This post makes me sad.

I can't imagine any reason to destroy a perfectly good book, I can possibly see it being OK (in my eyes at least) if the book content has been damaged and the book is unreadable... otherwise I'd have to argue that scanners, cameras and colour printers were created for a reason.

Scan it, buy some cardstock, and don't destroy those works of art.

What font was used for "Wish you were here"?

Velexere has spoken for me also. I have seen many altered books, and despite the beauty of the art work none has made me feel happy. And to just use the cover is just plain stupid.

All those beautiful science-fiction paperbacks, ruined! :'(

This is Jason Thompson, I just want to respond to the comments regarding the alteration of printed books, some folks seem to feel this is sacrilegious. This is an excerpt from the forward of my book:

"Favorite, well-read books; carefully organized bookshelves; the smell of a used bookstore; endless aisles of library stacks, this is the familiar face of the book lover's world. But to fully understand the industry of publishing and bookmaking, we have to consider too the lowly computer manual, indispensable one moment, in the garbage the next, as well as the myriad textbooks, self help guides, recipe collections, political tomes, and contemporary novels, once timely then forgotten. The publishing industry sold 3.08 billion books in 2008. This inevitably results in many, many books finding their way into remainder bins to be picked over for a while, then eventually, if we're to be honest, into the recycling bin and landfill."

When someone thinks it's best to keep the books, instead of turning them into art, what does that mean? Keep them on a bookshelf, where they really won't be seen many times again. The science fiction books I used for this project were 25¢ each. I don't think it wise to tear apart collectible or readable books, but lets be honest, the remainder bins at used bookstores should be fair game as resources for bookish projects.

In order to take books apart, they need to be handy, and raiding one's book collection isn't the the right place to look for unwanted books. We all own a book or two we can do without, but having boxes of books of different sizes, topics and bindings is a resource much like a paint box is to a painter. Boxes of unwanted books are easier to find than you might think, here are a few resources:

<B>The library
I contacted the fundraising group for our local library branch, and asked if they had books left over from their annual book sales. I was invited to the library and was lead to a basement room with literally thousands of books piled in tumbling towers of boxes and told to help myself. Libraries are continually acquiring new books, but they're also disposing of them regularly too.

<B>Classifieds
Enter "Free Books" into the FOR SALE section of any of the numerous online classified ad websites and you'll be amazed at the amount of listings there are on any given day.

<B>Used bookstores
Most used bookstores have books in their storage rooms which they can't or won't sell. One of the local booksellers in my hometown had several boxes in a back room they were more than happy to give away. Another has a permanent "FREE BOX" in the doorway regularly overflowing with unwanted books.

<B>The Dump
Depending on what kind of municipal dump is in your town, it might have an area specifically set aside for visitors to drop off items for others to salvage. One of the dumps a few towns away from us has even set up a "bookshelf" specifically set aside for books.

<B>The side of the road
This may not be the first place to look for books, but once the idea of recycling books into art is planted, the odd box of books can show up anywhere, including the side of the road on garbage night.

Thanks!
Jason Thompson
http://www.ragandbone.com

@ Madmame Tut: I think the font used was Ecolier by Jean Marie Douteau. The font can be downloaded at DaFont and is free for non commercial use.

Jason Thompson - thanks for your detailed response, but I totally disagree. If books are stored on a shelf only to be looked at a few times, that doesn't mean they're dismemberable, that's part what they were created for. The fact that they can be bought for 25c is irrelevant - it certainly doesn't mean they are either un-collectable or un-readable. The fact that you started this tradition with by tearing the cover of Ian Fleming's "Moonraker" (which may not be a valuable collectible but is definitely readable) shows that you just don't get it. If you like the cover design of a book I don't see why you can't colour photocopy or scan it, and use that image as a postcard. BTW, I'm not against repurposed items as postcards, I've been getting beermat postcards from my brother for years, but please stop dismembering books.

And Apartment Therapy, I love this site but lay off on the book mutilation posts, please!

idontdobeige,

I've been a professional bookbinder for 20 years. Yes, books have a very important place in our culture, one that should never be taken for granted. Don't even get me started on the Kindle... However, we need to put aside our feelings that *every* book is precious. Next time you're in a used bookstore or B&N, Borders, Etc, take a look around at how many thousands - millions - of books there are out there. It's important to place each piece of art into context within the environment in which it was created. Art from books taken from an impoverished nation - not a good idea. Art from books taken from used bookstores, totally fine. My friends who own bookstores will freely admit that books are dumped into the recycling bin daily. Why not repurpose these books into something beautiful. Think of it as saving them from the landfill.

Jason Thompson

I like the idea of turning discarded paperbacks into something new. Most paperbacks are printed by the gazillions. He's not advocating the destruction of rare books.

Mr. Jason Thompson's detailed response is really informative. Most of us are not librarians or used bookstore owners trying to make room for books with the limited space we have, so it is easy to hang onto the idea that all books are too precious to be thrown away. Nevertheless, I'm interested in what his book has to say about how to use the leftover pages.

I think I'd personally like to receive such postcards. I could put the cards up for display or use as bookmarks.

I agree that destroying books can be a sad experience. But don't forget that a lot of old books destroy themselves eventually. I have many an old paperback with pages falling out or where the binding has nearly disintegrated. Most of these are my favorite books, having just been used a lot. It's nice to find ways to help a good book live on even after it's no longer readable in it's current form. Biblio-taxidermy certainly isn't a good option.

In other words (and I never thought I would say something like this), keep the book-mutilation posts coming.

I like the idea of old paperback covers as material, but post cards? Seems silly--who sends post cards? I say scan them, blow 'em up and turn them into art.

As a book lover, I believe that regarding them as something sacred makes one miss the whole point. Especially regarding all of them as sacred.

Isn't it illegal to scan/reproduce/photocopy book covers? There are copyright laws against doing that since the artwork is copyrighted. I work in an elementary school where the librarian has books that are out of date but the school district will not let her donate them to a worth cause, like a shelter or a nursing home. She will be forced to just throw them away unless she comes up with a better idea. Guess what...she will be making some book art with some of the students in an after-school club.

I'm a librarian, and I'm the one who screens donations to my library of used books. We limit donations to three boxes per day from one donor -- some people try to give us more. We limit donations to things we have a chance of using -- no textbooks (they date too quickly), no Reader's Digest Condensed Books (abridgements are not popular), nothing musty, stinky with cigarette smoke, mildewed... the guidelines are in writing and were decided by the Board of Trustees.

We get literally thousands of books each year, not to mention the books we weed from the collections as we update with new things. Just today I went through several boxes of donations, and kept seven books for the rest of the non-fiction selection committee to look over as possible additions the the library's collections. The other forty or so books brought in will go to the "Friends of the Library" monthly booksale. The ones they don't have room for, that they don't think they can use, go into a dumpster, and the Library has to pay to have them hauled off to be recycled. Needless to say, this means we don't want to take in a lot of other people's unusable trash.

Probably once every other week or so somebody asks us about the value of old books. We don't do valuations, but I happen to know that ninety percent of everything is trash. People treasure old books, but unless they have curiosity value or rarity value, mostly they just have NO value.

There are lots of places to get rid of old books, from book sales and used book dealers to nursing homes and prisons, to third world countries trying to acquire minimal resources for startup libraries (although they really prefer the newest stuff available, just like we do...)

But at some point, millions of tons of books are headed to landfills and being burned or buried. Some will be recycled. Some will become fodder for creativity.

I am also an artist by hobby (I used to teach art in my early life), and I have no problem with cutting up and using old books for art projects. My only concern is that the resulting objects become something worth keeping, not just slightly delayed landfill fodder.

(I also think books that you have at home should be properly taken care of. If you like it well enough to own it, shelve it properly, read it, be able to locate it... But I guess if you are "upcycling" junk books into a coffee table or (meaningless) shelf rainbow, it's your choice...)

I couldn't wade through all the anti-posts... I -work- in a library. My boss is the most incredible librarian I've ever known. And I am TOTALLY for this project.

This falls into the HOARDING category - many are so against "destroying" their books that they let them pile up throughout their houses, never to be touched, or even looked at again. If those books were ceramic bowls, or fake flowers, or shoes, or old baby clothes, EVENTUALLY one would reason that they are keeping these items for a non-beneficial purpose.

Stop hoarding your books and do something good with them - either READ THEM... a lot! Or give them a new look.

I use pages from torn up books in decoupage as filler or background. Really easy way to fill a blank space. I've done entire tables this way.

I am so amused by how many people are vehemently against using old books for art projects! I teach jewelry design to middle school kids, and we often use an old dictionary to create backgrounds for our pinback buttons and collage pendants. The first day that I bring in the dictionary and actually tear a page out of it, I always have at least one kid who is just shocked. I tell them I might be the only teacher they'll have who will tell them to "destroy" books so they should enjoy it. After that initial shock, they do. :)

I am a book lover, I love the feel of hardcovers and the look of a fully filled bookshelf.

But, I wouldn't criticize anyone for using books that would otherwise be discarded for craft or art projects. Its just repurposing something that would otherwise be thrown away.

And the kindle, I love the kindle for books/periodicals I'm going to read once and never touch again. Or for reference books that aren't picture or graphic heavy. I feel so much better knowing that I'm not filling my home or landfills with books that I took just a day or two to read. I also love that I can carry multiple books with me at once, in my purse, to read anywhere and everywhere. Think of the possibilities for college students, professional reference materials, everyone. I think kindle enhances, not diminishes, my love of reading.

We can embrace the new without giving up our love of the old.