Questions tagged [physical-books]
Questions related to books as physical objects, e.g. their size, colors, etc.
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Has copy protection ever been used in physical books?
"Digital rights management", DRM, is almost a standard in the e-book industry. Have copyright holders ever tried to protect physical books from scanning, for example in a way how banknotes are ...
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2
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How can I check that used or old books are in good condition before I purchase them?
I go to used book sales about once or twice a year. Recently, I bought some books that I've been meaning to read for a while. However, when I started reading them, I realized that about a quarter of ...
user111
19
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1
answer
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How do I straighten out a paperback book's cover that is bent?
I read a lot of paperback books. Almost exclusively, in fact. I have one problem, though - all the covers get bent while I read them (or sometimes after one of the siblings has a crack at it). They ...
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2
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What are these pink papers with book text written on them?
I purchased this book online and upon reading it I discovered that one page contains two pink papers with the text of the book printed on top of them.
On the papers is also printed the text:
Ref:...
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1
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Why do some books warn that books with missing covers may be unauthorised?
I've noticed that a lot of my books contain a warning that if the book is missing a cover, it may be unauthorized. For example, the copyright page of my copy of George R R Martin's Clash of Kings ...
user111
13
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1
answer
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Why do some paperbacks have shortened front covers?
Some paperback editions have a front cover which is a centimetre or two shorter than the actual book. I first noticed this on House of Leaves, where I thought that it's just part of the whole ...
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2
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Why do some books have colors on the edges of the pages?
On some books, I've noticed that they have colors on the edges of the pages. For instance, on my Tikkun:
And on a G'mara (part of the Talmud):
What is the point of these colors? Are they only found ...
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12
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6
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How to travel with paperback books without damaging them?
I like to carry paperback books with me in a backpack. I've noticed that this puts a lot of wear and tear on these books. I can't not carry these books in my backpack, but what can I do to better ...
user111
11
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2
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Meaning of "C.P." footnote
The book I'm currently reading has a "C.P. - (number)" footnote every 20 pages. What does C.P. mean, and what is the purpose of this marking?
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1
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Are these actually first editions?
I was sorting through some old books and noticed that both these “My little pony” picture books say first edition on them. If they really were first editions they probably wouldn’t be worth much. But, ...
user13907
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Should I keep the jacket on a hardcover book?
I've got a few hardcover books. I usually read paperback, but sometimes I'll find myself with a hardcover book.
Often, these will have jackets on them. Paper jackets that rip and get in the way and ...
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8
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2
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At what temperature can I safely iron the fabric bookmarks in the volumes of the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade?
I recently acquired a volume from the famous Bibliothèque de la Pléiade from an antiquarian bookseller. These volumes always have two fabric bookmarks and as you can see from the image below, the ...
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7
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2
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Is it a widespread tradition to inscribe family trees in the back of holy books?
I was reading Shame (1983) by Salman Rushdie, and came to this sentence.
Lost in the forest of new relatives, wandering in the bloodjungle of the matriarchal home, Bilquis consulted the family Quran ...
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7
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1
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How many manuscripts of English Renaissance plays have survived?
During the English renaissance, plays were primarily written for performance and play manuscripts were usually not sold to a printer before the play had had a successful run in the theatre. A number ...
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6
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1
answer
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What should you look for when deciding whether a children's book would be "dyslexia-friendly"?
I had a niece (age 8) who was recently diagnosed with dyslexia. As a good Lit.SE member, I tend to like to give books as gifts, but want to make sure that I'm getting books that she can actually read.
...
6
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1
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How can I clean a book and remove mold / stains?
I have a book from 1989 that I inherited recently. The cover and some of the pages have these dark stains and/or mold. It does not seem to have a bad odor (as far as I can tell).
Is it possible to ...
5
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2
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Bother to report errors in books to authors?
Recently I read a couple of books with some of the following mistakes:
Spelling
Phrasing
Scientific errors in equations
Word duplications
Other typography errors: formatting, missing colors, etc.
...
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5
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0
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Why are titles written top to bottom on the spine of English books, while they are written bottom to top on the spine of French books?
I have a bunch of books in French and a bunch of books in English. I mix them all in my bookshelf. But it's very annoying because I have to tilt my head to the right to read English titles, and to the ...
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5
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0
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Why does this Tintin album not have a printing number?
Why does this French Tintin book (Tintin et les Picaros) not have a printing number?
Update:
After talking with someone who lives in France they said to have a look at the bottom of either the first ...
user13907
4
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3
answers
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How do you report stolen library books to the library?
How do you report a stolen library book to the public library? Can you track stolen books so that the library can get them back? I had a book bag containing some library books stolen recently. It's ...
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3
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1
answer
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In which editions of Moby Dick is this a six inch chapter?
Towards the beginning of Moby Dick there is a chapter which is dedicated to a character called Bulkington, in this chapter the Author addresses this as a "six-inch chapter"
Wonderfullest things are ...
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3
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1
answer
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Difference between the two editions of "Great Books of the Western World"
I have the full original set of Great Books. I know there was an updated version published in the 70s(?). Is there a way to attain the rest without re-buying the whole set?
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How do I repair warping, creasing, and lamination separation on a paperback's covers?
I just purchased a new paperback, shipped from China. Unfortunately, it made the journey in only a layer of bubble wrap and a plastic-bag mailer, so it arrived damaged: the whole book has a wave ...
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3
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1
answer
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What is the purpose of the redundant book titles printed in the bottom margin every few pages of many books? [duplicate]
I'm reading a book. Every few pages, in the bottom left margin, it repeats its own title, preceded by an increasing number:
24 The Fellowship of The Ring
What is the point of this? Surely they ...
- 31
2
votes
2
answers
213
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What options are there to acquire a book that is out of print?
Many books - even from popular authors - are out of print (examples are The Collected Jorkens from Lord Dunsany or Round the Fire Stories from Arthur Conan Doyle). What options do I have if I want to ...
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2
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1
answer
138
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Why is a hardcover book better than a paperback book?
A biographer I follow on a social media platform once wrote "we're a hardcover household". Where does the tradition of preferences between these two options come from?
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2
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1
answer
103
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How do publishers determine how much to charge for audiobooks relative to their printed version?
Amazon.com prices for a few random books as of 10/5/2017:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - paperback $9.29, hardcover $17.89, audio CD $38.98
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - ...
1
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2
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Why are some recently published book available on paper format but not on ebook?
I recently came across this promising book and while I did find several online shops who sell it as "paperback", I was unable to find an ebook version of it. Even though the website clearly ...
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1
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What is the oldest book written in braille?
What is the oldest complete book written in braille?
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0
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Name of purple hardcover book covered in a soft fabric with fables, fairy tales, or similar stories
I remember being gifted as a child some kind of hardcover book that had a purple colored soft-touch cover; I think it was some kind of fabric. There was also a purple ribbon as bookmark.
I think it ...
- 119
1
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0
answers
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Are there any scholarly analyses of the covers of Penguin Classics, Oxford Classics, etc.?
This question is about the covers of Penguin Classics, Oxford Classics, and other classics publishers that use details of pre-existing paintings and illustrations for their covers.
Certain classics ...
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1
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Biggest braille book? [closed]
What is the biggest book written in braille on the open market today?
- 587
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0
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What's the source of the covers of this edition of the Jerusalem Quartet (Sinai Tapestry, etc.)?
Here are the covers for the four books of the Jerusalem Quartet by Edward Whittemore, in one of the first published editions:
I'm looking for the source of the different images used on the covers. ...
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