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?

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.

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 :)

What if your books are not all the same size like the pic?

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.

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.

gregory, your comment made me smile :)

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.

An idea sparked by the desire to have one's idea featured on a home design blog... like Apartment Therapy.

Oh no no no no no. This would make my bookshelves a living nightmare.

yup-scale equivalent of the
crocheted doll toilet paper cover

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.

RichardinLA - sounds like you are a candidate to donate your books to the library.

i'm sorry, but this is totally nerdy, somewhat japanesie and only works with manga

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.

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 )

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).

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?