bookbinding for beginners

Last night was the first bookbinding class, and while I felt a bit like I was in high school art class again, I really did love it. So much that I was making "books" out of extra construction paper in the corner of my classroom while my students worked on their introduction to The Odyssey notes. Springy little accordion books. And I learned about the grain of paper, similar to the grain of fabric, the way in which to orient your book (though I probably mucked it up a bit) in order to have the best turn of page, the least abuse to the decorative papers, etc.

I found the most recent cover of The New Yorker, which arrived yesterday afternoon, most fitting for this new adventure--the complete production of a book, all the way to its destruction. It seems so brief, but in truth, the whole process is frustratingly long (at least, those first five panels). And only one owner, implying the rapidity of its disgrace.