Okay, we obviously know covering your books like this is a matter of appearances over function, making it hard to distinguish one book from another. But still, there's something a lot of fun about this, as it's ridiculously simple using an inkjet printer, a basic image editing program and some X-acto knives. We're tempted to try it out with some of our full sets of graphic novels since they're all of identical size (and since they're placed in order, we'd know which is which). Check out the bigger version below...
The icon idea is fun, but we'd think it would be fun to print out patterns or colours that would blend into the background wallpaper or wall of your bookshelf, or create an alternative huge panoramic image that easily identifies the series. Yeah, our librarian girlfriend probably will be horrified at the idea of organizing books in such non-organizational, looks-first manner, but we admit we're occasionally victims of doing things simply because 
well if you're designing the covers yourself, it should be really simple to print a small title or initials into the design to distinguish the different books up close... no?
view kvh's profile
That's just too much work. Not just covering the books but trying to figure out which is which should you want to read one.
view Joan52's profile
I'd argue most really cool things are "too much work" for most people, thus their unusual or unique quality. But I could also fathom this just wouldn't appeal to a great many people...I admittedly tend to like things that other people call a waste of time. But then again, I'm insanely efficient in other parts of my life so I can free up time for these sort of shenanigans :)
view gregory's profile
What if your books are not all the same size like the pic?
view hmr's profile
I think I've read mocking comments here about fancy-schmancy rich people who have rows of fake books or leather-bound volumes, but this is the exact same thing. You could just get blocks of wood or empty cereal boxes and cover them. Or you could acknowledge that books aren't just decorative objects.
view Palmetto's profile
Palmetto: what about of us who do read the books, but have no problems keeping them wrapped up as decorative items afterward? I mean, I've tried reading blocks of wood and the occasional cereal book, but the conclusion always has me wanting for more so I keep returning to books. Bibliophiles tend to look at books in various ways, including as objects of beauty...there's certainly a difference with displaying books you've read than purchasing books solely for their display value.
view gregory's profile
gregory, your comment made me smile :)
view chikiyuu's profile
It's amusing -- a delight to the eye -- and hat's off to the person who creates clever book covers.
Last week I hauled all my books down for a thorough book-and-bookcase cleaning, and decided to arrange them by color instead of topic. Nothing original about that but I enjoyed the process. It's completely illogical to display books that way, but a bit of silliness is OK for a change.
view holland's profile
An idea sparked by the desire to have one's idea featured on a home design blog... like Apartment Therapy.
view shirley-temple-of-doom's profile
Oh no no no no no. This would make my bookshelves a living nightmare.
view stc's profile
yup-scale equivalent of the
crocheted doll toilet paper cover
view baba yaga's profile
I hate throwing books away but I never ever read a book twice. This seems like a great way to keep your books and put them to visual use.
Right now, all of my old books are just sitting in boxes in the closet.
view RichardinLA's profile
RichardinLA - sounds like you are a candidate to donate your books to the library.
view SanDiegoAT's profile
Here is your coordinating lamp:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Atari_2600_Joystick_Lamp/
Looks like something you break down and do when you haven't been out of the house in several weeks and have already revised the labels on the beans and mayonnaise. This is a fastidious look. I don't think the effect is as impressive as the amount of time it would take, but you're perfectionalistically compelled to stick it out. Or something you invite your meth friends to help out with.
view K T G's profile
i'm sorry, but this is totally nerdy, somewhat japanesie and only works with manga
view khanzen's profile
It makes a fun decor. I look at it as an affordable DIY craft project for decorating your living room or office. A single book format is needed to create a uniform look; their widths can vary but not their height. Since this does not represent the content of an actual bookcase, it seems that the lack of function becomes irrelevant.
view At Home with kim vallee's profile
erm. i don't like it. :-D it yells HERE! HERE! and is ovewhelming the room, i think. (not to mention that i wouldn't find a book if i covered them up like this. but maybe that's just me. :-P )
view maike's profile
I think the idea behind this is fun, but don't particularly care for this execution.
If I had the time, I'd do the same thing...but print look-a-likes to those lovely old leather spines instead. That way I get that glamorous library book and still be able to read the titles (I'd put them on there in a gold color font).
view Mrs.Mack's profile
What strikes me about this (and other conversations) about displaying books on a bookshelf is that it ignores the question of how to display a book while you're reading it. I discuss the possibilities a bit at: http://bookcityjackets.wordpress.com/2009/01/27/you-can-do-it-put-your-spine-into-it/.
The long and short of it is that we're missing a golden opportunity and wasting prime personal design space by not messing with our bookcovers while we're walking around with and reading our books.
Why wait to "design" your books until they've been consigned to a shelf?
view BookCityJackets's profile