What to do with all those old books?

Give them to an artist of course! There is an artist named Cailtlin (founder of Rebound Design) who appears nearly every week at Eastern Market (and often at other art venues like Crafty Bastards) that takes books and recycles them into purses, wallets, buttons, and all kinds of other fashion items. I actually have a wallet that this crafty lady made- One of my favs, The Great Gatsby. They are a little on the pricey side, but a nice collectible if you want to somehow save a favorite novel from the tyranny of old age, or if you see one on her list that suits your fancy! Here's one of the wallets below. Check out her website for more information about the artist, and the reason she sees fit to seemingly destroy and recreate.