✨3 Inexpensive Ways I Protect My Books✨

1) Contact Paper: a more permanent method that can be used on paperbacks and dust jackets, maintains a less bulky dust jacket.

2) Non-Reflective Dust Jacket Cover: temporary and can be moved between similar sized books if one gets rehomed, maintains a matte appearance, but is also a softer plastic. The Brodart brand is reliable, though I find this finish difficult to come by in the length needed for most dust jackets to be covered end-to-end.

3) Lo-Luster Dust Jacket Cover: same as the last, but a more shiny and sturdier feeling plastic that compares to your library loans and is much easier to come by for an average length dust jacket.  

Books are an investment, whether it was a discounted, used, or new purchase; while well loved books are a great sign of the books quality, I personally prefer my books maintain a neat appearance (it brings me joy🤌). Light colored covers tend to pick up markings easily, matte covers show every drop of liquid/finger prints affect the finish, shiny covers crinkle easier than other finishes, sometimes the coaster is missed and the book finds its way onto a water ring— or in the case of the second picture, the red suede Flippy book pillow leaves its mark. Malice by John Gwynne will eventually be rebound, I decided not to put contact paper on the book and was able to use the little guy as an example for why I love these methods on white books *especially*!  
                                           

AND ANOTHER THING! The covers bring new life to a well-loved book and disguises unwanted wear and tear. I have multiple preowned books with torn dust jackets, but the cover makes them secure and, most of the time, seamless. The below picture shows a slice towards the bottom half of the spine, as an example.