Yesterday I received a brand new book that I plan to use as reference for my work for a long time. This is a 1000+ pages hardcover, and after unwrapping it from its plastic protection, I immediately open it. At the exact time I let the two sides of the book fall on the table, I new that I will break the spine, but it was too late. Here’s what the book looks like now:
Now I knew the right way to open an hardcover book the first time, but as I buy perhaps one or two each year, it’s difficult to remember it in the excitation of having new stuff to play with.
What is done is done, and it will be a good exercise to rebuild the book one day (I am slowly investing in bookbinding tools), but seen the cost of of this kind of books, here’s a suggestion for publisher: The book was wrapped in plastic, so why not inserting inside an explanation similar to the link above or at least putting a warning sticker on the wrapping? Or perhaps Amazon can just just add this kind of sticker automatically.