Book Meme Chapter FIve

 A book that makes you happy

 A Million Chameleons by James Young

‘A little chameleon all in vermilion

Danced alone in a garden pavilion.’

...thus begins a book that makes me happy. Not only is the rhyming delicious, the words hold a deep mystery for the child who is twisting their tongue around them. What is vermilion? And why is he dancing on a pavilion?

As you turn each page the verge twists your tongue yet enables the child to guess what happens next with the simple rhymes.

On every page a million chameleons appear, and as they turn into the colours of the rainbow, they visit the zoo, the ice rink and sink in the sea.

With charming and colourful illustrations it’s hard not to be happy when reading out this bouncy poem, delighting your eyes with new features every reading.

This book was kept at my Grandmother’s house and I loved it. I can remember being extremely happy when one day she let me take it home. I could look through it every day and smile.

This book is in bad condition because of the amount of times it has been read. Maybe when I become a book conservator I can repair this: one of my most precious tomes. 

Exercise books

Around Christmas time I made three books for the boyfriend’s siblings. I was looking forward to making them because it would mean I could customise and personalise them.

I first used this technique in art at 6^th form, on my project ‘derelict structures.’ I used PVA glue and chalk to create an effect which I hoped would replicate the look and feel of old metal and rust. Here is an example of  the technique on other books.

I knew pretty much as soon as I had seen the Mockingjay pin used for The Hunger Games that I wanted it on a book. I printed out a template I found online and transferred it to a piece of cardboard. It was hard work cutting it out. I realised halfway through that it would be easier to cut out a rough shape out of the thick grey board and add in the finer details later.

I had prepared the boards for the covers earlier and it was just the case of sticking the shape onto the front once I had measured its placement accurately.

Making the book block – the pages – was super easy. I took apart two exercise books (the type used in schools) and sewed them together using a simple stitch. This book is only a ‘single section’ binding and is not as complicated as other sewing techniques, which meant I could be precise and neater than usual.

For the Mockingjay book I used black book cloth, which I also used on the N7 book, and for the dragon, green.

For all of the books I started colouring by gluing out where the symbol lay underneath the cloth and adding an initial layer of chalk dust and then building up on this bit by bit by adding more glue in more layers. To achieve this effect I took some chalk and an old scalpel, and scraped away at the chalk to form a dust.

Layer by layer I built up the colours and shading. Once happy I added the details I could not with the cutting of the shape with watercolour pencil and sometimes ink. Finally, I used fixative spray to seal it all.

I think this technique has worked quite well on all three books – I’m most happy with the N7 book - which I like to imagine is a standard issue notebook given to Shepherd on-board the Normandy in the Mass Effect series. Instead of using chalk dust for the red strip, I used red book cloth. The white parts are still chalk dust – I used masking tape to achieve the straight edge.

The only problems I had with the books were the ‘casing in’   - that is, sticking the pages to the cover. I always have trouble at this stage and it doesn’t help that the glue I have dries extremely quickly. There were a couple of mistakes that I hope will go unnoticed.

I am not all happy with the arrow of the Mockingjay. On hindsight I would have left it out completely, as I had not included it initially because it would be difficult to cut out with making a mistake.

But everybody seemed happy with their books. I wonder what they’ll be used for? 

Film Book

I have the habit of collecting cinema tickets, and they looked quite tackly on my wall and wardrobe. So I decided I wanted to do something with them.

I made a book, with softer covers than usual as well as a little room on the spine to allow for thickness and flexibilitiy - the soft covers mean I can bend the covers back and write with ease.

On every page I will stick in the cinema ticket and write a reiview of what I remember of the film.

Here's what I have so far.

Paignton's Well Read

Paignton – a bustling, touristy sea-side town, resplendent with arcades and charity shops. Paignton offers to a tourist every part of what a British holiday should be, including sticky rock and postcards. It also offers to those holiday makers who want to escape from their holiday escape, in the form of three bookshops in which are contained hundreds of journeys to embark upon.

 

Of the three, Parkside Books is most ideally situated right among the arcades. On your way to Lidl you may pop into Parkside and pick up value books, too. ‘Budget Fiction’ a sign proclaims in the window. This shop does exactly what it says on the tin.

 

Our second bookshop is perhaps not so perfectly situated but draws in booklovers regardless. Flying the flag for independent bookshops, The Torbay Bookshop was busy as I stepped in. Colourful, personable and welcoming, the bookshop offers the unique advice-over-the-counter with friendly staff that is so hard to find in big chain bookshops. That, and the shelves are continually updated. The shop has a clear layout and offers, as any good bookshop should, a book ordering service from reliable and nifty resources. It is efficient and yet holds a lot more personality than some other shops out there. And what about the book signings and other literature based events? The Torbay Bookshop is rather brilliant. Why not enjoy a Thornton’s coffee whist contemplating a possible purchase?

 

Readers may have noticed a distinct lack of bookshops of the second-hand variety in Paignton. Not to fear! Situated close to The Torbay Bookshops lies your redemption. Epicentre has a distinct hand-made quality to it, and you would be excused of thinking, as you step in, that this was somebody’s living room. Deep, comfortable sofas entice readers to perch in bliss and contemplate the vast array of books on the walls. Books surround every surface and they all seem hand-picked. It has books whose condition makes it seem unread, practically new: and it has those delicious old books that mark this shop from the rest. You may notice that a coffee machine lies behind a homely counter, and that there is a menu offering delectable dishes at moderate prices. Epicentre is a gem of Paignton, offering creative workshops and a variety of good quality books. Doubly satisfying, is you are a vegetarian, for there is no mention of meat anyway on the menus.

All good things come in threes, someone once may have or may have not said. The bookshops in Paignton cater to every kind of book browser, including vegetarians and chocoholics. It offers the best of books, in a variety of different shops, and it is a town that is very definitely well read.

  

 The Torbay Bookshop

Epicentre

Dartmouth Community Bookshop

I remember seeing the Harbour Bookshop swathed in scaffolding, and my heart plummeted. This bookshop of literary significance had just become another victim to the decline of independent bookshops. Goodness knows what terror may spring up in its place.

      

But, a beacon in the dark: hand written signs, pointing up the dank and narrow alleyway running alongside the late bookshop, proclaiming books could be found.

      

Emerging from the alleyway into a pretty street, the sun shone relentlessly onto a bright and bustling, paint-fresh bookshop.

     

 It wasn’t just the warmth of the sun that comforted me after such a blow. I knew, stepping into the shop, that here was a project I wish would exist in every town. Condensed into a small shop were books, smelling factory fresh, delicately chosen to sit proudly on the shelves.

     

 Dartmouth Community Bookshop’s Facebook page proclaims its simple aim – to retain the tradition of a book lover visiting a bookshop; of the encounters with books that can’t be found anywhere else, especially not on the internet. It also outlined the importance of staff and customer relationships, the advice and guidance from the expansive knowledge of the staff.

      

With the increase of buying on the internet, Dartmouth Community Bookshop stands as a beacon for the magical aura and unique experience of independent bookshops.

      

After the shock of Harbour Bookshop’s untimely death, Dartmouth was left without a bookshop from which the most avid readers could keep up with new and popular publications. The community rallied and were supported by similar projects. Shelf by shelf and person by person the community built a shop that stands proudly within Dartmouth, and retains the important literary links with the town and its people, providing Dartmouth with great and new delights for the entire town to devour.

     

 I took away with me four Book Time magazines and a warm feeling in my heart. There are people out there determined to keep the light burning brightly for independent bookshops, and the importance of loving books. It truly is a place to remember how books can delight not only a book lover, but a whole community.

Dartmouth Community Bookshop

12 Higher Street

Dartmouth

Torbay

Website