Not a book related postage comment, but a rant.  Anyone else ever buy those greeting cards that play a song when you open them?  It's been years since I mailed one so don't know if this is common.  I put father-in-law's musical bday card in the envelope it came in, then inside a larger notecard and its envelope so felt there was plenty of extra layers to protect the 'bumpy' section. But card arrived and both envelopes had been shredded! I'm surprised all the pieces and the giftcard were delivered in the ziploc baggie the PO used to secure it.

A bumpy letter like that, you're supposed to pay a ~20c non-machinable surcharge, and then, in theory, it doesn't go through the machines. 

But, the average person would not know that in advance of mailing such a card.

-- Jill B.

I shipped a hardcover book once that had some cardboard wrapped around it and then went into a bubble mailer. Got the package back with what looked like tire tread marks on it and the spine was pressed into a zig zag pattern so the book could not be opened. It had to have been treated to some fantastic pressure to bend the book like that. I think the machinery that moves the mail can be pretty rough. especially if something get in there wrong.

Just think. When the card got stuck and mangled it may have played happy birthday just before it ended it life.