UO Second Age

why aren't rune books bound, i just brought a new rune book and thought i'd check out a few locations before going back to grinding thinking to myself if i die no biggie i'll still have my rune book to get home, but not to be, whats the point of having a rune book if it's lootable, do i have to run every where or just spend money on a new one every time i die in a sticky spot.

It's era accurate. You can loose them and they can be stolen (not directly though).
I'd suggest you keep the runebook inside your bank box and only take a few runes with you.

There's a multi page thread on this here if you want to wade through it - viewtopic.php?f=8&t=317 Short version is runebooks weren't blessed in this era.

I carry just a rune to a bank and leave the runebooks in the bank or at home. It works OK once you're used to it.

been so long since i played i assumed they where, so there is no real need to buy runebooks then, just stick a rune to a rune library in your bank and thats it

runebooks costs 500gp and use 1 item, 0 stones in your inv. i personally carry at least 1 full runebook at any given time and a few blank runes to mark as it saves bag space, weight and organises my pack. it is anything but pointless to carry a runebook.