Customer Reviews

Bookworks (New Crafts)

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Mary Maguire strikes another homerun with her latest book, _Bookworks_. While the photographs are gorgeous and the instructions are -- as usual -- easy to follow, it is the projects themselves which make this book outstanding. Maguire takes the reader from simple to complex bookmaking, using materials as easy to find as paper, cloth, and string. From fabric notepads to wedding albums, suede writing journals to portfolios, Maguire shows step-by-step how to create elegant yet simple gifts or everyday items and throws in some interesting tips as well, such as using foamcore to create sturdy covers.

Other cool projects include a binder which holds treasures such as rocks and seashells, a book shaped like a cloud, a book which uses the shiny side of the CD as its focal point (hey! something to do with all the internet cds we get in the mail), and books for the baby to chew on.

I love this book, and I've already made a book based on Maguire's instructions. I've read a lot of bookbinding books, but I've always found the projects either too weird or too difficult. This book is perfect for someone looking to make really lovely and really simple books that don't require arcane equipment or supplies.

This is yet another book in a long list of bookwork books and it is basically without merit.The projects are below juvenile level and many of the so-called simple processes [like using PVA glue with a small brush over a large area] are risky for the un initiated. The vertical instruction format is hard to follow. Bookbinding is a REAL craft and this book does it no service. The dumb photographs are staged and dopey. Why cannot anyone take a photo of a craft process without putitng in a bunch of logs or ribbons or leeks?? It is a marvelously weird book.