I just came across the most amazing gallery of repurposed books! Books as sculptures, books as lighting fixtures, books as jewelry…well, you get the picture. If you want to see the pictures for yourself, take a look here (Courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald) to see these stylish creations.
I had to check out the featured This Into That Gallery‘s funniest works because I loved that artist’s sense of humor. And I even found something in my price range (okay, technically, the Beneficent Mr. Hall’s price range), as well as so very practical (always a plus when hitting up the Beneficent Mr. Hall for “artsy stuff”):
As much as I love repurposed book art, I can’t help feeling a little sad, seeing an orphaned Great Expectations or Complete Works of Shakespeare gutted or shredded or otherwise torn apart, especially when I consider the digital book takeover. I worry that someday, these works of book art may be the only honest-to-goodness books we have left. And I wonder if years from now, my grandchildren may consider books as antiques. Sort of the way we now look on typewriters. Even the electric ones.
Time and technology march on. And though I said I would never read books from an e-reader, that I loved the feel of a good, old-fashioned book in my hands, that nothing can beat the smell of a well-loved book, or that crackling sound when you open a hardcover book for the first time–I bought a Nook Tablet.
So far, I haven’t done any serious reading on it. We’re still getting to know each other. And I’m still sort of reconciling myself to the digital book explosion.
I’m sure there’s still plenty of room in the world for e-books and hardback books. And really, I know that as long as there are books, in any way, shape or form, we’re going to curl up and read ’em.
Isn’t it wonderful that the written word, no matter how you read it, will never go out of style?
Cathy C. Hall Writes 
I love my Kindle for convenience, but it hasn’t replaced the real thing for me. I’d still rather hold a real book. Also, keeping my Kindle full of reading material is expensive! The result is that it sits unused quite a bit of the time. I mean, why pay $10 for an e-book when I can borrow from the library for free? Your Nook Tablet probably does more than my basic Kindle. . .I’ll be curious to see how you like it once you really start using it.
I’ll be curious to see that, too, Lisa. Right now, I’m kinda caught up in a game app or two. 😉
Exactly! I love the smell of books and the feel of books, too, but in the end it’s story that I really love and if it comes on a backlit screen so I can read it with ease in bed, and if I can choose from 150 books on the plane, because I brought that many along on my e-reader, that’s a fine thing. So let the books become sculptures if you must. As long as I can still have stories.
I wish blog comments had a big, fat Like button, Sally. 😉
Nathanael surprised me with a Kindle for our anniversary and I was disappointed. I felt like I was crossing over to the dark side. I mostly play word games on it, but it will be nice to take it on trips instead of loading up a bunch of books. Whenever I’m home, though, I’ll be reading the “real” thing. And yes, it is comforting to know that a good story will never go out of style!
Hahahaa! I think you’re blameless in this one, Debra. Nathanael’s heart was in the right place!
OMG I can’t BELIEVE you mentioned This Into That. Jim (the artist) made me two bookshelves out of some of the books from my Dad’s law library after he passed away. I am looking at them as I write this. Probably my most prized possession now. I’ll have to take a picture of them for you at some point!
Oh, I hope you will! I was so impressed with his gallery– I’m saving my pennies for a bookshelf!
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