Reny of Storms End Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 What has happened to binding books these days? Every hardback that I buy, if it's new, is essentially falling apart upon arrival. I've reached the point where I'm going to stop buying hardback because of the shoddy construction. I did pre-order the new Daniel Abraham, and the cover literally would be falling off the book but for one small bit of glue holding the backpage onto the back cardboard. Before maybe five yrs ago I had never even seen a harshly used hardback in the shape "new" ones published today are in . Does just no one else care, so publishers don't see a need to fix this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grey Wolf Strikes Back Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Maybe a shortage of premium material? I've heard from several indie authors that thanks to Covid paper supply and port congestion are major ongoing concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Gotta say I have not experienced this and I order hardbacks all the time, US editions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reny of Storms End Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 I'm away from my house till the weekend, but when I get a chance I'll upload a photo of what I'm talking about. It's just frustrating to order a new book and have it be so poorly put together that the back cover could easily tear away from being attached to the rest of the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/feb/07/publishing-supply-chain-problems-lost-at-sea?fbclid=IwAR28XoY5bB3J2tGlpwxlx6NI72Dw2wjmbuj0DiQZrWbSd7SCkGrXKf3k7fM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underfoot Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 I experienced this with a book I checked out from the library that was published last year, the pages literally just fell out when I was turning them, I felt so bad! I don't think I got fined, weirdly, but it was super bizarre. That's the only recent hardback I've read, I'll have to see what happens to my Age of Ash copy whenever my local store tells me its ready for pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady narcissa Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 I was looking through the reviews on amazon for a new release this week where there would have been a very large print run and was amazed at the number of 1 star reviews - not for the writing but for the physical condition of the book. I've occasionally noticed such reviews before but the large number of them within the first week of release clearly indicates there is a problem with this first printing. Over the past two years I've seen a number of articles about issues with getting access to facilities for large print runs and some publication dates being pushed back as a result. It does seem like such issues could lead to a poorer job with printing and assembling books. This seems to cover some of the shortage issues. https://www.vox.com/culture/22687960/book-shortage-paper-ink-printing-labor-explained Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derfel Cadarn Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 I’ve seen books being delayed in releae due to supply chain issues. They’re also largely why my publisher switched from their old printer to Ingram Spark/Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loge Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 I doubt current shortages have much to do with it. Here is a piece on it. https://bindery.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/WHyBooksFallApart.pdf It's already 20 years old but probably still valid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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