How to Straighten Warped Hardbacks | Book Repair and Care 101

DISCLAIMER: If you have particularly valuable, collectible, or sentimental books, I highly recommend taking them to a professional bookbinder for restoration rather than attempting any of these techniques yourself. Not every technique will be appropriate for every book, and I am not an expert in book conservation or restoration, although I do use these techniques myself frequently and have been taught by people with decades of experience in the secondhand book industry. These tutorials are aimed at helping out with average books which aren’t worth the cost of being taken to a specialist, and as such, I hope you find them useful. That said, by all means check out the comments for others’ results, experience, and criticism before deciding whether to try a repair technique yourself. If you like my content and would like to support me with a small tip, please use this link (1% of all donations are being donated to help the environment): ko-fi.com/squirrellynerdyjess

Such a cool, simple idea. I have a few ‘rascals’ that need some straightening up. Thanks for sharing and keep’em coming! xo

This was so informative! Also, I miss your videos! And your cozy library too! You’re such an inspiring channel.🥰

The vibe of your channel is so on point! Instant subscribe!

thank you so much i had to return a textbook and the cover have bent over the course of the year 😭😭 you honestly saved me❤😭

Such a wonderful little tutorial! Like the reply before me, I miss your videos! Your bubbly personality and knowledge on books is simply amazing c:

Brilliant. Clear and straightforward.

Thank you. Worked like a charm!

Worked like a charm!! Took seconds to correct a slightly warped cover on a book a friend just gifted me. Thanks, Squirrel!! As a collector and lover of books, I am very pleased to stumble on and find your bookshelf. You just got yourself one more nut to subscribe to your channel!! :-)

This was such a great help, thank you for sharing!

I just found dozens of books thought lost, in my friend’s attic. It was temporarily while I was moving and somehow forgot a few boxes in the chaos of moving. Ten years later just pulled them out and all were not really packed in a way suitable for attic storage for ten years. I’ve got tons of work ahead of me…!

I just took some books out of boxes that have been stored in various attics and storage buildings for the last 30 years. Needless to say, there were a few that had been placed awkwardly into boxes 30 years ago, and they didn't fare too well. I found three which had pretty notable curves to them. Was debating about whether I could place weights on them or what I could do, or if I'd need to just throw them away. Then I stumbled across this video. It's such a simple idea, but it's one I wouldn't have thought would work. But it definitely works. All three of those books are now reasonably straight; enough so that they're now on our new bookshelves along with all the other books I'm just fishing out of storage. So yeah, this works. Thanks for that.

Thank you with much love <3

Thank you!

Simple and effective 👏👏👏👏👏

Ooow that’s a useful video ! 💕

I tried this method, and the pastedown detached in places and became bubbly. Also, letting a book hang down like that from one cover, risks damaging the binding, especially if it's old, or heavy.

I have a hardcover that's leatherbound (not sure if it's genuine natural leather) and the covers are both bending outwards. It was shipped to me recently but was fine when it arrived. I started reading it that day and after a few hours I noticed the bends. I'd kept it flat on my countertop at work when I wasn't reading it, and was picking it up during slow periods so I'd opened it a half dozen or so times. Will this technique work for that sort of bending as well?

Hello! I am wondering how you recommend fixing a spine that is cracked (where you can see the netting) but 2/3 of the way through the book instead of at the end? Your videos are sooo amazing. Thank you for taking the time to do this!

Any tips to save warped perfect bound soft cover books like graphic novels or manga volumes?