Quick Tip: Bind Your Professional Books!

Notice anything different about my Reading Strategies Book?

Yes, I had that book bound!  

This might be the best thing ever.  

I have to give credit to Jennie Motes Smith who posted about doing it to some of her books on the Notice and Note Facebook page.  I saw her post and literally got off my couch, grabbed my book, and went to Staples.  It was done in 20 minutes and for less than $4,  The twenty minutes was good because I was in such a rush to get there I actually left my wallet home and had to go back for it!

When you get the book bound, just hand it over. They will take off the binding, put in the spiral, and add a cover to the front and back.  I got the clear cover on both sides. This is great for increasing its durability and protecting it from the coffee drips and spills I always seem to have when I'm reading.

I think binding is the perfect addition to this book.  You can lay it flat much easier, and fold it over to view just one page as shown below.  I covered the page as I wasn't sure how much of the book content I could show.  I think being able to fold the book over like this makes it much easier to handle during a lesson.  It is easier to refer to while teaching if you need to.

Unfortunately, there was one down side.  This particular book is a little large for the largest spiral Staples has.  If you look at the picture below, you can see that the book curves around the binding a bit and isn't exactly even where the book opens.

Having said that, I don't see this being a real problem.  The book handles fine, and when you have it open flat or folded in half you don't even notice it.  This book is on the thicker side.  I looked at a lot of my other professional books and most would fit without any problems.  Staples also has spirals in smaller sizes for thinner books.

On another note, I had planned to do a review of this book, but I'm sort of on the fence.  There is already so much out there about it right now.  Let me know if you would like to see a review. I will say that I do highly recommend the book.

So, that's the quick tip.  Get your favorite PD books bound!