Artistic covers are getting all the attention, but I worry about the binding holding up...
In our monthly meetups, half the members showcase books with intricate tooling and dyes. The other half brings plain but rock-solid bindings that withstand heavy use. I'm torn between making books that look good on a shelf and ones that can be read for years. What's your take on this balance?
Saw a blog post where a bookbinder called ornate covers a liability for heavy reading. They said the glue and stitches suffer when looks come first. Kind of defeats the purpose if it just sits on the shelf.
What if the fancy covers use stuff that doesn't bend with the pages? I mean, thick leather or metal bits can make the book hard to open flat, which hurts the glue. After a while, the stitches might break because the cover won't move. It's like making a car look good but the motor can't run right.