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Books are a wonderful thing. Since childhood, I have been in awe of books and the pleasure that they give you, although not everyone takes care of them. Broken spines, pages that are turned at the corner are both signs of age, although if you look after books, mend small damage as and when it happens, this really can preserve those special moments of reading that mean so much to you. Amongst my present collection are books I won as prizes at junior school, and by taking care of them, these can be passed down the family to others who I hope will enjoy them as much as I do.

These are my tips for taking care of repairs to the spine of a book, and the binding itself. Much like the human spine, this is what holds the whole works together, and keeping books in good repair can save a fortune, because bad damage takes more specialized care.

PAPERBACKS

With the age of the paperback upon us and the common use of modern methods of putting books together, sometimes faults can occur in the binding of a book, more easily than in the old fashioned sewn together books. The cover comes away from the main text of the book, or begins to fray at the spine. Repairing these books as and when damage happens can be simple. Many are inexpensive, and in the case of inexpensive books with little historic value, repairs can be made using a good quality glue, first ensuring that all the text pages are gathered together firmly and using a fine glue to put loose pages back in place.

Then comes the cover and here if the cover as become a little worn and ragged, you can hot press the cover flat, using a cloth to protect it, with an ordinary household iron. Small tears can be repaired and put back into place and sometimes it is possible to do this without it being too noticeable. Personally, at this stage and before attending to the book binding itself, I do iron out those pages which have been abused by past users. Taking a glue suitable for paper, though stronger than a PVA glue, (in my case I used a contact adhesive), gently pipe a line of adhesive against the spine of the book and the corresponding cover, spread it with a small knife, and wait the allotted time before placing book back into its cover.

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Here, these books can be treated in much the same way although one has to be aware that a glue that is child friendly is better than a contact glue, simply for the safety of the child. I use a strong PVA glue, and it certainly is a pleasure giving your kids books a new lease of

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