Let this simple and effective flowchart carry you serenely through deciding which style of book binding is right for you.
You’ll start off deciding if you need a permanent or temporary binding. You may be very proud of your book report on The Wind in the Willows, and with good reason, but if your parents aren’t interested in getting it hard bound (or case bound, as the technical term seems to be) maybe forgive them and just get it saddle stitched. Make sure you click through to the source to find out more about the kinds of binding in the infographic.
The chances that you’re physically presenting a book report are pretty small though, aren’t they? Physical books are going the way of vinyl records; only kept by collectors, and usually in addition to their digital library. I only keep about ten books, but those are very, very precious to me. They are, with a few exceptions, case bound and older than I am. I also have digital copies of almost all the books, and I prefer to read those. This is partially because they’re much more portable when they’re on my phone, but also because the act of reading a book can damage it pretty seriously over time. I want to keep them in the best condition possible, so that in 50 years I can still crack them open and enjoy that old book smell.
What makes old books smell so wonderful, anyway? Lucky for you, we’ve got an infographic that explains it!