This time I did not sacrifice an actual published book, as you might notice. I happened to find this blank cashbook in the recess of my filing cabinet- no idea why I originally bought it (must have been over two decades ago) and certainly don't have any other use for it now. So I figured why not see if it will work for this. The outer edge of the page block did end up very narrow- I was worried it wouldn't be strong enough, but glued and pressed it twice and so far it seems sturdy.
For a while I was looking online for a suitable blank book to purchase and hollow out- maybe a journal with a particular kind of cover- but never could decide on one. Also I found listed on various sites many journals or sketchbooks made with the covers of books removed and restitched or glued to hold blank pages. I was dismayed to see the covers of books I've read and loved myself- The Heart of a Dog by Albert Payson Terhune, Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry, The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling, The Wizard of Oz, the Velveteen Rabbit, Anne of Green Gables, The Little Prince! Black Beauty! Charlotte's Web! Not kidding I saw all these rebound and more. I guess the people taking these books apart and reselling them as journals think nobody wants to actually read the originals- but it makes me upset. There's even sites where you can buy the covers of books already parted from their text content- as empty shells. In huge lots.
Maybe I shouldn't let it bother me- I once did it myself. But now I can't bring myself to do it again. So I used this blank lined book that was a bit too small, and then put some vinyl lettering and pattern on the front,
and the spine. Not quite straight, but at a glance on my shelf it fits right in with all the other TBR books, you wouldn't necessarily notice it unless I pointed out the one that says So Many Books.
I think it's so awesome that you made your own cover. It looks really good and you can personalize it as you want, plus it has that book feel to it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, yes it was fun to do. I bet I could even change the design on the cover, the original is slick enough I might be able to pull the tape off again, haha.
DeleteI've never thought of doing this, what a clever idea. But like you I'm a bit horrified at destroying an actual 'book'.
ReplyDeleteI was okay with it eight years ago, when I cut the innards out of a book I owned, had tried to read and didn't like, and found it wasn't valued much online either (available on Amzn for pennies, literally). However now I feel differently so glad I had this cashbook on hand to reconstruct.
DeleteThat's clever! It never crossed my mind to do something like that even though the Kindle covers always wear out before the Kindle itself does (that's a good thing, I suppose). And then you end up having a problem finding the proper Kindle cover because Amazon has changed something up on the newer versions and the old covers sell out or end up being discontinued. I know that's not much of a problem to whine about, but now I have a solution. :-)
ReplyDeleteIf you want to try it yourself, I linked to my previous cover job in the first paragraph- it has a lot more details and step-by-step how to. There's other tutorials online as well. I'd like to see how it comes out, if you make one too!
ReplyDeleteOooh case envy! I love it! Even better than an actual book (and no books harmed in the making of it!) The cash book doesn't count. :)
ReplyDelete--Thistle
Yes- ! I was actually pretty happy to find that old empty cashbook just waiting for a use like this. My efforts didn't turn out quite as polished as I had hoped (if you have it in your hands it obviously looks tacked-together) but the more I look at it on the shelf and pull it off now and then (looking forward to reading more on the kindle when I whittle down more of the physical books on my shelves) I like it more and more.
Delete