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Please Stop Cutting up Books

Posted by Caley on January 28th, 2009 at 03:18am

Ok, I will admit I’m pretty cranky right now. I’m jet-lagged after returning to Dublin and cannot get enough sleep because my poor boyfriend has some sort of chest infection that makes his lungs sound like two disgruntled lions….every time he breathes. It’s really unfortunate. Aside from that, I have been wanting to talk about something that actually upsets me for quite some time now: crafting with books. I have a big problem with cutting up books for crafts. For example, you can turn a book into a Literary Clock (The Giving Tree, noooooooo!), picture frame, purse, or safe for valuables.

Here’s a thought. Just read them (especially those classic children’s books, come on!). I realize that many of these crafts use books that will probably never be opened, perhaps because they cover outdated zoology or obtuse epistemology, and will sit on shelves forever collecting dust. I see the spirit of upcycling is rightfully present. I just can’t get over the fundamental wrong of destroying books. By allowing and encouraging their destruction, we are devaluing books, saying the importance of books is less than it once was when people passed down just a few cherished books generation to generation. With the rise of the internet and the trend towards making texts available online, the material book is indeed dying. But, that does not mean we should forget a history in which books, as material objects, have changed the world again and again and again.

My academic English background is seeping into our wonderful craft blog, so I think I’ll cut myself off. I’ve made my point. Instead of crafting with books, I would like to suggest you try your hand at MAKING books. Use simple bookbinding to create hardcover books for recipes, journals or even your child’s own stories. One of the best tutorials I’ve seen uses a curved embroidery needle. I’m thinking about making a small book of poems for my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day. Leave those old books on the shelf where they belong. You never know when you’ll need to look up the 19th century classification of the beetle.