Episode 112: Covering Cloud Atlas

Many months ago I borrowed Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I even read it. Then, several months later, I decided to make a slipcase for it so that when I returned the book, the lender wouldn't realize how long I'd had it. It took me awhile to make the slipcase, of course, but here it is. The bare bones of the slipcase can be seen here, in Episode 109.

The name is printed on part of the cover and, since my printer can't handle a piece of bookcloth that big, I had to assemble the cover in two pieces. The only minor problem was making sure the piece that had printing didn't catch on the bookshelves when it was taken off or put back on the shelf. I don't think it will but the owner of the book is the one who will find out if it does or not.

The learning process of making the slipcover was eye opening. It wasn't all that difficult but it did require some thinking: how much overlap, how much inserted into the cover itself. There are, basically, two pieces of bookcloth covering the case: the spine and the rest. It was only after I finished that I realized the color of the cloth kind of fit the color of the book, too. An incidental surprise.

The two books with Cloud Atlas are A6-sized lined notebooks. More on these in a coming episode.

My novel, Tristram's Printer, is available from Smashwords.com or from me. If you order from me you will get a hand bound original version. Autographed, if you so prefer.

It is a typographical love story because an older man who works as a printer finds himself being loved by a younger woman; a woman who acts and looks like his dead daughter. And she wants to take over his daughter's papermaking studio. A feisty cast of characters (including a socially shy bookbinder and a overly flamboyant artist with a business-sharp wife) round out the tale.