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WillAdams

Well, one can damage a hardcover by not opening it properly the first time:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/7sry7v/open_a_ha...

(which was a lesson in 2nd grade, when we got our first-ever hardcover textbooks)

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When I was in grade school in the 60s (I'm old) they showed us this film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHe2hx1JL7U

For some reason, the lessons learned stuck with me.

Ah, watching that was like soap for a brain sullen with today’s video content.

That's sure can't be true for "modern" (as in 1960s+) books? Bookstores normally allow to look inside hardcovers without being instructed on proper handling first

If you can find a book with a sewn binding (or better a pair, as-yet unopened), if you open one per the instructions, then open the other haphazardly as one reads it, you will find that over time, the book which was not opened with care will develop a directionality to its binding causing it to be cocked, while the other, so long as it is read carefully will remain square.

Typical glued texts are more prone to this, but depending on the state of the glue, may go back so square if pressed when square to correct.

Would definitely try next time I buy a hardcover :) But I think this first opening rule must be some US quirk. I only see US sources for it on internet, and can't find German or Russian one

It gets mentioned in British texts on hand bookbinding.

Well that is a real issue for me, since I much prefer second hand books! I am rarely the first to open them

Wow. I’m almost 40 and never knew this!

Yeah, really, Barnes & Noble marketing is missing a beat by not printing that as a bookmark to include with new book sales after asking the question at the register, "Has the person you are buying this hardcover for ever opened a new book correctly?"

Oblig. XKCD:

https://xkcd.com/1053/

(which I kind of wish was comic #1,000 so it was easy to remember/link)

A better solution would be for them to just pre-open the books so you don't need complex rituals to read them.

If I buy a new, unread book, I expect to be the first person to open it.

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