A Flight Attendant’s Bookish Ethical Dilemma

Travel Blog  •  Michael Yessis  •  06.15.09 | 12:35 PM ET

J.T. from Georgia posed this question to the New York Times ethicist, Randy Cohen:

I am a flight attendant. I was working a flight from Europe when I recognized Michael Connelly, my favorite author, on board. I told him I was reading his novel “Brass Verdict,” and he kindly offered to autograph it. The catch: it is a library book. Must I return the signed book to the library, or can I replace it with a new copy in a suitable jacket?

The answer is entertaining, and not just because of the line about what Cohen would do if he met “the ghost of Jane Austen on the D.C. shuttle.”

Tags: Airworld, Literature, Travel Ethics, Europe, Literary Travel


4 Comments for A Flight Attendant’s Bookish Ethical Dilemma

Lori 06.15.09 | 2:50 PM ET

If Connelly was her “favorite,” why hadn’t she bought the book?

Chas 06.15.09 | 6:06 PM ET

Return it to the library and be glad to got to meet him.

Grizzly Bear Mom 06.17.09 | 12:28 PM ET

Buy the library a new book.  They won’t have the opportunity to met him, or possible even value him, so they will never miss the signature.  In fact, it might even be considered damage.

SallyUK 06.19.09 | 5:51 AM ET

I work in a library and we have books go missing all the time.  In this instance I would go into the library and offer to buy the book, just saying I’d accidentally left it overseas.  Our policy here (UK) is to accept the value quoted on the computer so we could order another copy.  It is best not to take in a copy of the book as it may be the incorrect binding and you could be asked to pay again anyway.  Plus the library gets a new pristine book.

If you saw the condition that you see some books come back from holiday in (with blobs of sun lotion on the cover or sand in the spine) then I’d say that the library could end up with the better end of the deal in this case.

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