Novel Living: Collecting, Decorating and Crafting With Books by Lisa Occhipinti | Book Review

This book was so much more than I thought it'd be!  I love, love, love when I'm surprised like that with a book.  Truth:  I thought this was a book of home decor crafts I could make from upcycled books.  Fact:  Novel Living gave sound advice on cultivating a collection, creating a home library, preserving and repairing books, and included home decor crafts that I could make!

The author is an artist, not a bookseller or librarian, but she really knows her stuff.  Without overwhelming the reader. she walks the reader through the basics of book collecting.  The book gives resources and tips for starting a collection.  I love that she emphasizes collecting for each individual's pleasure.  You can collect first edition Dickens or New York Times bestsellers.  Whatever floats your boat!

In the next section, Lisa addresses the practical:  how to store and display your books.  Again, practical advice is presented side by side with creative encouragement.  For example, she gives the advice that you put lighter, smaller books near the center of a shelf to prevent bowing, and also encourages the reader to sort in whatever way makes them happy.  You can sort by subject or by author or even by color!

I found the third section of the book the most interesting!  This section alone would recommend the book for purchase to any devoted bibliophile.  It's easy to follow instructions on how to care for your fragile or damaged books!  I am so putting this to use.  The hubby has a book that has come free from it's binding, and I now know how to repair this!  He's going to be thrilled.

The book wraps up with some home decor ideas, utilizing old books.  Most of these projects looked just a little too involved for me, but a devoted crafter would be able to tackle them.  There is one that I'm going to see if the hubby can build for me.  

Overall, this is a gorgeous and informative books; a complete package.  It's a great resource for people wanting to get into book collecting and crafting with old books.  The book is pretty enough to serve as it's own home decor on a coffee table too.

*I checked out my copy of Novel Living from my local library.