2025.0920 – J.K. Rowling and the Wet, Damaged Book

Exhaustive Narrative of Facts

Book Content and Condition

A book was shown that contained a section titled “Famous Failure – J.K. Rowling.” On the left page, it described how J.K. Rowling, while being a single mother with few resources, faced multiple rejections from publishers before her Harry Potter manuscript was accepted. The conclusion was that she persevered and achieved worldwide success. On the right page, there was a quotation attributed to Rowling: “Failure taught me things about myself I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected.”

The physical condition of the book was described in detail. It was used and somewhat damaged. The pages were wrinkled and creased, with visible folds. A stain from liquid or moisture appeared in the lower left corner of the right page. The paper was wavy, suggesting it had been wet. There were folds at the top left of the left page. The spine was holding together, but the pages showed signs of heavy wear. The conclusion was that the book was complete and legible, but clearly showed signs of heavy use and exposure to liquids. It was explicitly confirmed that the book had indeed been wet.

Desire to Dry the Book

There was interest in drying the book completely. It was stated that it did not matter if the pages became wrinkled, but that the priority was to make it dry. Several methods were considered and discussed.

Unsafe Methods Considered

The idea of placing the book in an oven for five minutes was raised. It was repeatedly explained that the oven was dangerous because paper is highly flammable, the glue in the spine could melt, and the heat could cause permanent damage. It was explained that paper ignites around 230 °C and that ovens can heat unevenly.

The use of a microwave was also considered. It was explained that the microwave was even more dangerous than the oven. Reasons included uneven heating, the risk of fire, the possibility of adhesives releasing toxic vapors, metallic components in some bindings or inks sparking, and irreversible damage such as burnt marks, glued pages, or strong odors.

The idea of using a panini press toaster was also mentioned. It was explained that this was extremely unsafe because the resistors are very close to the paper, creating a very high risk of fire, and because the device compresses while heating, which could burn and deform the book.

Safer Alternatives Presented

Multiple safer alternatives were proposed:

• Ventilator or fan: Opening the book in a fan shape and placing it in front of a ventilator to circulate air.
• Hair dryer: Using cold or lukewarm air, never hot, at a safe distance of 20–30 cm. This was suggested as fast and effective, but it was reported that no hair dryer was available.
• Rice or silica cat litter: Placing the book in a box or bag with rice or silica cat litter to create a dry environment that absorbs moisture from the book over several hours. It was clarified that the rice does not enter between pages, but dries the surrounding air, which slowly extracts moisture.
• Absorbent paper: Interleaving absorbent sheets between certain pages and changing them regularly.
• Open air near a window: Letting the book dry with indirect sunlight or natural air circulation.
• Oven residual heat method: Heating the oven at a very low temperature (about 50–60 °C), then turning it off completely and placing the book inside with the door ajar, using only residual heat. This was presented as a safe way to accelerate drying without risk of burning.
• Freezer method: Wrapping the book in absorbent paper, placing it in a bag, and freezing it. This method prevents mold growth, hardens the water, and makes it possible to later separate the pages during controlled drying.
• Pressing under weight: After drying, placing the book under heavy objects for several days to reduce deformation.
• Ironing with protection: Once fully dry, placing a sheet of baking paper and a cloth over the pages, and ironing at low temperature without steam, moving continuously. This was suggested as a way to flatten wrinkled pages.

Observations About Drying Limitations

It was noted that while the book can dry completely, it is likely to remain wrinkled or swollen. Even so, it was stated that libraries and archives manage to recover books from floods using similar techniques. The realistic result expected was that the book would end up dry and legible, but probably with marks and waves on the pages.

Clarifications and Concerns

It was emphasized that if the pages are glued together due to moisture, rice or air circulation cannot immediately separate them. In such cases, freezing was highlighted as the safest method to prevent mold and allow gradual separation. It was stressed that heat-based methods (oven, microwave, toaster) only worsen the problem, sealing or burning the pages.

It was also noted that one goal was to be able to leave the book drying overnight without supervision. For this, it was suggested to leave the book in a box with rice or silica, or to keep it semi-open with absorbent paper and good ventilation, so that in the morning it would be dry to the touch or almost dry, with reduced risk of mold.