First I absolutely LOVE Oblivion. After Fallout 3 and NV, I thought those rocked but Elder Scrolls IV beats em all.

Okay, I have a few questions that I am hoping to get some different impressions, ideas and thoughts on. (as mentioned in my topic...Please ignore my ignorance.)

1- I see these 'Bound' item to self spells. Why would I want to Bound a dagger or anything to myself?

2- Sigil Stones. I have collected a dozen or so and have typically held out for the Fortify magicka. I have passed on the 'shields' as I don't see them as very usefull. What do you gather and why?

3- Books. Now I have searched for info on this and cannot find anything. I am talking about when you pull up your inventory and in your 'Overall (first tab)', there are 'Books' listed that look like scrolls with a blue ribbon tied around them. Are these 'Books'? Can I delete them from my inventory without ill effects? Do they accompany the spells? How do I use them, if I do?

Well, that it for now. Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.......

1- It saves you carrying the weight of weapons around I guess, there is a way to get them as permanent weapons, some sort of glitch. Never sen the point in them myself, though.

2- I usually gather ones that will give Chameleon effects for clothes, or just fire/frost/shock for weapons

3- Scrolls are 1 time use spells. You don't need to level a skill to use them but you only able to use them once. I usually sell them. Deleting them from your inventory is fine.

(1) Bound armors and weapons wiegh nothing, but have the attack and defence points of high end armor and weapons, but they are also normally temporary and dissappear after a certain amount of time. (2) Sigil Stones allow the player to create an enchanted item without having to use DLC's or joining the Mages Guild. (3) A scroll gives a non-mage/inexperienced mages access to spells they would normally be unable to cast. Scrolls are some of the most valuable items in the game when judged by wieght to resale value.

1) I feel bound weapon and armor is best for generally combat inept mages. You summon a dagger and fortify blade and for 20 seconds or so you are an unstoppable fighter. Bound weapons and armor are better then pretty much any other weapon or armor, but unless glitched have a short duration until they disappear.
2) Sigil stones are powerful enchanting tools, especially if you do not have the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Wizard%27s_Tower or are in the arcane university. My favorite are fortify magicka, shield (the elemental shields are best), and spell absorption
3) The scrolls are good for everyone, especially those who are not good at magic. Scrolls are lightweight, have no magicka cost, and let you cast powerful spells with no skill required. However, they are one-use only, meaning they will disappear after you cast them. They are not related to your actual spells in any way.

Another thing, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Oblivion can answer any questions you ever have about Oblivion

1. If you bind a weapon or armor your don't need to carry it. So it may be more appropriate for a mage type character. Note that they look Daedric but are not, and don't have the same stats. So they are not better than many weapons in the game. But at low levels they are very good. And the weapons will damage ethereal, for example wraiths or Will of the Wisps. One other big advantage of the weapons, is that you cannot be disarmed. I think that's a very useful feature, particularly if fighting in an uneven area like the ramps in an Oblivion Tower. If you're disarmed there your weapon can slide or fall a long way or even disappear through the floor.

2. With an Atronach character I might pick up Spell Absorption stones because you cannot enchant with Spell Absorption using Soul Gems. But typically I like to pick up elemental shields for protection against elemental (fire, frost, shock) attacks and add to armor rating. Some of the damage can be better than Soul Gems, because Sigil stones damage on strike vs over 1 second. That makes a difference with a weapon than can strike several times per second.

3. Scrolls are one time use spells. Just select the scroll and it appears as you active spell. Once cast the scroll is gone. The advantage is that you can cast spells that you would otherwise be unable to cast due to skill requirements. There are no skill requirements for using a scroll. But you don't get experience for casting a scroll either.