Brierley Guidebook hack

[Rambler]

This is an easy way to reduce some of the weight in your pack and make your guidebook a little easier to use. Take your guide book to a printing/copier place (Kinkos in the US) and have them cut the binding off the book. then remove all the pages that you feel you won't need while on the Way. If you are only doing a portion of a Camino, this may be a substantial amount, or it may only be the overview pages. Then have the printer spiral bind the book.
This has several advantages:

• Reduces weight (mine went from 295g to 165g)
• Makes the book easy to lay open
• Easier to write notes with it open
• Allows for the book to be folded open to the pages most relevant as you walk
• You can add pages if you are inclined for notes or with information

Maybe this will inspire other ideas of ways to make changes that will help customize items.

Rambler

 

[Phillypilgrim]

Love it!

 

[Rambler]

Oh, and it cost $5 to do. YMMV
Rambler

 

[annakappa]

Brilliant!

 

[Saint Mike II]

At first I thought this "hacking" was either sacrilege, or even desecration of a "Camino Icon". But apart from the weight saving I think the spiral binding is a significant improvement. I have just noticed that my Amigo's Guide to VDLP is spiral bound and is definitely a lot more user friendly.

OK Mr John - how about offering a spiral bound edition of "the guide"???

 

[jirit]

I guess the ultimate "hack" is to leave the guidebook behind and walk sans guidebook.

 

[Robo]

Great tip!

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

I'm with Jirit. Forget Brierley altogether. I've seen many a pilgrim locked into an agenda. Let the spirit be your guide.

 

[koilife]

Each to their own. There's still value in knowing what is coming up, making lodging decisions on the fly, whether to stop at this town or the next, depending on how my body feels, getting advice on cultural or architectural points of interest, etc. Using such information may have nothing to do with an agenda, unless the agenda is to enjoy the journey and to see as much as possible along the way.

Although I'm not a fan of Brierley (I have no use for his "mystical path" and "personal reflections", but that may just be me), I think the OP idea is sheer genius.

 

[indyinmaine]

And you'll always need the pages you took out anyway!

 

[Robo]

I will certainly take the Brierley guide as it has lots of useful information. And ... it will help me to make sure I DON'T stop at the end of the 'Brierley stages'. Which appear to create bottle necks.

 

[nreyn12]

I LOVE this idea! Who knew such a thing was possible?!?!?

 

[xin loi]

I'd put my entire pack on a van if I was not physically able to carry a book along with my stuff. Don't people on the Camino carry paperbacks to trade at hostels along the way?

 

[Kanga]

I'd put my entire pack on a van if I was not physically able to carry a book along with my stuff. Don't people on the Camino carry paperbacks to trade at hostels along the way?

No longer. I carry my library in a smartphone.

 

[Tigerandahalf]

One should consider taking photos of the pages with a smartphone. Then you don't have any weight. The smartphones are brilliant as they also serve as your camera. My Galaxy S2 takes great photos.
Maybe in time the book will be available on Kindle.
I found the guide handy for someone doing the camino for the first time as I could read up on the history etc. It was also handy for directions to albergues etc.

 

[xin loi]

"Smart" phone something like "Smart" wool? Will it keep my feet dry.

I went to the trouble of attending class at local library to learn how to download their ebooks while in Spain--2 days later my Nexus7 stopped working! Taking books--probably only 3 or 4 kilos though.

 

[jeffnd]

One should consider taking photos of the pages with a smartphone. Then you don't have any weight. The smartphones are brilliant as they also serve as your camera. My Galaxy S2 takes great photos.
Maybe in time the book will be available on Kindle.
I found the guide handy for someone doing the camino for the first time as I could read up on the history etc. It was also handy for directions to albergues etc.

Given Brierley's take on disconnecting while walking, I don't see it being available for download any time soon. But yeah, if I was smart, I would have just taken pics of the pages and stuck them on my tablet.

 

[newfydog]

I just photographed a series of Miam miam guide pages for the Stevenson trail on the ipad mini. It took five minutes and I can read them without glasses. Plus I can impose on unsuspecting strangers to admire my dog pictures before putting it away.

 

[rickster]

Great idea and also makes it easier to rip out pages as you go

 

[Katycamino]

That's a great idea! I went totally against the grain on last years camino and started tearing out pages as I went along to save weight. And me a librarian having spent a lifetime telling folk to respect books!!
I ended up regretting that move as the guidebook also served as a post camino souvenir. All those photos that suddenly meant something... Those scribbled notes about albergues or a good meal or nice company....
So when I return in a couple if weeks to finish off from Leon I will take the same Brierley and NOT be doing any tearing out this time. And in reality this stuff about saving a few grams here or there is nonsense. You pretty soon know what you actually need and don't need.

Looking forward to finishing off the Frances, hopefully injury free this time, and meeting some of you en route.

Katy

 

[hampshire!tim]

Cut spine off. Scan pages into PDF (better quality than photos of pages). Load PDF to smartphone or to kindle. Zero extra grams as already pointed out. Available if needed, ignored if preferred. ;-)

 

[newfydog]

Cut spine off. Scan pages into PDF (better quality than photos of pages). ;-)

I found the photos taken directly by the ipad mini are just fine, and way faster than cutting up the book and scanning, and making a pdf to import. Here's a blow up, shot two pages at a time.:

 

[Saint Mike II]

That's a great idea! I went totally against the grain on last years camino and started tearing out pages as I went along to save weight. And me a librarian having spent a lifetime telling folk to respect books!!
I ended up regretting that move as the guidebook also served as a post camino souvenir. All those photos that suddenly meant something... Those scribbled notes about albergues or a good meal or nice company....
Katy

Katy & Others - I am aware of "less is more" in pack weights but I cannot for the life of me see how a 150-175gm book is going to "break the camel/pilgrims back"!!??

 

[HalfDomeOrBust]

Yesterday I went to Staples and for $4.31 they put a binder on my book----Just like what was advertised! Thank you for the hint Rambler!!
I also removed some of the pages that I thought I would not need to cut down on volume/weight what little it was.....
My plan is to add notes on things I see and people I meet in my book and keep it as a memento and reminder of my Camino. No other blog....Ed

 

[Rambler]

Yesterday I went to Staples and for $4.31 they put a binder on my book----Just like what was advertised! Thank you for the hint Rambler!!
I also removed some of the pages that I thought I would not need to cut down on volume/weight what little it was.....
My plan is to add notes on things I see and people I meet in my book and keep it as a memento and reminder of my Camino. No other blog....Ed

Looks great!!

Newfydog:
There is an iphone app for sale with Brierley's book information if you don't want to photograph the entire book. But you have to pay for it...

Note that cutting the binding off many books will make them lighter and easier to read on a table.
Soon we will have our own Pinterest site!!!

Rambler

 

[Anniesantiago]

Great tip!
I did that with my VDLP Guide (the one I left in Leon )
I keep hoping someone will return it.

I spiral bound the walking booklets this year for my group.

 

[Monk Moses]

Looks great!!

Newfydog:
There is an iphone app for sale with Brierley's book information if you don't want to photograph the entire book. But you have to pay for it...

Note that cutting the binding off many books will make them lighter and easier to read on a table.
Soon we will have our own Pinterest site!!!

Rambler

Rambler. I couldn't find the iPhone app. Got a name or link for it?

Thanks

Fr. Moses

 

[Dave2525]

Many movie DVD's these days let you download a free electronic copy. It's too bad book publishers don't offer the same.

 

[Rambler]

Rambler. I couldn't find the iPhone app. Got a name or link for it?

Thanks

Fr. Moses

It is called eCamino and costs $10.99 for the version with any info other than preparation guidance. I am unwilling to pay that much if I already have the book.
Rambler

 

[Monk Moses]

It is called eCamino and costs $10.99 for the version with any info other than preparation guidance. I am unwilling to pay that much if I already have the book.
Rambler

Yeah I agree!

 

[MaryLynn]

I'd put my entire pack on a van if I was not physically able to carry a book along with my stuff. Don't people on the Camino carry paperbacks to trade at hostels along the way?

No, not everyone! I decided on my first Camino not to take a book along, although I was an avid reader and wasn't sure I'd be able to get to sleep without reading first. I decided that I wanted to be completely 'in' the Camino and I knew that reading a book would take me into someone else's story and out of mine. I never regretted leaving a book behind on any of my three Caminos--and I never ever had a problem getting to sleep at night without a book!

 

[Trekster]

I cut off the spine, scanned the pages with Genius Scan, then saved it as a PDF and loaded it into iBooks and the Kindle app on my iPhone. 295 grams/10 ounces saved!

 

[wayfarer]

Great idea Rambler, I don't know if this can be done in Ireland but I will check. Newfys idea is also brilliant and this is the way I would go in future, some good info in Brierly but I wouldn't carry it. Kanga I also carry my books on my S3 as I am one of those people who has to read before I sleep, it also kept me sane on the 2012 camino when snoring woke me at ungodly hours. I also wish Brierley would publish a "bare bones" guide and leave the practical mystical stuff to the people using it.

 

[Kanga]

I start reading the labels on my clothes if I don't have a book. In the old days if I had to chose between carrying water or a book there was no contest - kidneys are optional. My long suffering spouse (who pays the health insurance) bought my Kindle and heaved a sigh of relief on the next Camino.
The Kindle app is free, iBooks is free, and there are numerous other free reading apps for the various mobile platforms. I find free classics to download and read via Goodreads and Guttenberg. And I purchase new ebooks, exactly as I used to buy printed books.
If I need a guide book I try to get it in e-ink and am happy to pay - as I have done with the Gitlitz and Davidson book.
The Wise Pilgrim guides are available for the Camino Frances, Primitivo, Finisterre and a couple of other routes. I've looked at their guide for the Camino Frances and it seems excellent.

 

[Rambler]

I too am planning to use my iphone with the Kindle reader, though I must admit it is a bit like reading through a straw. But I am too weight conscious to bring an ipad, because my focus is time with my son, not continued reading.
I do plan to load these books though:

• Gitlitz and Davidson book (good for history on the go)
  
• The Hill's Camino First Aid
• Song of Roland (Gutenberg)
• Legends of Charlemagne (Gutenberg)
• The Bible
• Writings of St Francis (Gutenberg)

Personally, I carry the Brierley guide as a part map and part for when I get to a town to see what may be of interest there. It stays in my cargo pocket of my pants and that is easy to pull out. Plus it is a remembrance from the Camino when I return home. I often will make notes in it of things to remember or places I may want to return. (all this though can be done on an iphone.)

Rambler

 

[pudgypilgrim]

As far as getting the kindle app for things like books from gutenberg and other open source sites, I always used ibooks for this and it worked very well. Then I wanted to read a book by a forum member that is only available in kindle format so I had to get the kindle app. This seriously links your amazon account to your mobile device in ways I don't really like--it creates a one-click ordering process, which is handy if you buy lots of books from amazon, but that I would prefer not to have enabled on something I might lose. Just pointing out that this a consideration. If you don't want your amazon account synced with your mobile, better to use ibooks or, for PDFs, something like goodreader.

 

[Monk Moses]

As far as getting the kindle app for things like books from gutenberg and other open source sites, I always used ibooks for this and it worked very well. Then I wanted to read a book by a forum member that is only available in kindle format so I had to get the kindle app. This seriously links your amazon account to your mobile device in ways I don't really like--it creates a one-click ordering process, which is handy if you buy lots of books from amazon, but that I would prefer not to have enabled on something I might lose. Just pointing out that this a consideration. If you don't want your amazon account synced with your mobile, better to use ibooks or, for PDFs, something like goodreader.

I believe in the settings on the Kindle app you can set things so you are required to enter your credit card info each time.......no need to have the one click setting turned on.

 

[heidi1]

I gave it away. In Sarria now. Just stop when I'm tired. The way is my guidebook.

 

[pudgypilgrim]

I believe in the settings on the Kindle app you can set things so you are required to enter your credit card info each time.......no need to have the one click setting turned on.

Thanks, Monk Moses. That's what I would have expected, but in the recently updated iPad app I'm not finding a way to do this.

 

[Kanga]

I use Goodreads and iBooks and Kindle and Scribd. None of the apps cost anything and all have their advantages and disadvantages.

 

[titasanz]

This is an easy way to reduce some of the weight in your pack and make your guidebook a little easier to use. Take your guide book to a printing/copier place (Kinkos in the US) and have them cut the binding off the book. then remove all the pages that you feel you won't need while on the Way. If you are only doing a portion of a Camino, this may be a substantial amount, or it may only be the overview pages. Then have the printer spiral bind the book.
This has several advantages:

• Reduces weight (mine went from 295g to 165g)
• Makes the book easy to lay open
• Easier to write notes with it open
• Allows for the book to be folded open to the pages most relevant as you walk
• You can add pages if you are inclined for notes or with information

Maybe this will inspire other ideas of ways to make changes that will help customize items.
View attachment 9368 View attachment 9369
Rambler

My guide had a plastic envelope with the maps, so I left the book and only took the maps, every day I took out the map corresponding to the stage I was going to walk. Everybody agrred that those were the best and more complete maps ever. The rest of the information was collected every day from other pligrims who carried the books. But undoubtely, the best guides were carried by the Germans.

 

[PeconicBill]

Or buy the maps-only version

 

[teda]

This is an easy way to reduce some of the weight in your pack and make your guidebook a little easier to use. Take your guide book to a printing/copier place (Kinkos in the US) and have them cut the binding off the book. then remove all the pages that you feel you won't need while on the Way. If you are only doing a portion of a Camino, this may be a substantial amount, or it may only be the overview pages. Then have the printer spiral bind the book.
This has several advantages:

• Reduces weight (mine went from 295g to 165g)
• Makes the book easy to lay open
• Easier to write notes with it open
• Allows for the book to be folded open to the pages most relevant as you walk
• You can add pages if you are inclined for notes or with information

Maybe this will inspire other ideas of ways to make changes that will help customize items.
View attachment 9368 View attachment 9369
Rambler

Good idea... I'll use it for my next trip...

 

[pilgrim b]

Thanks, Monk Moses. That's what I would have expected, but in the recently updated iPad app I'm not finding a way to do this.

Just go into Amazon Uk sign in then go into your account scroll down to settings and click on View or change one click settings then turn it off. Hope this helps pudgypilgrim.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Re the Amazon link up and one click buying.
We have removed all details of our credit card from Amazon so that we have to enter a payment method if needed. Our preferred way now is to buy an Amazon gift token and add that which gives us some balance in the account, but if the Kindle (or any other device you own) is lost then your account is not 'open'. If you buy the gift token online remember to remove your card details again. We bought our latest one at the supermarket which is even better.

 

[Al the optimist]

I scan my guides onto my phone and I have never needed to de-spine them first. I do use these guides/albergue lists to help choose where to stay. I have tracker program with downloaded contour maps in case (when?) I take "detours". I have my books there as well. The phone also takes better photos than me. I need a phone anyway to keep an eye on my not so young Mother's health while I am away. So an all-in-one package. I have a cheap (£8) phone battery charger and a spare battery so I can charge it and still have my phone on me to take those dinner snaps.

 

[xin loi]

By the last two weeks of the Camino, most of us agreed that we would gladly volunteer to go to Hell if we could take Brierley with us. Book is good for information on albergues. No one trusts his distances or elevation data after a week or so of walking . After you spend several hours walking to get to a place , he says is only 2 or 3 kilometers away, you start to wonder just why you are depending on distances/elevations in a book written by a religious nut. Perhaps he received his knowledge of the land by Divine Inspiration? BTW --According to his book, you are climbing Mount Everest on the installment plan by walking the Camino from SJPDP. It's only 8,800 meters high and if you add up his daily elevation changes, you'll climb much higher.

 

[Saint Mike II]

Great tip!
I did that with my VDLP Guide (the one I left in Leon )
I keep hoping someone will return it.

Was this the one by Alison Raju (or the Amigos one)? Given that Alison's guide is now out of print and there is no real sign that the promised new edition will soon be available I can understand why yours has not been returned to you.
Come on Alison please can you finish the new edition of the VDLP English Guide book!

 

[susanawee]

[

OK Mr John - how about offering a spiral bound edition of "the guide"???[/QUOTE]

What a really good idea this is. I don't think that it is 'hacking' at all, just a way of making a guide which is already an extremely good resource, much more user friendly and so much easier to use on all counts....Brilliant idea...

 

[CaptBuddy]

Or, for just maps, you can save 6.4 ounces with the Brierley Maps (below).
I like the OP's spiral bound hack, it is a great idea.
I'm going to carry the slightly heavier (but better, IMO) Hiking the Camino de Santiago (14.2 ounces).
My hack for this book may be to split it in half at the binding, and have my wife carry the second half until needed.
I really find this book superior to Brierley for me, and it includes Camino Finisterre.