Don’t get rid of your print books just yet! After reading The Repurposed Library, you may find yourself compelled to visit area thrift shops to buy older cloth-bound books—not to read— but to decorate your home. Try doing this with your e-reader! Oops, I take that back; page 85 shows a “Kindle Keeper” made out of a colorful illustrated Western history book repurposed to hold a pad of paper and a Kindle.
Lisa Occhipinti rescues orphaned and outdated books from flea markets and library sales, and turns them into art objects and practical items for the home. The book shows delightful photographs of white doves perched in trees (made from book pages) and mirrors inserted into hanging book covers (one project’s selection is entitled Five Minute Biographies by Dale Carnegie). Directions are clear and project suggestions are simple enough to be both doable and beautiful, especially if you appreciate Shabby Chic design.
One project cleverly converts a Tuscan-colored cover of And Tell of Time by Laura Krey into a clock! My own favorite is the “Book Ledge” on page 43: Three cloth-bound books are stacked as a “bookshelf” for your wall. The wonderful colors used in dyeing these older book covers would make Martha Stewart jealous.
Similar titles in our Library’s collection with inventive ideas for repurposing books include Eco Books: Inventive Projects from the Recycling Bin by Terry Taylor (2009); and Making Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings, Structures & Forms by Alisa Golden (2010). Check out these Dewey subject ranges in the second floor stacks: 686.3 and 745.5.A final note of caution: These creative suggestions are not recommended for turning our Library books—which are for reading—into Book Burst decorations for your wall. Anyone attempting to do so will be punished! But you might think twice before tossing those Reader’s Digest condensed books.
~ Mirdza Erika Berzins, Adult Services
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