Somewhere here is a thread where someone made a beautiful cover out of an antique book. Glued the pages, carved out the shape for the reader, lined it in velvet. Like in the old movies when the villain would hive a gun in a Bible.
It looks like a book, because it is. I planned to do this but never did. I found instructions for making the book online.
Just find a hardback with a cover that you like and do it. Maybe practice on The Davinci Code first, so it won't matter if you mess it up.
