Covers Stuck Together After Being in Storage

Hello. I posted this in the general book discussion and someone suggested I try it here. I live in Florida and unfortunately, have had a lot of paperbacks in storage in not the best conditions. Lots of heat and humidity and boxes of books aren't the best combination. I have a box of paperbacks here that stuck together. This is happening mainly with paperbacks published in the 70s and 80s. I peeled a few apart and really messed them up. I've come to my Ace, Tor, and Bantam Conan books and really don't want to peel them apart like I did with the other books. A friend suggested steaming them, but I'm not really sure more humidity is a good idea. If someone has tried it and it works, please let me know. Maybe someone has a better suggestion?

Ah, now that's a tricky one, and one I haven't had to deal with before. A gentle and careful steaming might work, but then you have to be sure you don't overdo it and wrinkle the pages. I honestly don't know if there is a solution. If that were to happen to my Lancer Conan books, I truly don't know what I'd do!

hair dryer? microwave?

Might be worth a try. I don't know.

I finally tried steaming apart a block of my books and it worked for the most part. Some were a little more difficult than others and left marks on the covers. Others came apart and look great for 35 year old paperbacks. I also have red, wet fingers, but for the most part I'm happy with the results. The last two books in the block that I just did got a little more damp than the others. They were also the most difficult to get apart. After getting a book off of the block I stood it on end to let it air dry. It will be good to get these books back into my collection.