The Repurposed Library

by Lisa Occhipinti

33 Craft Projects That Give Old Books New Life

We all love to read and learn from books, but The Repurposed Library takes our passion even further, presenting us with 33 projects to make--quite literally--out of books. For these projects, Lisa Occhipinti rescues and repurposes orphaned and outdated books from flea markets and library sales and turns them into new art objects and practical items for the home. Her creations range from artfully constructed mobiles, wreaths, and vases, to functional items like shelves, storage boxes, and even a Kindle "keeper" for those who want to replicate the sensation of holding a "real" book while reading from an e-reader. Projects utilize every imaginable part of a book--from hardback cover to individual pages--and are a DIY celebration of a new way to view a book's potential.

Genres: Crafts, Nonfiction, Art, Books About Books, Adult, How To, Reference

144 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2011

Reviews

[Scottsdale Public Library]

Do you work in a library or bookstore and have access to discarded/unreadable/damaged books? Are you often running around during the holidays buying presents and spending money when you'd rather give people more personal and unique gifts? Are you like me and can't bear the thought of throwing out books? This craft book has tons (well, 33 actually) of ideas to use with books, and I mean every aspect, from the hardback covers to the individual pages. Artsy ideas like picture frames and mobiles, to practical items like lamps, shelves, and even a cool iPad/Kindle holder that allows one to feel as if they're actually reading a book - all are carefully described with great photographs and easy instructions.

-Mark L.-

[Kelly (Maybedog)]

Although having books turned into art and household items is better than throwing them away, the main image on the cover is giving me an anxiety attack just from looking at it. I want to bat someone's hands away and say, "No! Bad person! That's not how we treat books!"

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good look at how to transform old books into all sorts of things, such as lamps, a chandelier, a fireplace screen, an ebook reader cover, and more.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had this love/hate relationship throughout the whole book. To wit: "Oh, isn't that cute? Wait, that's... oh, fercryinoutloud that's LITTLE WOMEN all ripped up. I can't stand it." There are a few truly fun projects in here, projects I actually want to do, maybe even will do. But. Books. And I don't think all books are equal, and I don't think making art projects from any book is wrong. I just don't know that I can do it myself. I think it will be a good thing to try, though. Just to see.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was given The Repurposed Library for Christmas – Christmas like three years ago, mind you – I immediately had the same reaction that so many other reviewers seem to have had: "Oh my god! They want me to mutilate books? For 'art'? But books are art! And excuse my pretension and moral outrage, but this isn't even actually art; these are crafts." I couldn't help myself; I was raised to regard books as practically sacred. My mom had very specific rules about book use and care: not eating while reading, only turning pages from the top, storing books carefully on their spines, etc. – rules I find myself living by even today (and my partner still rues the day when I caught him trying to dog-ear a page in one of my books. "What do you think Post-It Tape Flags were invented for, you Neanderthal?!"). This reverence for the printed page that my mother instilled in me at an early age has left long-lasting behavioral patterns as well as attitudinal ones: I lovingly tend my little collection of leather-bound, first edition, and signed volumes, I eschew paperbacks for their hardcover counterparts, and I have nearly all of my favorite books from when I was a child, looking only a fraction of their actual age. So, yeah, it was kind of weird that it was my mother who bought me The Repurposed Library, but that is a mystery I can never hope to unravel, so let's not even go there.

After smiling down at it politely if somewhat confusedly, I went home and stashed this book away on that dark, corner shelf of books that I'm not overly interested in keeping (let alone actually reading) but feel duty- and guilt-bound to retain because, for example, my mother gave them to me. As I am currently trying to come to terms with the dilemma posed by the ridiculous quantity of books that I own (compounded by my partner's own ridiculous quantity), I started going through books on the aforementioned dark and forgotten shelf and decided to give this one a go.

While the projects are nice and everything, I still can't help but have the same visceral reaction – these are books, dammit! And although of course I know that not everything old is valuable, and that mass production was certainly already a thing a hundred years ago, the fact that the books repurposed in all of these projects are antique-looking just made the whole thing even harder to swallow.

So basically, the bottom line is that I'm a terrible person to review this book. I'm giving it two-and-a-half stars however, because some of the finished products are actually pretty appealing, and because I see no reason why the ones that only use the pages and not the covers couldn't be successfully pulled off with high-quality color copies of book pages, appropriately artificially aged. In the meantime, all of my unreadably purple 19th-century equivalents of Dan Brown thrillers will remain proudly displayed on my bookshelves, thankyouverymuch, perfectly intact.

2.5 stars.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you do with old books you can't bear to part with? Turn them into art! Book crafter Lisa Occhipinti shows how to transform books and book pages into a variety of useful and decorative household objects such as a clock, book ledge, music box, lamps, tablet covers, mobiles and more.

I like to think that the books used for these projects were books damaged beyond reading -- they had water damage, stains, crayon marks, or something else that would have taken away from the enjoyment of reading these particular volumes.

[reading is my hustle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crafting (LITERALLY- yep, I went there) out of books. All that you need is an X-Acto knife and glue for most of the projects. Once you have the anatomy of the book down: cover/case, spine, endpapers, book block, signature, and gutter you are good to go.

Projects that I want to make:

* bookmobile
* pagework quilt
* bookbursts
* two-book luminary

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding to both a library, book and creative reader! I've sold my own book art on etsy and the author has an outstanding etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/theshophouse.... Projects presented were practical and possible for the average crafter. Lots of advice was given for online sources for books and supplies. Great job.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a bibliophile get this book. If you love a librarian or bibliophile buy them this book. If you know anyone crafty give them this book.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this in ebook format as part of a Humble Bundle that included several other craft books. As a librarian, I regularly withdraw damaged or obsolete books as part of my job, and I’m always on the lookout for interesting ways to repurpose them. Several of these projects look promising for use as library decor, and a couple look like projects I could do with students. I probably wouldn’t pay store price for it, but as part of the bundle with several other potentially useful books it was definitely worth it.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are several good ideas for repurposing old hardcover books. There’s good tutorials with hand drawn illustrations. If you’re okay with repurposing books, you’ll find a lot of good ideas in this book.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me wish I had saved more old books. Great, doable projects!

[liberal sprinkles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Lisa Occhipinti since seeing a photo of her book mobile floating around the Internet. With [[ASIN:1584799099 The Repurposed Library: 33 Craft Projects That Give Old Books New Life]], she has delivered a lovely book with easy-to-execute projects on upcycling old books into new decorative and practical things for the home. While some of them require slightly heavier duty tools like a drill to craft, many can be made by just folding and the use of glue, a craft knife and some patience.

Among the projects that caught my eyes: a storage box for sewing or other materials, a mirror, a bookshelf, a clock, a three-book chandelier, a music book, sculpted vases, as well as ornaments like a dust jacket, bookplates and bookmarks made from old books or book pages.

This is a friendly book for beginners; the instructions are easy to follow although more photos would have been nice. Most of the projects are relatively simple; many can be tackled in an afternoon, a few are suitable even for crafting with kids. If you would like more challenging projects, take a look at [[ASIN:159253600X Playing with Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimagining the Book]] by Jason Thompson; the projects and techniques taught in this book are more wide-ranging.

I didn't find the text impossible to read but I would have preferred it a little darker and thus clearer.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for those of you who love the look and texture of old books. Maybe you like to dabble with mixed media. Or you might enjoy upcycling old things. No matter what you want to do, you will find some ways to craft at the next level.

There are nice colorful photos with simple diagrams that go with the directions for each project. Honestly, some I have seen before presented in a slightly different way. The 'book ledge' is one. The 'book adornments' were another. The lettered wreath is something that I might have viewed on Pinterest. So simple that I wondered why I did not think of that.

There are a few works that I'd like to undertake when I get some free time. Many others I have no interest in but they might appeal to you. For the actual amount of usuable unique ideas the price of the book seems a little expensive. Neither awe-inspiring or bad, I would encourage you to look for this at a used book sale or your local library.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat book of craft projects to make with books. I've been working on making things out of books (mostly library discards, damaged books and the few books I can bear to cut up) and this book has some neat ideas. Her tutorials are a bit short-- no more than two pages no matter how complicated the project-- but I think we're all spoiled to online tutorials now with multiple photographs for every step. That said, I haven't followed any of these tutorials yet, so I'll have to keep you posted after I make a clock or something else. I understand peoples' reticence about cutting up old books, but at the same time books get thrown out all of the time-- the library where my sister works just threw out several whole sets of outdated encyclopedias. At least books as art objects can find another home.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this really great analogy of how cutting up books as someone who loves books was maybe like hunting: I don't have a problem with people who do it, and I'd definitely use the end result, but I don't think I could bring myself to actually kill something with my own hands. Cutting up/gluing together/taking apart books feels criminal and murderous.

BUT as I read this book, I think about the books I still have in boxes in my basement - books I don't want to get rid of, but will probably never read or read again. Some of them have awesome covers! Why file them onto a shelf when you could make them into some interesting art piece for everyone to instantly enjoy?

Now I'm sad that I didn't haul home a few extra boxes of books from that book sorting event a few summers ago :(

Totally gonna make that "Pagework Quilt." :)

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A part of me cringed all thru reading this book. While the crafts are creative and look really cool, I’m of a mind that is convinced that even the oldest, mustiest book has value as such.
That said, I really enjoyed seeing how the books where transformed into completely different things, be they useful or just decorative. The instructions are super easy to follow and the “difficult” parts are illustrated to guide you thru the craft process.
As another reviewer mentioned earlier, several of this projects aren’t particularly original, but Occhipinti’s instructions are some of the best I’ve ever seen.

[Jayme · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was cute. Some of the ideas were really neat, and some of them I thought were kinda lame. My favourites were the journal, the kindle cover and the bookmark. I feel the need to go shopping for some of those old timey looking books so I can make some of those projects. The Symphony sale is coming up in April... I hope I can remember to pick up some books for that purpose when the time comes. lol

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ton of great ideas for book crafts. Fun home-made gift ideas for the librarian or booklover in your life.

I bought this for my library in preparation for next year's summer reading theme "Between the Covers". I thought it would be a good source for book crafts for our patrons.

[Trinika Abraham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Repurposed Library by Lisa Occhipinti consists of “how to” instructions on crafting with books. This unique book ironically is all about how to deconstruct old books and repurpose their parts for art and multi-functional uses.

Now, I know you’re probably thinking, “how could you recommend the destruction of perfectly good books? Such blasphemy!”

Well, not all books remain good for reading, and believe it or not, it cost to recycle books. So in the case of the outdated, worn, stained, but not quite smelly book, I say, “have at it!”

If you love a good DIY project as much as I do, The Repurposed Library is a great book to use to test your hand at repurposing a beloved book that is now longer being read. Author Lisa Occhipinit provides an entire chapter on the tools and techniques of deconstructing old books. The hand drawn diagrams of the steps taken add to the art form of repurposing books.

What I like most about this book is the romantic craft ideas the author creates. Her examples include mirrors, wall hangings, a music book, as well as vases. However, if you’re more of a practical person, she also has a tablet case, shelves, and a variety of light fixtures such as luminaries, lamps, and switch plates.

The Repurposed Library puts a methodical twist to upcycling, allowing the novice DIYer to try their hand at crafting. Even if you never make a project from this book, the ideas that Occhipinti shares will inspire you to think about creative ways to make new treasures out of old things. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for creative inspiration.

Readers may also enjoy Novel Living by Lisa Occhipinti as well.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It hurts me to think of cutting a a book up or folding pages, but I guess these projects are better than tossing them in the landfill or burning them. First, let me tell you why I even looked at this book. Years ago I worked for a small college where my supervisor was a very learned man— a graduate of Oxford. I heard him several times bemoaning the demise of the card catalog, saying that flipping through the card catalog was how someone could have a great serendipity coming across books you otherwise would find. That did happen, but it also can happen on a library’s catalog website. Maybe it’s because they are more sophisticated than when they were first developed, but that is how I came to see this book and several others I may read. However, this isn’t a book to read, but one to use to create things. I’m at the point in my life where I don’t do crafts, and I don’t want anymore things sitting around my house. There are several projects that I liked, one being a case for a Kindle. My criticism of the book is the fine, light print. I can understand using fine print to conserve space, but the print is so faint, I had to seek out a bright light to read it. If you’ve read this entire drivel, thank you. Just some thoughts I wanted to get out of my mind.

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting photographs of things to make with old books, nothing new, though. The step-by-step diagrams could have shown the process more close up and the text! Why is most of the text gray???? The Switchplate, Story Time Clock, and the Playbook look easy but the bracelets could be Mother's Day gifts from my elementary school kids. Quality of some of the projects suffered.

[Alyssa Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real talk - as a person generally opposed to ruining any book (yes, any) in any way, I didn't hate this as much as I expected. I suppose if you have a trashed book with a really pretty spine & cover, then some of these projects are do-able. My favorites are the kindle keeper, pagework quilt, literary lamp, & sewing box.

[Mrs.Bee.17 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solidly written descriptions, but significantly lacking in photos of the steps and finished products. Yes, there are artistic sketches of the steps but photographs would be better. And for a few of the projects, there is only one photograph of the project, from one angle. I imagine this was a financial decision (saving on ink costs for full color photos) but it made for a lower quality book.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one, and saw some crafts I would really like to do. And luckily, working at a library that accepts donations, I have an almost limitless supply of materials. ;)

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

More power tools than I expected!

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing really new or original here. The projects that were included had that "homemade" look, which is fine, if that's what you like. I was hoping for projects with a bit more polish.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book website: http://www.abramsbooks.com/Books/The_...

[Pamela Hatch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting in concept but there were only two projects that I would even like to try. Contained pictures and instructions with details for those who want to try one.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsical ideas and great guides on how to do it.