not recommend
I love a new book smell. Did the ink give you a head rush? :-)
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I used to go to a library in Texas that had numerous galley proofs in their collection, including some with JACK KEROUAC's own notes in them. They were checking them out to people! I asked to talk with the library director to tell him what they had, and he said, "We know that they are very valuable, but this is a circulating library and we don't collect antiques but check out books." Point taken, but it seems that they should have sold them or donated them before somebody ruined them. PS - I checked online and believe that these have now been donated to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas.
"Triggering" is the wrong word. "Upsetting" would be better. Triggering is more about PTSD
I'm not a bookworm but i found it offensive to ruin the books and the public property generally.
Sorry, that was the noise I was making as I ran away in terror of the MONSTER who CUTS BOOKS IN HALF. I bet he does it in the middle of chapters too!!!!
I hope he loses about 50 pages from the middle of the book. Serve him right.
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I have literally yelled at my father when he borrows my books.. he has a habit of bending the covers back... drives me nuts... it's like do it with your books not mine! I've even made him replace ones he's broken too badly.
This is just further proof (it turns up daily) of my theory that 80% of the world's population are not the sharpest pencils in the box.
Yeah, for those who don't know, but want a strong dose of nerd-rage, Google what happened to the Ancient Egyptian Library of Alexandria. Of the serious book abuse out there (like the folks destroying them so they can be used for decoration), its a reminder of a basic fact that's always been true in every time and place of human history: many, people are really, really, really f***ing stupid. The stupidity is forgivable until it combines w/ hostility.
I’ve surprisingly never found anything horrible in a library book, however the most memorable thing was a miniature string of Navajo prayer flags in a book of poetry. Quite mysterious and whimsical.
I had some books in my bathroom and I had to get rid of them because my little brother and his friend peed on them. One of the books was a first edition.
I once lost an uncorrected proof because my sister decided it looked scrappy and I wouldn't miss it, so took it to prop up the cat litter tray. I understand the pain.
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As a book lover, I find this cruelty unnecessary. My eyes are bleeding.
At least Lord of the Rings was only destroyed in one of them
Load More Replies... I love books but I want them to be loved and read and used. There is no intrinsic value in keeping them pristine. But it's not ok to deface and abuse public library books.
The person who cuts books in half is an insult to this planet. This article was incredibly painful.
I think I need to go lie down..this was truly awful..Gonna go hug my books now
Load More Replies... When I started college I was against marking in books, by the time I was in graduate school I was writing all over them and bending pages left and right. I even breaking in the binding before I even start reading. I only do this to my own books, not any library books, but when you constantly need to refer back to certain books and you build your own library that you use when writing research papers, it is just far faster to bang that book up and put tons of notes in it. Sorry not sorry. My personal library has some rough looking reference books.
I have a habit of smelling new books, and I recently bought a new comic book and forgot you aren't supposed to smell that kind of book. Do not recommend
I love a new book smell. Did the ink give you a head rush? :-)
Load More Replies... I used to go to a library in Texas that had numerous galley proofs in their collection, including some with JACK KEROUAC's own notes in them. They were checking them out to people! I asked to talk with the library director to tell him what they had, and he said, "We know that they are very valuable, but this is a circulating library and we don't collect antiques but check out books." Point taken, but it seems that they should have sold them or donated them before somebody ruined them. PS - I checked online and believe that these have now been donated to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas.
"Triggering" is the wrong word. "Upsetting" would be better. Triggering is more about PTSD
I'm not a bookworm but i found it offensive to ruin the books and the public property generally.
Sorry, that was the noise I was making as I ran away in terror of the MONSTER who CUTS BOOKS IN HALF. I bet he does it in the middle of chapters too!!!!
I hope he loses about 50 pages from the middle of the book. Serve him right.
Load More Replies... I have literally yelled at my father when he borrows my books.. he has a habit of bending the covers back... drives me nuts... it's like do it with your books not mine! I've even made him replace ones he's broken too badly.
This is just further proof (it turns up daily) of my theory that 80% of the world's population are not the sharpest pencils in the box.
Yeah, for those who don't know, but want a strong dose of nerd-rage, Google what happened to the Ancient Egyptian Library of Alexandria. Of the serious book abuse out there (like the folks destroying them so they can be used for decoration), its a reminder of a basic fact that's always been true in every time and place of human history: many, people are really, really, really f***ing stupid. The stupidity is forgivable until it combines w/ hostility.
I’ve surprisingly never found anything horrible in a library book, however the most memorable thing was a miniature string of Navajo prayer flags in a book of poetry. Quite mysterious and whimsical.
I had some books in my bathroom and I had to get rid of them because my little brother and his friend peed on them. One of the books was a first edition.
I once lost an uncorrected proof because my sister decided it looked scrappy and I wouldn't miss it, so took it to prop up the cat litter tray. I understand the pain.
Load More Replies... 