So this weekend I bought a dummy book for 3.50€, a pot of white glue and an x-acto clone knife for next to nothing, and sat down to create my hollow book.
Grabbed a
HOWTO from the net, and set off. First up was mixing the white glue with water, then liberally applying it to all the sides. Then I put it in a vise and let it dry.
The vise method was quickly abandoned to the advanced "stick it under a heavy table leg" method.
Once it dried it was knife time. With a ruler and a knife and waaay to much patience I hollowed out the book.
A perfect fit!
Then I repeated the procedure for the other side. Another coat of glue was applied to the inside edges to make them more 'solid', then paper was glued over them to make it neater, and then it was vise time again.
When it came out it looked like this:
For the moment I've stuck a CD cover in the other hollow area, it fits snugly and holds memory cards + cable but I am still looking for a better method for stashing a couple of memory cards, a USB cable and possibly a reading light.
I'm also still looking for either magnets or velcro to secure/affix the reader to the book, and perhaps some slim padding material.
It was a fun weekend project, it looks great, and the "tactile book-lover crowd" should be pleased: it looks like a book, it smells like a book, it handles like a book, except you can store a small library in it. It is also sturdy - it should offer excellent protection once the padding and velcro/magnets are in place.
I took a dummy book because I couldn't bear demolishing a "real" book, but I have spotted some water- and otherwise damaged books that might make for good conversion targets. I might do it again next weekend to make a 'slimline' case - I have a beautiful but sadly damaged copy of Psyche by Louis Couperus with awesome artwork on the cover:
That is, I have it somewhere. In 10 identical boxes with books.