KATHMANDU: For many people spending an ideal day off would be sitting cosily in one’s bed or sofa with a good book to read. And the pleasure of reading up a few pages of your favourite book is totally a different high. But so many times you get disappointed because your book is probably torn or smelling.

If you want to avoid this, you have to take care of certain things when you store your book, and even while reading.

Here are few tips to help you in this direction.

• Keep books out of direct sunlight. Sunlight will cause the colours of the book’s dust jacket to fade.

• Keep your books dry. Humidity and dampness produce mould, which is a book problem that pretty much cannot be cured.

• Exposure to water will also ripple pages and deform the book.

• Extreme temperatures at either end aren’t good, but heat is worse, especially in a humid climate.

• Keep bugs away from your books. Some bugs like to eat them; others will leave their marks.

• Keep cats away from your books. Cats also have a habit of leaving their mark on books. It’s hard to get rid of this damage. You may be able to deodorise cat-or tobacco-befouled books by putting them in an airtight container with an air freshener for a day or two; of course, they may then smell like apple cinnamon.

Storing tips

• Ideally, your books should be stored upright on your shelves.

• Don’t lay other books on top of them.

• Use bookmarks. Don’t fold the pages down.

• Don’t leave the book open and upside-down.

• Don’t mark your place with your sunglasses.