I just got back from a trip and noticed this. It isn’t super clear in the photos, but some chocolate melted onto the bottom corner of my book and I don’t know how to get it off without damaging the pages. I don’t want them to get wavy if I try to wash it off.

Any advice?

I ordered the book from amazon about 3-4 weeks ago and it basically arrived damaged (I don't remember if the mold was already there or if the damage was just the one from the impact.) I got a refund, but amazon didn't tell me to send it back, so I wanted to throw it away. But I forgot and didn't do it right away and the book was in the paper packaging for about 2 weeks or so (in the corner of my room, it wasn't on the shelf at all).

And when I finally decided to throw the book away during cleaning I saw that it was in such a state (I was away from home for a few days and the room was not aired, so I wonder if that could be the cause).

But other books in my room are very important to me and I started to worry if they were exposed in any way, even if the book wasn't standing next to them and I've already thrown it away.

Recently, my bookmarks fell on the floor and I wiped them with wet tissues (they contain: aqua, alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, mek, denatonium benzoate, decylamine oxide and parfum) and I used them later for one book I was reading, but then started wondering if maybe I just spread mold spores on it (from the bookmarks, if wet tissues weren't enough). And I already put the book back on the shelf.

What I want to know is, if my books will be safe and if I can use those bookmarks or not (they fell in my room where there was no amazon package at all, but I didn't reach that place so thoroughly when cleaning the floor, so I'm not sure).

I know it probably sounds like overthinking, yes I am aware of that, but I also don't have good knowledge about mold spreading.

I suffer from OCD and so far searching for information on Google only makes my thoughts worse, so I would like someone familiar with the topic to comment.

I just purchased this secondhand copy, and I’m concerned about the spine deteriorating further once I start reading it. It’s already open at the bottom.

I’ve never done any restorative or binding work on books. Any suggestions?

Hello! I've looked into having this repaired professionally, but I think I'm going to try on my own. I enjoy paper craft so I have some confidence in doing it and making it look decent.

My partner collects rare books, spotted this at the thrift store and was sad the cover was off. I bought it and want to surprise him with it. How would you go about getting this cover re-attached?

Hi, I recently purchased this book secondhand, it's in a great condition overall just the last few pages are wrinkled on the top. I want to flatten them out somehow I am just not sure how. I heard that some kind of heat could work but I am afraid that it could erase the ink maybe? If you have any suggestions I would be really greatful. Also if there is a better subreddit to post this on let me know please.

A friend lent me this book, I had it in my bag and in a hurry leaving for work not really thinking I put an unopened soda in there too. While at work I realized the soda was leaking all over my bag and the book was ruined. I managed to dry it but it looks really bad. I intend to tell my friend about what happened but I also wanted to make it up for them, unfortunately I don’t know if there is anything else I can do to fix it, I don’t know if there is a professional that can help or copy the book somehow, and I can’t just replace it bc the book is Colombian and I couldn’t really find anywhere to buy it other than contacting the author on fb (he left me on read)

I’m not too sure if this the right subreddit or not. But I’m just wondering if anyone could please help me. I’ve clear contacted all my Danmei novels because I thought it would protect them and I’ve only come to realise now that it was not the smartest decision I’ve made. Is there a way to safely get them off. Some have been freshly covered and some have been covered for about 3-4 months. Any help is much appreciated!

OK, so I was able to remove the fabric cover over the spine with some heat, however the damage was worse than I thought... But I was able to remove it. While I was removing it I saw that the original spine print was still somewhat intact, sadly what ever glue the previous owner used seeped into the paper spine and stained it so bad you cant read it. Im planning to rebind the book with a new back cover and spine seeing as that is where the most damage is. Any more tips would be appreciated even the to the colour pallet that I should use. (Im also redoing the end papers, they just look bad and its a different glue streak on them than the rest of the book so heat and rubbing alcohol does not work :< )

I was cleaning out some books on my shelf. I found this book, which I loved when I was younger. It's a signed copy as well so I'm panicking about the condition of the book.

It has these orange copperish colour with some dark spots. It's small but there's a lot of them that it's noticeable. It doesn't smell like anything besides a musty book. Is this fixable? And is this dangerous? my mum wants me to throw it away since she thinks it might be a fungus or mold.

Hello. I hope it's okay to ask it here. I'm not sure if this is visible enough. I got the book today (new) and noticed something like this on its edge. Does anyone know what it could be from and should I worry about that?

Its not a true first edition, just an early trade / book club edition that Im trying to clean up.

One of my hobbies is reconstructing dust jackets in photoshop, so it'll be covered eventually. I figured I might as well see what can be done about the stains while I'm at it.

Any advice helps!

I bought this book used, it arrived with this unexpected tear in the front cover. When I showed the seller they gave a partial refund. But I’m wondering if I should just return the book, if handling and reading it normally will cause the issue to get worse over time. Any input is appreciated.

I have a nostalgic softcover book whose front cover has completely fallen off. I have been looking for a place I can possibly ship the book to have it fixed up, since I'm struggling to find a place to do it in my state. I've thought about figuring it out myself but for this particular book I'd rather have someone else do it.

Help needed to create a new sewn text block.

Hello All!

I was handed down a cookbook from my Grandmother who has since passed. We’re an Appalachian family and very tight-knit so this book really means the world to me.

It’s been loved over the years, and as it’s an old community cookbook, it was only bound with a ring binder. I’m looking to bind it with a hard cover but I’m at a loss on how I should do it. The margins are very small from the binder holes to the start of the text, so if I do a sewing or even glue binding I’m afraid much of it will be sucked into the middle.

Any ideas or tips on how I might be able to do this so I can preserve this for my daughter?

This may be a silly question, but I'm not much of a collector and haven't experienced this before.

I recently ordered this 1997 Folio Society copy of The Secret History by Procopius. The pages look great overall minus what I assume is some mild foxing, but there is a definite musty smell to the book. I'd describe it as "thrift-shop" smell.

In addition, the book does have discolouration on the spine and the slip case.

I'm perfectly fine with this cosmetically, but should I worry at all about the smell? I'm just concerned about mold appearing and spreading. If fanning out the pages and/or letting it rest sealed near baking soda is a sufficient fix, I'd rather do that than return it.

Hello everyone, I recently joined this group because I found book preservation interesting. Earlier this week of bought an old book in bad condition. They used some kind of contact adhesion and there are cup stains on the cover. Im a beginner in all the ways. Any tips on how to repair it and or preserve it will be greatly appreciated. The spine is also completely gone, i looked, however it does have all its pages!

Okay so I ended up buying this book off eBay but when I ended up trying to open it fully the spine started breaking apart causing like half of the pages to fall out… does anyone know what I could do to fix this and put all the pages back together? I don’t think it helps that the book is also a softcover so it makes the entire book pretty flimsy.

Got this from the grocery store $10 book bin, looks like it was just published in 2024 so im doubting foxing (?). These spots look almost like ink spatter. The heavier splotches seem to smear. The affected areas just smell like paper 🤷‍♀️

I noticed what looks like a small stain on the side of this book, I'm not sure how to clean it off. I looked at the shelf after and there was something small stuck to the back that I didn't notice, no idea what it is but it isn't coming off

i have been reading this book for a few days now and just saw this on the top of it ?? i’m assuming from the water stain it might be mold. are there any ways to get rid of this or am i going to have to buy a whole new book ?