Perfect Bound books have glued spines. They are sturdy and can withstand hard use. The covers of perfect bound books are usually coated with a varnish, ultraviolet (UV) coating, or a plastic film laminate. The laminate offers the most protection from wear and tear. The biggest complaint about soft cover books is that their covers tend to curl over time, but there is a non-curl laminate on the market that controls that problem.

Case Bound books can have either a glued or a sewn spine. The best looking, as well as the most secure spine, is one that is Smyth sewn, a method which first sews each individual signature and then sews all these signatures together. A case bound book is more expensive than a perfect bound book because of all the extra work and materials that go into making it.

There are other kinds of binding including wire stitching (also called "saddle stitching"), spiral wire, and plastic combs, but most books that are sold in bookstores or on the shelves of libraries are either perfect bound or case bound. That is because books with other types of binding are hard to shelve.