What to do with Old Books? Literary Cannibalism

I was sorting through the garage this past weekend. Found some much loved books, boxes of them. Books have always featured prominently in the homes of my family. I can picture now the shelves of books at both grandparents' houses and in my childhood home. Follow interesting recycling links below.

The books I faced now were good reads, but I have already read them and don't feel the need to hang on to them. What to do with them now?

I often try to find new, if temporary, homes for my books with my friends who might enjoy the contents. Some friends have started avoiding me if I approach with a bag in hand.

What if I were to think outside the book? What if we were to come up with a plethora of ways to use books for other things?

I've heard of people hollowing them out to hide things inside. And then there are the eReaders that are hidden inside bookish looking covers. People have built walls and even houses out of books! I suppose they'd make good insulation if they were lined up on outside walls.

Literary Cannibalism: Once I get over the idea of the loss of the ideas that are printed in words on the pages, recycling all that paper is a good challenge.

Bonsai anyone?
"With the recent rise in popularity of electronic readers such as the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad, thoughts of “book extinction” have really seeped their way into design conversations. Italy-based Gartenkulter pays tribute to the tree with these beautiful planters made from old and disused books. By removing the heart of the book’s cover and pages and then creating a seal, the book becomes a home for a living and growing tree. “As each seed becomes a plant or tree, the book becomes a pot or cradle.”


What to do? The book has become the fodder for all sorts of design ideas, and what might be the perfect charging station for your electronic reading devices.

The folks at Not Tom design studio came up with this bookshelf.

Here's how the design came about:
The idea for the Book Book Shelf came from the realisation of how many books are discarded on a regular basis. These particular books were to be thrown out at the end of a jumble sale and we wondered what more could be made of them. We like the idea that value can be added to many discarded items through ingenuity and redefinition of context.

See HomeDecorg.com for more ideas.


BONUS:
Never Judge a Book by its Movie.

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