Martin wrote:
On Fri, 18 May 2018 12:29:57 +0100, "Dan S. MacAbre" wrote:

Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Dan S. MacAbre
wrote:

Here's a no doubt silly question :-) I find that I can hardly open
some of my older books now without the spine cracking, and a few pages
falling out. I was just wondering if there's anything that can be
done to prevent this, without boxing them up in the loft, or
something. I was considering rubbing some kind of oil on the back, in
the hope that it might soak in over time, and make the glue a bit more
flexible again. But if course, it also might just make it all gooey,
and the pages might be even more likely to fall out.

Has anyone else found anything that makes their paperbacks last a bit
longer?

This issue is definitely a pain in the dong, along with publishers
having used non-acid-free paper in the past. My solution is to try only
to buy properly bound books, although those become harder to find as
the years go by.


I buy paperbacks simply because I need to maximise shelf space :-) I
don't mind them getting a bit scruffy, but having the pages fall out
definitely spoils one's enjoyment.

I bought a Kindle to maximise shelf space.


I have one, but I find that I still prefer books :-)