This is a page in progress - please e-mail me at webmaster@love2learn.net with questions, suggestions or clarifications. I'm hoping to find links to pictures and illustrations to make things clearer. N/A - If you have something other than a book, keep this box checked. Sewn Softcover: This is a book with sewn signatures - something more common in hardcover books, but a welcome feature in softcovers that improves durability (and often increases the price). Softcover: Think of this as the category for "quality softcovers". This often includes a higher quality paper, a thicker cover and a better glue than the Mass-Market Paperbacks. Most softcover workbooks fall into this category. This category includes books with "perfect binding" and "lay-flat binding". Paperback: This includes Mass-Market paperbacks (your typical "pocket-sized" paperback novel from a bookstore ) and other inferior binding on softcovers. Spiralbound: Comb-bound: Stapled Softcover: Sewn Hardcover: Traditionally, your typical hardcover would be sewn in signatures, made to last a long time. A lot of mass-market hardcovers are not. Glued Hardcover: This is an insult for a reason. Don't mark something in this category unless you're certain - the signatures *can* be rather difficult to see. Loose-leaf (binder-ready): Three whole-punched papers. Other For unusual bindings on books, please use this category.