Bookworks

by Sue Doggett

Quintet Publishing, 1998

Readability		Diagrams are clear, and photos show well-constructed "artistic" books.
Content		The book is broad rather than deep in its coverage of techniques, and focuses on "quick wins" rather than solid craft.

I was given this book by Martin for Christmas of 2001. It is a mass-market book, less concerned with difficult techniques than with instant successes. It covers sewing on tapes, but does not go as far as rounding and backing books.

The Good Stuff

This is a broad-based book, touching on Japanese stab-stich bindings as well as Western techniques. The projects are "quick wins", which are likely to be successful on the first go. It contains a wealth of creative ideas, interspersed with pictures of books by artists using (mostly) techniques from the book.

Could Do Better

It is almost entirely lacking in the difficult techniques like rounding and backing, trimming pages, or covering in leather. The projects are not generally to my taste. I have been willing to put in the time to learn the difficult techniques of fine binding. This book is more focussed on "artistic", easily produced works.

Best Bit

The book has very good information on areas I haven't gone deeper into, like Japanese stab-stich bindings. Where I'm a dilletante, I find this book useful. Where I am serious, I look elsewhere.