Feeling Bookish

The last couple of months a lot of people have been asking me how I feel about e-book readers and their effect on the book industry and it has been a hard question to answer. As with any product (please excuse me for reducing the book to such a commercial driven term) or industry trying to survive in an ever changing and unpredictable economic climate it is vital to keep up to date and stay in trend with technology which seems to be the main driving force in industries. Refusing to do so could be detrimental. That said the bibliophile in me can not fathom how the sensory pleasure of book and bookshop could ever be digitized.

While some have been preaching the demise of both the tangible book and the independent bookshop, their influences are undeniable on our culture as well as on the way we dwell. Enough so to have brought about these amazing book inspired designs that have been showcased most recently this month at the BKLYN Design show and the ICFF in New York. These designs do not only speak volumes about the book as an aesthetically pleasing object but are ode like creations aimed at the book as symbolic representation of where we have been, what we have accomplished and the impact of their contents that have irrevocably shaped our lives.

It goes without saying that the e-book has some dauntingly large shoes to fill and after looking at these designs it makes me say with a hint of pleasure...kindle who?


Shelving system Hold on Tight by Colleen & Eric via Design Sponge


BookLight by Myungseo Kang via Elle Deco SA


Faktura bookshelf via Apartment Therapy



The Duo bookshelf by Ana Linares via Apartment Therapy and Supermarket