Storing Books Horizontally

[@rbeehner2]

Another reason to store books horizontally is owing to the fragility of some older and valuable books. Many of my leather-bound folio sized history books published in the 19th century have wide spines (3 to 6" wide). The covers are delicate and tired. Because of concern their heavy weight may damage the text block, I have some lain horizontally which consume a lot of scarce shelf space.

[@thebookman4126]

Absolutely right Richard. Like all things books there are always exceptions to every rule. However storing horizontally and stacking horizontally are different things. It sounds like you're being very kind to yours though. Cheers

[@-johnny-deep-]

The thing I absolutely HATE about storing books upright is that dust accumulates on the top of the page block, and heavy hardbacks will droop their text blocks toward the back, distorting the binding.

[@supercard9418]

By “droop their text blocks”, do you mean that it causes the books to tilt/slant over time?

[@-johnny-deep-]

@@supercard9418 - Yes, the front edge of the pages (that is, the edge opposite the spine) will gradually drop downward toward the shelf, unless they are tightly packed against each other.

[@supercard9418]

@@-johnny-deep- very cool, this explains why some of my heavy books (omnibus) that aren't tightly packed open slightly at the top! thanks!

[@robertwills3445]

Very informative Mike. Isn’t it interesting how some books have horizontal writing on the side and other have vertical. I assume that this is so you can store them differently

[@thebookman4126]

Absolutely! Not many people notice that...

[@Shoonya_000]

99% of my books have horizontal writing 😅

[@captainlengthwidth6692]

@@thebookman4126 I still can't work out why the majority of the French language books I own have the lettering on the spine running the 'other' way. If you place the book on its side, with the front cover up - as would seem natural - the writing on the spine is upside down. So to be able to read the spines you have to place them face down - which is so wrong it hurts.

[@aquinot]

Thank you!

[@SimonPJohnson]

Many thanks Mike.

[@thebookman4126]

Very welcome Steve.

[@chhhhhris]

_Indeed. Indeed._

[@SulphurBorne]

Cheerio.

[@robertwills3445]

Mike, Claire and I disagreed about the merits of taking off dust covers from a book. I say let’s reveal the beauty of the binding. What are your views please?

[@thebookman4126]

Lol. Oh dear, I don't want to cause disharmony. I actually think you're both right. There are some covers which really do "make" the book, others which do not and the binding is definitely worth displaying. If it is a "modern collectable" book then the jacket is very important- to preserve its value. In fact it's not a bad idea to take the jacket off when reading in order to not damage it. As usual though because it is "books" there is no definite answer to the issue. It's a case of "it all depends..." I'll try to include this issue in an upcoming video. Thanks for commenting Bob.

[@RandyRydberg]

@@thebookman4126 I take the covers off when reading a book. There is no way that the cover will be damaged if it isn't there, and when I am on the go, that cover is at high risk. My brother doesn't like jackets, and for a while I thought he was being foolish, but now I understand. The look of the raw book is a good one. But unlike him, I won't throw away the covers. Also, the dust jackets make it somewhat easier to find a book on a very big, crowded bookshelf as the jackets are usually fairly distinctive.

[@carolanderson117]

Interesting video! I always hated off sized books! I wonder why anyone would would choose that size…. I just figured, they aren’t book people. Unfortunately I’ve had to get rid of my library because in Florida everything turns moldy… Ugh !

[@channelsixtysix066]

My subject matter (maths) is fairly uniform in height and width. But they are mostly heavy. I'm going to invest in archival covering to put over the wrappers to keep them in good condition. Same with bare covers.

[@philmarsh5593]

Interesting. I have often wondered why books come in different sizes. Although I challenge you for a sensible reason for publishers NOT making paperbacks in the same genre the same height! :-) I have a number of football biogs for example, and the paperbacks are generally one of two sizes - one being about 2cms taller than the other. Which means different shelves (I tend to use old bookcases, not modern ones). Some logic and conformity to standards would really help shelf planning... But this does help with the military stuff in particular, thanks :-)

[@thebookman4126]

Thanks Phil. I'll be doing a video next just focusing on book sizes. And yes, I agree there seems to sensible reason for those odd paperback sizes...

[@LumièreRoteFahne]

im very happy to see that palastine pin ^^

[@Knee-JerkReactor]

If you're going to copy Nick The Stripper, weirdo, perhaps you might ditch the obscene pin.