Face it, folks. The end of books is coming — not the end of writing, or of literature, of course, but the end of those hefty, nice-smelling tomes that lined the walls of our childhood homes. Now on the subway in NYC, of all the people reading, about a third of them are doing it on a Kindle. Maybe we’re being creepy by staring at everybody, but we think it means something. So in preparation for the fast-approaching day when physical books will be completely obsolete, we’ve prepared a DIY guide to how you can turn your dusty old doorstops into useful, functioning household items. Click through for step by step instructions (sometimes with video!) for how you can turn your book-garbage into fun stuff when the internet apocalypse hits.
The Book Clock
Image via Instructables
1. Pick up a clock set at your local hardware store. Also a drill, if you don’t have one.
2. Mark where you want the clock face to be and drill a hole there.
3. Assemble the clock set through the hole.
4. Stick on the numbers!
The Book Bag [via MobyLives]
Made famous, of course, by the Lolita bag Natalie Portman brought to the premiere of Black Swan. That girl is always a step ahead.
The Book Hook [via ReadyMade]
1. Glue all the pages together (this seems crazy, but apparently takes less time than you think it will). Let dry with something heavy on top. Like a 2010 PC, or some other piece of junk.
2. Superglue and/or nail a sawtooth hanger to the back of the book.
3. Superglue and/or nail a fancy hook to the front of the book. Voila! That was easy.
The Book Planter [via Inhabitat]
This may come in handy when you’re trying to grow your own un-processed food instead of living on Ho-Hos.
The Book Secret Compartment
An age old concept, but probably useful for hiding non-internet related trinkets. Then again, the book is going to look so out of place on your shelf that it’ll probably be pretty conspicuous… better combine with one of the above.