Bookbinding and How to Bring Old Books Back to Life shows you how to make simple plain (or you could use lined or even bullet) A5 notebooks by sewing the pages together. Reminds me of little booklets the children would come home from school with, but it includes an inner lining (endpapers) to make it even nicer and hardcovers rather than soft.

This book is divided into five main chapters after the Introduction pages:
- Pamphlet Binding
- Intermediate Bookbinding
- Upcycling your Existing Books
- Paper Repairs and Cleaning
- Weekend Projects

The Introduction section looks at the history of paper and books and also includes a glossary of terms. Unusually a list of suppliers is near the front of the book rather than placed at the rear.

Along with the three main projects, also included are details on how to remove pencil marks from books, how to repair covers and ripped pages. The Weekend Projects sections include two projects: one for sewing received greeting cards together and another for making mini Christmas books that can be hung on the tree.

Overall it's a nice book with few ideas to get you going. I like the colour photographs of the steps taken, they help make sense of the written steps.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This is an awesome book on bookbinding even for people who never knew they wanted to learn until this book came around to give you a new hobby. Great photos and instructions on many projects, from simple to more complex. Also a section for binding and restoring older books or ones that are in need of repair. Highly recommended craft book to learn a new hobby.

Just in time! I am sure every reader had a beloved, well read book in need of saving. I know I do. I am so grateful to Ms. Spillman for writing this book and Netgalley for offering it. I have some experience in creating my own books, but needed to learn to repair old hardbacks. Chapter 3 was just what I was looking for to repair my aging books,. Perfect! This book is a great addition to a home library. Book lovers will find it invaluable for making and saving their own books.
It's well-written and the step-by-step instruction, along with photos, will make creating and rebinding books a joy. Those who work with older children or teens will find easy bookmaking instructions in here, as well. So art teachers, if you want easy activity for a class, you'll find instructions here!

What a great how-to book for book lovers, librarians, and bookshop owners. I wish I'd had access to this book two years ago when I was trying to repair a badly worn but treasured book for an elderly family friend; I had to cobble together info from old online videos. This book and its information/instructions are well laid out, easy to understand, and accompanied by clear photos. Perhaps there will be more photos or illustrations in the final copy? Either way, if you are interested in making some simple books and/or tackling book repairs, find a copy of this new book.

Bookbinding and how to bring old books back to life by Aimee Spillman is a wonderful guide to learning how to bind and refurbish books. I enjoyed how this wonderful book gives clear descriptions and instructions on how to learn the techniques. I like how the book is clearly written and includes helpful photos for each step. This book would be a great addition to anyone’s book collection who is interested in the art of bookbinding.

This book taught me so much! I really enjoyed the simple and straightforward directions. The writing style was a bit casual, but it was very clear. The photos help immensely. I have done some very simple book binding in the past but these methods are better than what I've tried and they aren't incredibly complicated. This is a solid book.

A really interesting and clear book about a hobby I have been meaning to get back into recently. This book helped spark the interest that I lost and I cant wait to get back into it!

I picked this book up because I have been learning some basic bookbinding techniques, and I like to get a few different versions of an artist's best tips to find what works for me. The step by step instructions in this are genuinely fantastic. The writing is clear, concise, and has a ton of pictures. I want all of those in instructional materials, and this delivers. The writing style feels like a good friend is sitting next to me walking me through things. It's conversational and welcoming, while also very clearly being practical advice. I followed step by step on the flat back cased binding, and finally got a book block in covers where everything looked the same size! Very eager to try more of the techniques, particularly the repair.

Thank you, NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book from NetGalley because I've been watching some bookbinding videos recently and I wanted to learn more about it. Spillman does a great job laying out step-by-step instructions with helpful photo references and background information. Personally, I'm more of a visual learner when it comes to hands-on crafts like these so while the photos are helpful, I think I could learn better from detailed videos. That being said, we all have different strengths when it comes to learning, so I think this is still a useful tool! I will definitely be trying out the beginner techniques and use it to help repair some of my older books.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4060028920

Who knew bookbinding could be so fun and easy? Spillman makes creating your own bound books look like no problem with her fun and simple explanations.

I really like this book. I’ve been wanting to learn so that I can create journals. Very informative. Thank you.

I think this book is a good one to get if you're starting to be interested in bookbinding and want to find a book that is clear and won't overwhelm you.
It has an explanation of what materials to use and shows some of the basic methods of binding, as well as advice in how to do your bookcase so it helps you avoid some common errors when you're starting. I particularly enjoyed chapter 4, in which the author included how to clean pages and repair your books.I've been perusing other bookbinding books that have been published, and I haven't seen one include a section like this, so I was very pleased that the author of this book did.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I'm new to bookbinding and crafting with books in general. I feel like this book was helpful for people like myself who are new to this craft and people who have been doing this for awhile. For myself personally I loved how it included a history of books and binding along with very detailed instructions for how to do each type of binding.

This is an excellent beginners guide for either hobbyists or library staff who want to learn to make new books, or rebind or repair old books. It's perfect for anyone who wants to create their own journals or altered books. The images and instruction are super-easy to follow and Spillman provides a detailed glossary of the tools you are going to need and the terminology she uses throughout. Bonus project: mini books as Christmas ornaments!
It is a British publications and many of the suppliers listed are located in the UK. As well, metric measurements are used. Fellow Americans, don't despair--this is why we have the internet!

Bookbinding is one of these "old" skills teetering on the verge of extinction, but with the help of books like this, it has a chance of survival.

Bookbinding and How to Bring Old Books Back to Life is a comprehensive guide to binding and creating books. There is a brief introduction that includes the origin of books and the etymology of common literary terms (which is right down my alley, as I adore etymology!) before launching into bookbinding itself.

There is a clear description of the tools required, as well as a list of suppliers BEFORE the binding instructions (which is handy if you are wont to dive straight in). The instructions themselves are clearly written in a conversational tone, as if the author is standing beside you, guiding you. The photographic illustrations again show the steps and the expected outcome clearly. I did find some of the steps confusing, but as I am completely new to bookbinding, that could just be me. The accompanying illustrations mostly clarified the situation.

The projects are ordered according to difficulty, so one can start with a simple pamphlet before making one's way to solid hardbacks and restoration. Speaking of restoration: this was only a tiny section of the book. If you are looking at archiving and restoring documents, this isn't the book for you; the restorations here are to save favourite books from doom.

I want to go buy myself a bookbinding kit and try it out now!

~~Many thanks to NetGalley and Pen and Sword publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~~

An interesting book but not what I was expecting. I was looking for fixing and cleaning up books I own. This was still very informative and I can't wait to make some books with my goddaughter.

https://soyouwantagoodbook.blogspot.com/2021/06/bookbinding-and-how-to-bring-old-books.html

Please see my blog for the full review. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read this book! I'm absolutely enchanted by Aimee Spillman's work and my new hobby:)

I have borrowed all the books on bookbinding my local library authority own and I think this is an improvement on most of them. Many of the books I have read have either been very complicated or have been focused on making elaborate books that are works of art. This book is easy to understand and contains plenty of information the complete beginner will need such as what you will need to buy and what those confusing terms mean. The instructions are simply written and they are accompanied by clear photographs. It actually reminded me of a YouTube video in book form! The book starts with beginner projects and that is followed by intermediate projects and finally there are some quick projects. The thing I really like about this book is that the author is not imposing their style or taste on the reader. There aren't twenty tutorials showing you how to make specific books that either aren't your style or are not something you will ever find a use for. Instead, she simply teaches us the basic instructions and gives some suggestions but mainly encourages you to use what you have and like.

The layout of the book is great, it really makes it easy to follow each step. The photography helps a lot as well to make sure your are following along correctly. As some one who is completely new to the craft, it's really important that the photos and steps are clear and easy to understand, This is definitely a great resource to come back to when I feel ready to dive into this craft.

As someone who has done a little bookbinding (a very little) binding junk journals, I am fascinated by the process. I watch U-Tube videos and read whatever I can get my hands on. This book by Aimee Spillman is an excellent source for all things bookbinding. The author prefaces her book as a book for beginners which I am very appreciative. She begins with a brief history of how books were made and used in early Egypt and China. Of particular interest, etymology, “the study of the history of individual words, their origins and how they came to be used.” I can definitely get on board with this!
Spillman gives the reader great advice on the type of supplies needed and provides and excellent glossary of bookbinding terms. Some of these I am familiar with, some are new. Next, she goes into great detail on some of the ways to bind books and her descriptions are excellent.
So many great ideas in this book and I was especially interested to read how to repair and clean old book pages. I personally own around 90 – 100 books published between 1970 – 1920 and her techniques are going to be invaluable to me.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the area of bookbinding. I thank NetGalley and the publisher, Pen & Sword, for the opportunity to read it for my honest opinion. I gave it five stars.