Charlie claims his immersion in stories is broken by his girlfriend Julie's habit of writing in books, which includes underlining, crossing things out, and adding comments like "lol" in the margins. He states that while some comments are interesting, they distract him from the story and deny him a relationship with the original author.
Julie, whose first book is due out this year, defends her actions, stating that annotating is part of her work as a writer. She argues that she shouldn't have to justify her actions for books she has bought and that Charlie could borrow books from a library if he wants an unannotated copy.
The couple, who have been together for two years, have had this as an ongoing issue. Charlie states they cannot lend books to friends due to the annotations, while Julie says she never gives away books and stores them at her parents' home.
Guardian readers are invited to participate in an online poll to decide on the dispute, which closes on Wednesday 19 August at 9am BST.