Fully booked
I think you’ll guess by the book-related shenanigans… but I’m officially launching the new The Flowfield Unity book today. that’s right, that hand-made, little gem is now available in the shop.
And if you want to know more about why I’m doing this, making it by hand, I’ve even written a little bit on that here.
I’ll probably write up some sort of tutorial, a step-by-step guide to making your own books.
I just want to say thank you to everyone that has helped, including yourselves, especially for the excellent tag lines you all came up with. I’ll will be using them.
I noticed, whilst making them, that I needed to press them over-night. The only things heavy enough in my house happened to be other books… mostly encyclopedias. I liked the idea of using books to make more books – my living room now looks like some sort of breeding farm.
So I was wondering, what novel uses (really, no pun intended) have you come up with for using books?
Maura on 
I used to use telephone books to raise my couch, now I use a couple to raise up my stereo. I also sometimes use them to kill bugs. I believe I once chucked a couple of Vonnegut’s books at a wasp that had invaded my living room. I missed, though.
There is no better music than that which comes from speakers resting on telephone books and directories.
I do like the idea of using Breakfast of Champions as a surface to air missile.
Yay! The book! The BOOK!
Novel uses, huh? I cannot believe that was unintended. I think the strangest thing I do with books is turn them into art. I got started on mixed media collage a while back, and I didn’t want to buy a sketchbook for it, as I knew the first few dozen would turn out badly (these things take time and practice, after all!), so I picked up some of the free books from the thrift shop… mainly old hard-backed romance novels, or really out of date textbooks (Bearings and Lubricants being my favourite: pick any page and you can find something that sounds really naughty, taken out of context.)
Here’s a couple of examples that turned out relatively well:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/werdnus/Untitled-14.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/werdnus/Untitled-12.jpg
Although that’s not nearly as novel as this fellow’s work:
http://centripetalnotion.com/2007/09/13/13:26:26/
They’re great… I’m always going to be fond of text-based art, but I really like those two. i’d be tempted to get hold of some of the free books, do that to them, and then insert them into libraries… geurilla art with a geurilla gallery.
Top stuff.
the other guy’s work shows a level of deication that puts me in awe. that must take a lot of carving. I bet he’s also in the hamster bedding industry too.
Hehe, hamster bedding.
I’ve actually considered putting a couple of the modified books I’ve made into libraries, but I find I’ve become rather attached to the darn things. I’m sure I will, one of these days. Really, what I need to do is make on with the intent of putting it in a library, so that it’s not a shock when it’s time to let the baby go.
Yeah, I understand that… even if you do make art specifically for the purpose of letting it go, it still hurts when it does, or perhaps it should.
I sold one of my prototypes whilst in the pub last week… admitedly the bloke was drunk, but I was short of beer money…
After giving him the copy, I watched as he walked away and rolled it up to put it in his pocket. I nearly jumped up and ran after him, slapping the money in his hand - ‘You don’t deserve it’… but I didn’t, I just bought another pint of Guiness and reflected on the fact that I had had a sucessful transaction.
Getting laid.
I don’t use to get laid, but they sure do impress people. Really makes you sound like you know what you’re talking about, or makes you look smart to people who walk into your place.
Ahh, I see, like some type of kosh then?
I sometimes use one book to hold down the edge of another so my hands are free for eating sugary cereals!
Oh that’s a good trick. I’m going to do that next time I’m reading a book. My arms get so tired holding the damn things up.
My God! I totally do that too.
Mmm, cereal and books… fibre for the mind and the body.
I use books to help me fall asleep. Unfortunately my bedside table is tilted due to my poor construction (it consists of some boxes full of my junk) and so I have to use other books to keep my lamp steady so I can read before I go to bed. Once again, books coming to the aid of other books.
In Canada I used a copy of Spivak Calculus (a.k.a. The Black Tome) as a cutting board. Make of that what you will.
There’s a certain poetry to that…
‘Make of that what you will’
Confetti, I imagine.
tee hee.
handmade books. you rock.
you probably pleasure yourself
rather than let others do it for you.
oops. i can’t say that, can i?
Apparently you can.
If by pleasuring myself you mean standing back and enjoying the results of my work then yes, yes I do… and that stuff on the carpet, that’s glue that is.
Of course that’s what I meant.
Well, there goes the PG rating.
meh.
Books are helping to further my evil plans to conquer the world.
Mostly by building up my muscles by weighing down my work bag.
Every little bit helps.
Hey, you lied.
You said that there would be fully customised Ferrari’s available at the shop.
Now I have to make my own:(
There are fully customised Ferraris in the shop… do you know how long it took me to turn a high-performance sports car into a book?
I would imagine the pulping process was the hard part. Did you use your teeth?
For a Ferrari? Nah, pulping it was easy, it’s mostly fiberglass witha steel core… no problems.
Getting the red pigment out of it though, there’s a task I wouldn’t care to repeat. Do you know how many kittens I had to kill to do that?..
…I mean, I say ‘I’, but I actually had the children kill the kittens, I couldn’t really face it.
I am guessing about 16.42 kittens per ferrari.
More if the kids are not well trained in the full process.
I think you should know it is both easier and faster to use cute puppies.
Ugly ones don’t work.
I used the iliad and the odyssey when making a remote controlled cooler my freshman year of college. I hated to do it, but it was the perfect size.
I can’t remember who said it, but some clever sod once said “Always read a book that’ll make you look good if you die whilst reading it”. And I do….a veces :p
Haha! That’s like “always wear clean underwear, so that if you die the nurses will see that you’re civilized.” My mum always used to say that.
As if your underwear would still be clean after whatever unexpectedly killed you got through with it. I think not.
I tried to tell her that a couple of times… but I don’t think she ever really believed me.
I used to have a hammock set up between my doorknob and my desk (small college apartment, you see). Problem was, the desk would move if I used the hammock. So I set up some books between the wall and the desk to keep it still. Had to give it up when my doorknob started to come loose though.
these days, mostly, i use books for studying. oh, the things that that says about my life!
That you are a good diligent student?
All my study/text books do is protect the surface of my bench from dust and scratches and alot of coffee.