Book lovers, we’ve all been there. You’re cozied up with a brand-new book, ready to escape into another world, when bam!—a typo smacks you in the face. Or worse, you turn a page, only to realize it’s missing entirely. Nothing shatters the bliss of reading quite like these bookish betrayals. Sure, we can laugh about them later, but in the moment? It’s enough to make you dramatically close the book.
Today, the Bored Panda team scoured the internet to find some of the most triggering book crimes that readers have shared online. Whether it’s peculiar mistakes in a children’s book (yes, the irony) or entire missing pages, these moments are enough to make any bibliophile scream. Keep reading to see if you can stomach these bookish horrors! And don’t forget to check out our interview with Karishma Kothari, a first-time author who knows a thing or two about the struggles of writing, and the inevitable (but painful) tiny mistakes that slip through.
#1 Brought A Book To Read On The Bus. All Of The Pages Are Out Of Order
Image credits: Geeky-Female
#2 Checking In Books At The Circulation Desk At My School's Library, When Suddenly
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#3 This Typo For N In My Nephew’s Alphabet Board Book. The Editor Had Only 26 Words To Review... And Somehow This Was Missed
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If you’re someone who gets excited just by looking at books or who loves the crisp scent of a freshly printed novel, you know the magic of holding a new book in your hands.
The joy of flipping through untouched pages, the thrill of diving into a new story—it’s unmatched. But along with that joy comes the occasional heartbreak. A typo. A missing page. A weird formatting error that makes you pause mid-sentence. It’s frustrating, isn’t it?
#4 Colouring Book My In-Laws Got My Daughter. It's All AI Images
I know it's fantasy, but I'm not sure even pretend unicorns should have horns on the side of their heads. As for the amount of extra legs throughout the book, it's got to the point you can't tell what to color in and in what color.
Image credits: minisrugbycoach
#5 This Book That Explains Covid-19 To Kids Has People Wearing Their Masks Incorrectly
Image credits: alli-katt
#6 The Worst Bit Is That Its From A Math Book
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To understand things better, we spoke with Karishma Kothari, whose debut book, I AM MAGIC, was recently released. The book explores those uncertain moments in life when you’re caught between who you were and who you are becoming. It’s a quiet, comforting read for those navigating change.
With her first book out in the world, Karishma shared her thoughts on writing, editing, and the little imperfections that sometimes slip through.
#7 Proofreading This Book Couldn't Have Been That Hard
Image credits: UltraLaser23
#8 This 200 Us Dollar Textbook Is Just A Printout Of The Online Version Complete With Useless Hyperlinks And Video Thumbnails
Image credits: reddit.com
#9 This Illustration From A Children's Passover Book
Image credits: LaughingJelly
“For a non-writer, it might seem easy—just put words together. But it’s not that easy. It’s an entire process to put together words that make sense. Writing isn’t just about stringing sentences together. It’s about choosing the right words, crafting meaningful phrases, and making sure everything flows. It’s a long, intricate process that demands patience and skill.”
She explained how easy it is for small mistakes to go unnoticed during the writing process.“When you’re in the flow of writing, you might not focus on the spelling. Your brain moves faster than your fingers, and before you know it, you’ve typed something incorrectly without even realizing it. These tiny mistakes don’t seem like much at the time, but later? They stick out like a sore thumb.”
#10 This Board Book For Kids Is Pretty Confusing!
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#11 My Wife Ordered A Beading Pattern Book, But Instead Of Patterns It Only Contains AI Written Instructions On How To Make Such A Book
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#12 I Bought A Second Hand Book For My Kid And Didn’t Look Closely At The Cover. It’s In Latin. We Don’t Speak Latin
Image credits: Irksomecake
Editors play a crucial role in refining a book before it reaches readers. “That is why editors are crucial. They bring fresh eyes to the manuscript, catching things the writer might have overlooked. No matter how careful an author is, self-editing isn’t enough. Editors ensure clarity, consistency, and, most importantly, a polished final product.”
At the same time, she emphasized the importance of the author taking responsibility for their work. “But I believe the book is your baby, and nobody knows it better than you, so you should check everything. Even after an editor has worked their magic, a writer needs to go over their book again. Editors help, but at the end of the day, your story, your message, and your voice matter most. A final review by the author ensures that nothing gets lost in the editing process.”
#13 I’m Reading A Book On Forensics And It Has A Very Realistic Image Of A Fly On Every Page
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#14 Found This At The Back Of My 3 Yr Old's Counting Book
Emailed the publisher, they defended by saying look inside the book, the numbers are correct. I said then what's stopping you from printing the write ones on the cover?
Image credits: Poweringthroughlife
#15 Children's Book Error
Image credits: Sebastian_Pelzer
Giving the book time before reviewing it again can make all the difference.
“But you need to give it time. When you write, you think everything is right. But step away for a while, then come back with fresh eyes—suddenly, you’ll notice things you missed before. That’s why the best writing advice is always to take a break before editing.”
#16 About Finishing The Book Only To Discover That 10 Pages Are Missing
Image credits: AlphaPlutonium
#17 Came Across This In My Literature Book At School
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#18 The Makers Of My Swedish Book Forgot About Belgium, Luxemburg And The Netherlands
Image credits: IamNeverPro
No book starts out perfect, no matter how skilled the writer is. “The first draft is never perfect. And it never is. The first draft is messy, filled with inconsistencies, and often makes no sense when reread. But that’s part of the process. Writing is rewriting, and every great book goes through multiple drafts before it’s ready for the world.”
#19 Activity From A Children's Book.. What Is This Supposed To Be?
Image credits: reddit.com
#20 My Son’s Book On Ocean Creatures Has Two Errors On One Page: The Octopus Is A Squid And Tortoises Aren’t Found In The Ocean
Image credits: RamboZelda
#21 So I Found This In My Friend's Mom's Nursery Rhyme Book, From When She Was Little
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Even after countless revisions, sometimes errors slip through.
“Sometimes, some things might slip. Once everything is published, you can’t do anything. No matter how many rounds of editing a book goes through, mistakes still happen. And once the book is printed? That’s it. There’s no fixing it unless you’re willing to go through the long and expensive process of republishing.”
#22 This Book Doesn't Teach You How To Draw The Number 8 Correctly
Bought this book to help my boy learn his letters and numbers. The guide for 8 doesn't work as the arrows are incorrect!
Image credits: dsykes10
#23 They Tried To Fit The Title Of The Book On The Spine In The Same Format As It Is On The Cover. It Didn't Work
Image credits: TomTheNeatGuy
#24 Forcea Forsmt. The Actual Title Of This Book Is Forecast Form
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She acknowledged that fixing errors after publication isn't always possible. “The cost to reprint can be higher. So you let that one small error be. It’s not ideal, but there’s nothing you can do. Printing a book isn’t cheap, and reprinting it for a minor typo isn’t always practical. So, sometimes, authors have to live with tiny imperfections. It’s frustrating, but it’s reality. And honestly, as long as the story is good, does one small mistake really matter?” she added.
#25 My Daughter's Little Shapes Book. Pentagon?
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#26 The Text In This Children's Book Is Practically Illegible
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#27 Train On This Book Cover Isn't Even On The Rails
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Perfection is every writer’s dream, but some things are simply beyond control. “As a writer, you want your book to be perfect, but sometimes things are not in your control. No matter how much effort goes into it, something always slips through. And maybe, just maybe, that’s what makes books so beautifully human.”
Books are love. Books are life. And sometimes, even with the occasional typo or misplaced comma, a great book is still a great book. So, fellow book lovers—tell us, which of these moments made you laugh, sigh, or cry inside just a little bit?
#28 I’m Done With This Book
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#29 What The Flip. So There's This Guy That Always Has A Box With Books In Front Of His House For People To Take, Today I Found This I Almost Couldn't Contain Myself From Laughing
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#30 My Senior Year Book A Few Years Back
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#31 I'm Not Sure What To Say
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#32 Found This Giraffe With Five Legs In A Search And Find Book
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#33 My Book Was Printed Without Any Periods Whatsoever
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#34 This Beautiful Book Cover (The Book Itself Is Pretty Good However)
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#35 Never Judge A Book By Its Cover
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#36 Me And My Husband Looked For An Hour In Our Kids Coloring Book For The Word Smile. Is It Just Me Or Is It Not There?
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#37 This Children's Book Gives Up On Rhyming On The Last Page
I took a picture of each page so you can get the full effect of reading the whole thing outloud, getting to the end, only for the last page to break the rules of the rest of the book. Did they not have the budget to do one more page and do rhymes for the last 4 letters?
Image credits: Rigtoofen
#38 How About We Rotate The Author’s Name On The Last Book? That Will Look Soo Good
Image credits: Seaship_lord
#39 My Kiddo’s Book Has Infuriated Me On A Level That May Surpass “Mildly”
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#40 The Way You’re Supposed To Read This Book
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#41 Posessed English Book
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#42 BF Bought Me A Wordsearch Book That Has Only One Word In 200 Pages
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#43 In The Middle Of A 9 Hour Flight I Found Out My Book Was Missing 33 Pages
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#44 This Graph In A High School Year Book
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#45 There Is No Differences Between These Two Images In My Toddlers Spot The Difference Book
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#46 My Nephew Received A AI Coloring Book For Christmas
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#47 This Book Covers
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#48 Amazon Is Selling Bootleg Disney Colouring Books
My wife bought this on Amazon, it's just a bound book of random low-resolution/quality coloring pages easily found on Google image search. Initiated a refund and they didn't even want it back.
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#49 When My Book Decided To Parkour
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#50 Books That Have This Much Paper Before Chapter 1 Even Starts
Image credits: Flufftacular
