My group and I own a libray of shadowrun source from 2nd and 3rd ed. But furthermore, all of our Rifts, White Wolf, Star Trek, Star Wars (d6&d20) and D&D 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Edtion books ARE ALL FINE. The SR books want to fall apart!!! Is this universal?

Are your SR books softcover and the other games hardcover? I've found my BBB in particular has begun a serious program of autodefoliation.

I can testify that should never spill anti-freeze on your books unless you like the pages to have the consistantcy of tissue paper.

My books have weathered just fine. BBB front cover fell off, but all other pages are in good shape.

~J

I've always been extremely careful with my SR3, because of all the stories I've heard, but it is now split in half 4/5ths of the way. The pages aren't coming off, the spine has simply split between pages 174 - 175.

All the SR books are softcover, as are most of my books. But onl;y the SR ones want to explode. Maybe to much creativity is crammed into them.

Well My SR3 if going in for its third rebinding soon as the pages are falling out again. My Source books are still in good nik.

yeah...mine definately have begun falling apart. BBB in particular: pages falling out. I'm trying really carefully not to have them tear in half or anything, but that binding is such crap

I just coughed up the 8 bucks and had my BBB laminated and sprial bound. Picking CC, MitS, R3r, MM, and Matrix up from Kinkos later this week. I figure if I can spend 30 bucks on a book, I can spend a little extra and make it last forever and most importantly, lay flat! Besides, when you end up buying books that get used 1/100th as much, and pay 4-5 times more, it dosent seem that bad...

Most of the books have fallen apart, so it's gotten to the point with new ones that, after I read them once or twice, I cut the bind. Not too bad, considering I work part time in a print shop and I can do all the rebinding myself pretty cheap. I wish I didn't have to, but it's worth it in the end...

Huh, I haven't had to rebind anything. I gave my SR3 book to my best friend and purchased a new one recently as it was rather "used" and he couldn't afford to get a copy of the book. I have a majority of what has been printed for the game, and the books that get used a lot are rather weathered.

When Wizkids purchased the game did they aqurie licence to all the old material? Seems to me that they could make some money refitting the old modules to 3rd ed and reprinting them. Has there been an official line on this from the company?

The only book where i experience that problem is "Prime Runners". All others are fine.

What procedures do you guys use to rebind your books? Is it something that can be done without too much effort/money? My Matrix and MitS have been losing pages and it's driving me nuts.

I went to a library and had mine repaired for a modest fee, 5 dollars.

They all are falling apart. I am on my second BBB. The first one came apart within two weeks. I have taking to having my books spiral bound at one of the major office supply houses for about $5. If they do it right it lasts forever, but boy if they do it wrong it is a mess.

"BBB"? Time to dislay a little of my ignorance about the acronyms used around here...

Big Black Book. Aka SR3, or the main book.

Ah, thanks.

About 95% of my SR books are softcover, and only really read through once, then shelved or otherwise put away for fast reference or preservation. I also pick up large magazine bags at my local comic shop to preserve them better.
I only open them enough to read, I do not lay them out & smooth out the bindings to make them flat. I try to preserve their intergety as much as possible while still enjoying them. Comic collecting has taught me that.

I can't believe somebody admitted to pirating the books in this forum.

I knew I wasn't alone with this problem.

After my groups SR2 books died a horrible death involving tape and good wishes, I decided to fix that hassle with my 3rd ed stuff. Now I get the books I want, put them in a bag, and leave them. Then I use Plastic Rat's stuff.

Sorry , les gars, but I've been collecting Sr books since 1991 from 1st ed to the latest Fanpro books and I'v never had any problems whatsoever. Of courser, as Bookwyrm said, I am a book-freak and I would never flatten a book out to avoird damaging spine and binding. All my books are in pristine condition but I'm the only one reading them, some of my players having their own copies of the BBB (at least, the second ed BBB)...

I've only had mine a week and one page is wanting to come out already. Soon, I'll buy a new copy and stick it in storage.

I actually have everybook from every edition and only my Matrix book is falling apart. Since I have been hauling my books to various game sites once a week for the last 15 years I consider myself extremely lucky.

My BBB lost the archatype insterts within 6 months. The rest of it is still holding together but only just barely.
Man & Machine got little bit of Mt Dew leaked onto the spine a year ago and it's pages are falling out one by one in straight numerical order now.

My SR2 hardback has turned into more of a cardboard folder containing loose paper, but that's the only one that I'd say hasn't held up to wear the way it should. The back cover's starting to come off my SR3 corebook (tearing along the seam), but I think that's more a matter of my abusing it too much than any manufacturing defect.

I have treated my books pretty well, but wear still shows. My Corporate Download wanted to lose a couple of pages before I just used some tape on the bind and it seems to be holding for now (of course I don't open it up as much).

I think as long as you don't fully open the book and treat it with care it should last a long time. Still just opening and closing the books tend to wear and tear the covers. My M&M started to peel a plastic film it has over it. Before anyone asks the M&M is the latest printing.

For about $6, Kinko's will "spine cut" and "spiral bind" a SR3 book. I was so pleased with mine, that I also had it done to the following pairs of books:
CC and MM
MITS and Shadowrun Companion

At one point I had three of these four in the same binding, but it was too big to use easily. I paid to rebind them with only two per binding.

I had the same done with my son's SR3, but since the edges were so worn I had an "Edge Cut" (About $1.50 each) done on top, right, and bottom. Now his looks almost new, because of the crisp page edges, it's just a little smaller.

With the spiral bind, you can open the book completely flat, or even fold it backwards to leave it open to a single page. It's wonderful.

If you have it done with more than one book, ask for black wire on one, and white wire on another. I have trouble distinguishing between my three spirial-bound books.

$3.95 for bound books without a cover, $4.95 with.

+ $1 for any book greater than one inch.

I'm supposed to be checking if I can find slip covers in bulk for a decent rate, but I haven't had any luck thus far.

A personal testimonial about the Kinko's binding process is always good to hear.

-Siege

Ive only noticed ED rule books fall to pieces....

Photo (20 KB) of my Kinko's bindings.

It is so useful, I now bind my frequently-used books, even if they are not falling apart.

I know how easy it is to lose track of a binding's status until last moment. I have a copy of GURPS-Supers Wild Cards which had to be replaced, mostly due to my endless re-referencing it while I reread the entire novel series. Fortunately, I found a replacement on Ebay.

I treat my books like shit. I won't deny it, my players paw through them, I paw through them, I don't keep them on the bookshelves, I keep the page by putting the open book like this /-\ on the table.

And yet, my binding hasn't gone ONCE on any of my books.

@OurTeam: those bindings look good. I might have to take a look at that.

@Wutasumi: Nice, but as far as this thread you seem to be the exception not rule.

I know, I just thought it was weird.

I might pick up those bindngs from Kinkos, because they look pretty cool.

I chose yes, but only a couple of mine are actually falling apart. Even that is too much for me.

Wow, thanks OurTeam. That's probably the best idea I've ever heard. Thanks guys, this is why I posted this thread.

What OurTeam did is exactly what I do with my books, right down to the type of binding. That and lamination helps a bunch.

I have the added benefit of being really, really anal and obsessive about how my books are treated. My bindings are all fine.

In my library of SR books the only two that are showing severe problems are the BBB and Matrix- both of which I loaned out to two of my players. Of course, it probably helps being an English grad with a thing for keeping books in good nick in the first place...

-JH.

mine fall apart all the time. i think it more a testament of how i treat them rather than a manufacturing defect, though i live in arizona and the heat can go through the glue in under an hour so i have to be careful about not leaving them in the car.

i just replaced my SR3 BBB and it has only been opened three times, but is already losing a good chunk out of the center.

looks like kinkos will be getting some of my business afterall

I treat all my gaming books the same, and most of them have held together just fine. The BBB is the one of two game books that have tried to lose pages. And it went bad after less than two weeks.

I ended up doing the Kinko binding, and its working much better now.

My BBB, SSG and MitS are all going to pieces on me, MitS worse of all. I can't believe SSG pages are actually falling out, I have only given it a cursory read unlike BBB or MitS.

Several of mine are at the point where I cannot open it to certain pages without losing another page. SR3 skill section will lose pages if I crack it there, as will Matrix in two spots. A few others are very close to going, M&M is about to have pages fall out, as is CC. I treat all my books very well, even catching a little criticims from the fellow players when I take care to say "dont use that to write on" or "dont toss it around" etc. Its definatly how theyre made not how theyre treated.

My books (most in german and 3 in english) are all fine except my german M&M, it lost the second page.

I did the Kinko's thing for SR3, M&M, CC, MitS, R3, and Matrix and it's fantastic. The only thing that I did was to take colored tape and put colored markings on the top ring of the spiral bind so that I can tell them apart while they're on the shelf. Granted, I had to memoriaze which colors went with which books but that didn't take too long since it wasn't my whole library

I purchased Matrix less than two weeks ago and the pages are falling out. I keep my books in great condition and this ticks me off. I'm going to have it reboud, but having to pay more money to keep a book that I just purchased together bothers me.

yeah, the first-printing Matrix book is notoriously bad. mine lost a page the first time i opened it.