Best Practices for Protecting Your Favorite Books
There are two types of people in the world: those who fear thunderstorms, and those who celebrate them. I am the type of person who has always welcomed a rainy spring day – because I know why rainy days exist. Beyond just breathing life into the gray world around us, rainy days are for sipping tea, and curling up on the couch in the warmth of your coziest blanket while listening to vinyl records, with your nose buried deep into the pages of your favorite book. Rainy days are a much-needed treat, a mini-vacation that transports us away from the daily grind and allows us to momentarily get lost in the adventures of our favorite stories.
Certainly, there are some people in this world who will tell you, with nothing but good intentions, that the best smell in this world is the scent of fresh vinyl records. Although I love my vinyl collection, I have to disagree with these people (who I’m guessing are probably the same people who fear thunderstorms). They are mistaken; vinyl is a close second, but the greatest smell in the world is actually the nostalgic smell of our most beloved old books. (To all of my fellow lovers of vinyl records: Sorry, that’s not just my opinion; it’s actual science.)
If, like me, you enjoy a good book on a rainy afternoon, here are some tips for protecting, storing and preserving all of the books in your home library:
How to Safely Store Your Beloved Books
The obvious (and most mainstream) choice for storing a book collection is on a bookshelf. Of course, for a variety of reasons ranging from lack of space to just overflowing creativity, these traditional storage options are not readily available to everyone. For this reason, some readers and book collectors prefer to use cupboards, hidden boxes, or even temperature-controlled storage facilities.
How to Organize Your Books
If you have a large book collection, you can use free online software to catalogue and organize your books. This makes it easier to track down a specific book – especially if your books are divided into different boxes, rooms, or other storage spaces.
How to Minimize Wear and Tear
Book jacket covers can be handy for protecting your books while also minimizing wear and tear. If you’re unfamiliar with book jacket covers, there are many online tutorials that can assist in helping you secure your books.
In addition to protecting the book cover, you’ll also want to minimize wear and tear on the book spine, which is one of the most commonly damaged parts of a book. This simple technique for carefully fanning the pages of a paperback book is one of the easiest tricks for preventing or minimizing wear on your book’s spine.
Getting Lost in a Good Book
Author John Green once wrote, “You have to get lost so that you can find yourself.” I would say that reading a good book, living vicariously through the adventures of your favorite character, getting lost in an author’s descriptions of his or her world, is one of the greatest ways to “lose yourself” – if only so that you can find yourself again at the end. By incorporating the tips listed above, you’ll be able to build a home library full of epic adventures for rainy days, thunderstorms, and endless inspiration.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash by Hans Vivek