Dumpling in a Hanky

I have a new role model: the shelving technique demonstrated between 12 and 18 seconds by the librarian in this Lucozade video is something to aspire to! :D

Miniature things are one of my favourites, and miniature books are no exception. These tiny books are available either as volumes or sets of volumes on their own, or as parts of dolls house or in specialised miniature library settings. And some of the miniature libraries are just insanely good! I've not included here the many options of wearable miniature books - earrings, necklaces, bracelets, badges... A book with its own drawer for safekeeping Mini clay books Decorative mini books Ghosts in the library books Not exactly miniature, but very small "Little Leather Library" collection How about a Medieval illuminated book, in miniature? Or one with a secret compartment? There are even illustrated erotic mini books! You can theme by colour! Dollshouse insta-library (including 50 Shades of Grey, and the Hunger Games trilogies) Miniature haunted library Miniature Victorian library Still one of my favourites: themed mini...

We're all normal, sensible adults, right? Inanimate objects should not provoke feelings of rage, or the desire to destroy them. We should be able to laugh in the face of small irritations, while congratulating ourselves on maintaining our inner Librarian Zen. And generally, we do. We field queries, wrestle databases, and wrangle information merrily, with good humour and cheerful Librarian Face* held firmly intact. But then comes that day, that terrible, terrible day we law librarians dread. Oh yes...the day that the Yellow Tax Handbooks and Orange Tax Handbooks arrive. Oh, they are fiendish, fiendish things, yet they merely add to the heap of Evil Books in the Library! Between the Orange and Yellow (which have some disturbing issues ), and the various collapsible Butterworths handbooks with their covers made of paper mache, which are now joined by the massive Chambers UK, the library is awash in schlumpy books, determined to slide slowly off the shelves. Or, in the ca...

This is the post of oddments, strange bits, and things that I accidentally missed from the other posts, and expands slightly beyond "books" into "books and library 'hings". I think it's best that I don't even try to explain some of these.... Kusudama flowers are pretty, easy to make, and look kinda funky when made from old book pages: shop They're also nice in a bunch: shop And as roses too: shop Books can have all sorts of covers, as these show: shop shop shop shop Make sure the books stay on the shelf with a bit of punctuation geekery: shop You could carry your books about in a bag...with a picture of books on it: shop Make sure you never lose your place again, with some unusual bookmarks: shop shop shop Some more necklaces here: shop shop Badges are also a good wearable way of showing your book love: shop shop shop If you need to get yourself or...

As a true book lover, you'll be keen to decorate your home with things made from bits-o'-books, and book related items, won't you? To begin with, you can welcome people in to your home with a nice decorative wreath on your door: shop Once you're inside, you'll be looking for a nice way to store the books that you want to keep to read. This is an unusual take on the traditional way of keeping books on shelves... shop However, if you stick with a traditional bookcase style, you'll need some bookends...how about keeping things in place with a slice of the outside world, and its strata? shop But you don't want time to run away from you, while you're buried in your books. So maybe a clock would be a wise investment? shop Don't strain your eyes when reading your favourite tome: invest in a nice little light to illuminate your reading material. shop For the ladies, a pretty place to store jewellery is always a bonus...

The modern version of the traditional physical book is now an eReader, whether that's a Kindle, Nook, iPad, Kobo, or any other random bit of kit you might be using. Perhaps these eReaders are perhaps just a bit too jarringly modern looking for you? Too shiny, too plasticky, to grey/black/white? Wouldn't it be nice if it looked like a proper, classic old book? shop How about with a cute puppy book? shop Maybe something a bit simpler? shop Fancy something a bit more...retro? shop Or do you prefer the look of comic book art? shop So many choices - what one shall it be?

Since I like a good browse on Etsy, and I come across some interesting stuff there, I thought it was time for another librariany gift selection. For this series of posts, I am focussing entirely on the book itself. That means items made out of books, accessories for modern books (the Kindle, iPad, Nook etc), clothes and jewellery that involve books, decorative book-related items, book quotes, and "other", which is a whole world of random... So, lets start with the physical book , shall we? Book sculptures/folding is very popular on Etsy, so you can find plenty of "Christmas tree" shaped foldings, and even some shaped ones, like barrels, or pinch-waisted shapes. Even a pretty, sewn clamshell: shop The most impressive book sculptures I've seen though are these - very complex looking, and done to order: shop If you want to go all out for an insanely good book sculpture, you could invest in this sort of thing: shop Or if you want a sligh...