Sometimes. I had a library paperback of The Swords of Night and Day by David Gemmell that I fancied reading, and have been reading on the tube to and from work, but the other night I got my copy of the shelf and (after removing the dustjacket) read the ending on my own copy.
No. All mine are entirely wrapped in 100 micron acid free plastic to prevent as much foxing and block yellowing as possible. Anal...but they are an investment for me.
Nick what do you use? Special bags or sheets? Got a link?
If I've spent so much on a book that I wouldn't want to read it then I know I've spent too much on it, really it's not an issue though as if you think about it if your spending serious coinage on a signed edition then you'll already likely have two or three other versions of the same text and you'll just pick up the weathered paperback rather than risk slightly damaging the signed one.
Me, I don't buy signed copies, I'll get them signed but I won't ever pay for a sig. My upper limit is £100, I was gutted when the humongous Stephen King IT (unsigned) edition worked out as around £120 after shipping, I've been trying to find one in the UK ever since but no luck.
Not sure what my upper limit is, the most I've spent so far is £40, although I have quite a few of those now!
Best buy recently for me (in terms of value) was Hugh Howey - Wool (£27, and they go for close to £200 on ebay now), and Peter V Brett - The Daylight War Avatar edition (£22.50, circa £50 on ebay).
In terms of investment, I'm hoping when I complete my Mark Lawrence trilogy in a few months time, that they'll end up being worth something.I'll post some pics when I get chance, but both Prince of Thorns and King of Thorns are both signed, lined and dated, and both have nice doodles.The bookseller has confirmed that they are getting 10 doodled copies of the last in the trilogy when it comes out in August data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
It is the same clear plastic (cellophane?) florists use around bunches of flowers in Australia. Just ensure it is acid free. It is very cheap. I have a 1000m roll for $50 or something like that. It is 100 micron stuff and I wrap the books like you would a box at Xmas time using this plastic. All my photos are wrapped books...hard to tell heh? I will try and find a link to the stuff and post it.
Like this?
20M Cellophane Gift basket Film wrap florist flowers crafts hampers plain clear | eBay
I have been using Magazine Comic bags, but the larger books dont fit properly, and the seam of the bag is on the spine, so my experiments are not perfect.
http://www.giftpac.com.au/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=53&Itemid=26&vmcchk=1&Itemid=26
Try this. It is clear acid free cellophane.
Yep, exactly, just ensure it is acid free and the width of the roll is enough to cover everything you want. Then wrap like a present.
In the UK, this says its Acid free:
http://www.viking-direct.co.uk/catalog/catalogSku.do?id=4889403&PR=QT4&cm_mmc=googleplusbox-_-feed-_-crafts-_-4889403&_$ja=cgid:2084018417|tsid:34770|cid:65200817|lid:19795549817|nw:search|crid:17599829297&gclid=CLOAluKIsbYCFXHLtAodpGwARQ