I currently have a paperback version of RTK1 5th Edition, It's a mess it's really falling apart, I guess with all that cramped reading in classes and on the train have taken it's toll, I'd really love to get a hardback version!

Does a hardback version exist??? I really don't think it does but I saw a hardback version of RTK2 somewhere online.

Any help appreciated.

Wow you've ruined a 5th edition already? I've been carrying my 4th edition everywhere and it's still more or less in like-new condition. I assume you're carrying it in a backpack. Get a messenger bag unless you want all your stuff chewed up.

Your assumption is correct, I keep it in a backpack, I'll probably try and find one of those plastic wraps you can get for paperbacks that keep them good but still a hardback would be perfect.

I have had RTKI 4th edition for about 4 years now. I used it in college and I still think mine is in relatively great condition. I am impressed at your abusive treatment of your book. That is some hardcore studying! hahaha

Wow, I'm impressed-- looking at my 4th ed the other day, which has gone back & forth to Japan twice, I was thinking how good the binding was to have held up for five years.

I glanced at U of Hawaii's page (5th ed), Nanzan's (4th ed), and Amazon, and none show hardcovers. You could always get a vise, a power drill, and some bolts and rebind it yourself. ^_^

All you need to do (though it's a bit late at this point) is place the book in a plastic grocery bag and wrap it tightly before placing it in your bookbag. That will prevent most of the damage a book can incur.

[ファブリス]

Who needs a hardback cover?

O.K. you guys. My several months old RTK1, 5th edition is in 2 pieces and I didn't abuse it, honest.

Where were they printed? Japan has some nice printers, and I wonder if the shift to UHawaii has resulted in a shoddier job. Just curious.

It just says the book was "Printed in the United States of America."

And that would be the culprit.

Maybe so, I've not really abused it (just kept it in a bag with a few other books), I would expect some creases on the cover but the pages on mine seem to be seperating from the binding on their own

I've have a 4th edition for about 4 going on 5 years and it's held up really well from several trips across the sea, to a recent beer spill.

You can put a proper Japanese binding on your 5th edition RTKs -- it holds together very well and looks nice. See http://www.sff.net/people/brook.west/bind/bindit.html for a how-to.

My 4th edition got heavily rained on. I carried that with me everywhere I went for months. Since I finished, I've used it to lift up my monitor a few inches so I could see it better. The pages are a bit swollen, but otherwise it's fine. I didn't think of spilling beer on it, but I could try that next. Obviously the 5th edition is defective. I saw it in the bookstore and it did seem pretty flimsy. Probably you just can't open it very wide without breaking the binding.

skinnyneo Wrote:I've have a 4th edition for about 4 going on 5 years and it's held up really well from several trips across the sea, to a recent beer spill.

It looks like your copy is even a used copy from a university bookstore (multiple barcode stickers on back - look exactly like the used barcode stickers at every uni bookstore I've been to).

[ファブリス]

It's too bad so few books are made with "rings" (whatever it's called), I guess because it costs more to produce. Many times I had to place weights to hold the book open while I was thinking up the mnemonics. I would have paid more just to get that kind of binding.

I think the term you're looking for is spiral binding Which I don't personally like very much.

Apparently some of the kanken books are made with a special binding that makes them stay open on your desk more easily.

[Katsuo]

ファブリス Wrote:Many times I had to place weights to hold the book open while I was thinking up the mnemonics.

For holding books open with no hands I use these: Easy Book Clip.
I've never seen them for sale in a shop; I make my own by bending wire coat hangers.

Brilliant. I'll have to give that a try. And I must say this is the first time I've ever seen someone try to use this word:

Quote:Don't let its' small size fool you!

Jarvik7 Wrote:

skinnyneo Wrote:I've have a 4th edition for about 4 going on 5 years and it's held up really well from several trips across the sea, to a recent beer spill.

It looks like your copy is even a used copy from a university bookstore (multiple barcode stickers on back - look exactly like the used barcode stickers at every uni bookstore I've been to).

Haha! Actually yeah I forgot about that! Who knows what it's actually been through.

Mine`s a 3rd edition, 11th printing in Japan, but even so my RTK travelled pretty much everywhere with me while I was in college and is still in fine condition -- thanks to its handy cover. What happened to the good ol` elementary school paper book covers? I highly recommend brown grocery bags. Nigh-indestructable and inexpensive. Oh yes.

The 5th edition is made of materials that self-destruct when they come into contact with air.

I agree, the 5th edition does seems to be made of cheap materials. I look after my book, keeping it in a drawer when not on my desk, but the cover seems to already be warping. Perhaps a rushed production?

I've only had my 5th edition two weeks. I've used it a few times, and this limited "abuse" has already caused it to almost split in half. Not to mention the fact that (like many paperbacks) the cover opens almost all the way when it's just sitting on a desk. I've had to use paperweights to keep it down, and I'm afraid to open it all the way, lest it split completely in two.

I previously had a 15 year old copy borrowed form a university library. It had been checked out dozens of times on just the card that was in it, and except for some color fading, it was like new. I would already say that it was in better condition than my new book. It's very disappointing, as I was hoping to lend it to my girlfriend when I was done with it, but it looks like it might not make it until the end of my studies.

Just for reference, I bought it at Maruzen in Nagoya.