Miscellaneous

New lives for old books

by

As much as book lovers are loath to admit it, there comes a time when a book has outlived its usefulness.  The cover has fallen off. Pages have gone missing.  It’s so hopelessly out of date that it’s not even interesting as a historical item. There’s 200,000 of them out there and they’re all in better condition than this copy.  It’s time to say goodbye… but goodbye doesn’t necessarily mean a trip to the trash heap.  Artists and craftsman have done some pretty amazing things with old books.

Click any of the photos to see larger photos and photos from different angles.  Most of the artists showcased here also have other works featuring altered books, so check out their websites for even more book crafts.

ABC Origami books by Rhymes With Magic

bookorigami
ABC Origami Book by Rhymes With Magic

A three book set where the pages have been carefully folded to form a 3-D alphabet.

Read more

Visiting an Italian Bookshop

by

A Guest Post by Kim Allen-Niesen, co-founder of Bookstore People For information on becoming a contributor click here.. Having spent the last two weeks in Italy, I couldn’t help noticing lots of the small bookstores scattered throughout the country in both large and small cities.  Finally, towards the end of the trip, I dropped into … Read more

You don't have to be mad to work here, but it helps!

by
A opossum reading trash Monthly. So exciting!
A opossum reading "trash Monthly". So exciting!

Much of the charm of independent bookstores comes from the fact they’re run by eccentrics for eccentrics.  They’re often located in repurposed buildings with strange layouts.  Strange shelving patterns, odd floor plans, bizarre color schemes, and strange decor are the norm for independent bookstores.  And multiply the weird factor by 10 if its a used or antiquarian dealer.  The older the books, the weirder the decor should be.  We rather expect the antiqurian book dealer to use skulls for bookends and have a live raven sitting at the checkout. If the owner has an eyepatch, so much the better! Yes, an independent bookstore often looks like a Monty Python sketch will break out at any moment.

Read more

Best of June 2009

by

We like to spotlight some of our favorite posts of the past month. Here were some from June. A conversation with Linda Olsson by Kim Allen-Niesen Jo Canham is sharing the story of starting her bookshop up. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2 Shane Gottwals shares his views on franchising a Bookstore

why i have a book store

by

I sit in my shop after a book sale looking over the treasures that I found. Some ARE worth a few bucks, some aren’t. Sometimes I buy with my head (I DO have a PDA/scanner combination), sometimes I buy with my heart. I’m looking at a book of poetry by one Don Blanding -“The rest … Read more