Comments on: Books as craft material

By: jessica

jessica — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:33:13 +0000

Hello, my name is Jessica and I love to cut up books.

By: rooruu

rooruu — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 03:56:05 +0000

I sympathise with the comments so far: I love books myself, and own just so many. But there are some which just aren’t going to be read again, from all I can tell - otherwise, why would op shop shelves be always full of them? Realistically, it’s like culling your book collection: some can do it, some can’t. And I would advise being careful which books you use. With the clock illustrated above, isn’t there an argument that the beautiful cover would be appreciated daily, in this form? (there’s an argument against that, too - but then points of view can differ).

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 02:15:46 +0000

In answer to your question Ros, though I realize it may be a rhetorical one, is, in many cases, no. There are some books out there which no one will ever read again, even if they did so once. Books that are simply not good, books that are so outdated as to be actually dangerous. The truth is, just because something got published doesn’t guarantee it has great value, at least in its original incarnation.
And at least with the Canterbury clock “book”, the pretty cover is being enjoyed, and serving a function to boot. Better that life than waiting on a dusty shelf, mildewing, as no one ever EVER picks it up.
You couldn’t find someone who loves to read more than I do, really. So don’t think I am just out to spread negativity and condemn libraries to extinction.

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:58:38 +0000

Oh, those poor books. Especially the lovely vintage hardbound one that’s been turned into a clock. I appreciate books as art, but I prefer when they’re not destroyed in the process. (Thankfully, the Bookshop Blog proposes crafting only with books that absolutely no one wants.) Try bookmooch.com if you want to get rid of old books and trade them for ones you want.

By: Ros

Ros — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:51:34 +0000

Am I the only person who always wants to scream ‘Noooo!!!’ and dive in to save the precious books? There just feels something so wrong to me about treating a book as a mere object, rather than a world of invention or information. Surely someone would read it, wouldn’t they? One day?