We’ve all been there. You’re packing to go away for the weekend or a long awaited holiday, and you absolutely must take some reading material with you. How many books will be enough? Three? Ten? However many you choose, you know you won’t get to read half of them, but that’s not the point. Better to have too many than not enough, right?
So here’s the dilemma.
You tuck them in between clothes. You gently slide them into your handbag. If you’re going on a plane, you undoubtedly have one clutched between your fingers. And you can almost always guarantee that by the time you reach your destination, and definitely by the time you get home, your book has been damaged. It doesn’t matter if it’s a full cover tear or a tiny crease in the corner – we know our books, we know what pristine looks like, and we know what condition they were in before we left home.
How to avoid this common reader’s heartache?
Book sleeves. They will change the way you travel with books from now until the end of time (and then a little bit longer after that).
Okay okay, what is this magical creation?
A book sleeve is an insanely genius fabric padded pouch that is designed to safely carry your books. They usually come in all sorts of fun styles and colours (a book sleeve with a bookish fabric pattern is clearly an essential) and as an added bonus, they make the best bookish gift for that hard-to-buy-for bookworm in your life. Typically book sleeves will have three layers – the outside fabric which brings the fun, the middle padding which is actually doing the work, and the inner lining which makes sure the soft fluffy padding doesn’t fall out.
And speaking of falling out…
Have you tried a snap-shut book sleeve? I am 100% bias and will tell you that these are absolutely the best type of book sleeve. With the super satisfying snap of their clips, these book sleeves make sure your book stays securely tucked away in its little sleeve. Leave the falling out to your main characters (hello enemies to lovers and back again) – your books need no such adventure.
So this sounds great, but…
I’m taking my hardcover edition of Kingdom of Ash [Sarah J. Maas] with me, and also my paperback edition of Shadow and Bone [Leigh Bardugo]. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but these two books don’t wear the same sized pants…
I mean, in all fairness, I’d dress my book in a dust jacket rather than pants *however* I digress. Different sized books? We have you covered. Pun intended.
When you’re shopping for your first/tenth/hundredth book sleeve, check the product sizing. Remember, these are created by book lovers *for* book lovers so we know what you need!
As an example, we have three sizes of book sleeves at Charlie & Fox:
- Small: these are ideal for your trade paperbacks and short hardcovers. That copy of Shadow and Bone you’re taking with you? This is the book sleeve for it.
- Large: your regular hardcovers and tall paperbacks will tuck into these brilliantly. And did I mention that satisfying snap when it shuts?
- Extra-large: first of all, if you’re taking the hardcover Kingdom of Ash with you on holidays (or Priory of the Orange Tree [Samantha Shannon] or Empire of the Vampire [Jay Kristoff]), then make sure you book in extra luggage weight. Seriously, these are heavy. Also double as a great weapon if someone tries to break into your home and steal your books, however again, I digress. Extra-large book sleeves – these are designed specifically for your heavy-weight literary champions.
I travel lightly and I take my Kindle/Kobo/ereader/electronic reading device/magic portal
Aha! There you are. Electronic readers have entered the chat – welcome, welcome. We did not forget you, I promise.
A lot of book sleeve suppliers also offer options for electronic reading devices. Again, with the utmost bias, I recommend our padded Kindle/Kobo pouches. These also come in three sizes, and instead of snaps they have magnetic clips. This makes for a nice gentle close while maintaining the same security your paper readers are enjoying with their book sleeves.
But you don’t have the size I need…
Say no more! Actually, please do say a little bit more. Send me the details and I’ll make it custom for you – it’s that easy.
I’m not travelling, do I still need a book sleeve?
I mean, I’m not going to say *no*. The delightful (typed with complete sarcasm) pandemic means a lot of us are travelling only in our minds while the rest of the world is cut-off from us. That doesn’t mean you can’t:
- Stock up on book sleeves in preparation;
- Start the most epic book sleeve collection in the history of the universe; and
- Use them at home.
In fact, many readers use these for keeping dust off their books while they are on their bedside table. Side note, if anyone knows how bedside tables get so dusty, please let me know.
I know I personally wouldn’t leave the house with a book if I didn’t also have a book sleeve to keep it in. The number of bent covers and torn dust jackets I’ve suffered through could have been easily avoided if I’d found these sooner, and now that I have them, I certainly wouldn’t be without them.
Moral of the story?
Make sure you have book sleeves in your reading arsenal – trust me, your books will thank you for it.
Until next time,
Jess @ Charlie & Fox