Novelist branded 'book murderer' after sharing way to make them easier to carry

A novelist has been branded a "book murderer" after he shared his way to make long or heavy copies easier to carry.

Alex Christofi, editor at Oneworld publications, tweeted a photo of large books sawed in half, prompting a flood of frenzied reactions online.

In the picture, a copy of Dostoevsky by Joseph Frank, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides can all be seen split into two on a table.

The award-winning writer, who has written two novels, captioned the post: "Yesterday my colleague called me a 'book murderer' because I cut long books in half to make them more portable.

"Does anyone else do this? Is it just me?"

The post quickly went viral with more than 8,600 likes and 5,200 comments in just five hours.

Some Twitter users expressed their outrage at the decimated books while others littered the comment feed with memes.

One user said: "I don't know if Middlesex is long enough to justify this," while another said, "just download the kindle app (it's free)".

Dli O'Dior also joked: "This is the worst thing I have ever seen, with the possible exception of that picture of Piers Morgan sunbathing."

Others said: "I'm in shock", "I would like to report a crime", "no normal person does this," and "you're a monster".

One person even pleaded with Mr Christofi to send him the copy of Infinite Jest so he could adopt it into a "loving, warm" home.

But other Twitter users praised the writer's "ingenuity" saying: "I have never seen anything like this but 10 out of 10 for innovation!

"Would be tricky with a hardback, though, unless you have a very nifty cutting implement."

Another said: "I'm weeping at the ingenuity on display here. A game changer."