Chop Up Your Books

20260915

This is my entreaty to readers everywhere: you should return a weapon to your books.

(And no, not successful the consciousness that the destructive AI-scanners do.)

Like apparently everybody else, my book nine precocious picked retired Lonesome Dove. I’m not a Western guy, but it’s clear that this pulitzer-winner earned it. It’s good.

But travel on: this is an 850+ page paperback! It is what I telephone Too Big.

It’s going to tyre retired your hands to clasp up an 850-page book for the clip it takes to publication an 850-page book. If you publication successful bed, it’s going to tyre your arms out, trying to clasp this elephantine tome complete your head. If you want to return this book connected a level aliases bus, it’s going to return up half of your bag.

So, I would for illustration to urge you to a believe I telephone Chop That Book Up Into Reasonable Sizes.

It takes a fewer minutes and very fewer tools. You besides tin bask reference reasonably-sized volumes of large books.

At the consequence of parroting ‘you tin conscionable do things’, I’m telling you: You Can Just chop up your book. Nobody will telephone the cops. Authors don’t mind! (well, I don’t deliberation so, and I wouldn’t mind if you chopped up my book, which I freely admit is besides Too Big).

Here’s what I do erstwhile the book is Too Big:

1. Buy a copy. Don’t do this pinch room books.
2. Paperbacks are easiest but hardbacks activity good too. Think astir the format you for illustration to publication and look astatine its pages. Do you for illustration the type sizing? The margins?
3. Find the earthy break points. Lonesome Dove is simply a awesome lawsuit here; it’s divided into 3 Parts, and each Part makes a awesome smaller volume. But different you’re looking for section breaks.
4. Crack that spine. Bend the book alllllll the measurement unfastened astatine the first break point. Manhandle it. If the book is perfect-bound (which intends the pages are glued together on the spine, astir paperbacks are), you tin crook the spine backwards capable to spot the glue strip. If you’ve sewage a hardback that’s really stitched together, past look for a break betwixt signatures (those are the groupings of pages that are stitched together). Signatures are still going to beryllium glued together successful astir cases. Here’s a comparison of binding types.
5. X-acto that baby. Carefully portion betwixt the sections, correct into the glue. Bookbinders glue is awesome worldly - you tin portion into it neatly pinch a bully crisp blade, but you won’t messiness up the glue’s grip connected surrounding pages.
6. Voila: you person volumes. Next you’ll want to hindrance it successful immoderate caller ersatz cover. If you effort to transportation astir conscionable the conception of the book without immoderate cover, you will soon study what covers are for! Individual pages will snag, rip, and peel off. Trust me, you want a caller cover.
7. You tin usage anything, but I urge a manila folder. These are great: patient capable to protect the book artifact (the existent pages), but inexpensive and disposable feeling. Fold a manila files astir your caller smaller volume. Make crisp creases. Trim it to size pinch your x-acto blade.
8. Then glue it on! You tin get bookbinders glue, but honestly Elmers will activity conscionable fine. You’re not binding this book to make an heirloom: you’re rebinding it for your ain convenience. Smear a statement of glue successful the caller spine, and usage binder clips will clasp the manila files successful place. Let it dry.
9. Label it! I deliberation a bold sharpie does the occupation here. I’ve had books wherever I gave it much detail, but I emotion the unpretentiousness of a marker.
10. Enjoy your reasonably-sized book.