While reading will never go out of style, ebooks are fast replacing tried and true real books. I have mixed feelings about this since I love the weight of a real book, the sound of the pages turning, the smell of the paper. I love seeing the cover on my bedside table, and I love a wall covered with bookcases. I especially enjoy seeing my four novels there. Holding your own book in your hand gives new meaning to the concept of delight. My Flying Horse Trilogy (On a Wing and a Dare, In the Winds of Danger, Under a Wild and Darkening Sky) and my historical fiction novel (Under the Almond Trees) are accomplishments I am proud of.
On the other hand, I love that my Kindle will carry hundreds of books everywhere I go. Never will I be without reading material! Ebooks save paper, so they are better for the environment. That doesn’t change the fact, though, that thousands of books have already been printed. After they’ve been loved and read, what should be done with them?
Artists have a way of repurposing old things, and I’m thrilled to share several artists who are repurposing real books, you know, the kind with pages. These beautiful works of art ease a used book’s pain of abandonment a bit. They inspire in me the same sort of wonder that a new book does. An ebook may be more convenient, but I’ve never felt wonder looking at a
title in a list of titles. These book sculptures are filled with creativity and whimsy. They inspire awe. Someday maybe I’ll see one of these sculptors create a winged horse out of one of my books. I would be thrilled, as long as they had the ebook version on their Kindles.
Since I appreciate when people give me credit for my creations, I’ve listed the artist’s name below each picture. Search them for more examples of breathtaking book sculpture. And if you still enjoy curling up with a real book, grab one of mine! The Flying Horse books are set in Medieval Wales, in a remote town hidden in the mountains. The town is home to people who care for a herd of flying horses—the only flying horses in the world. Every year the Aerial
Games is held, pitting one barn of horses against another in aerial feats of racing and dancing. ON A WING AND A DARE center around characters like Davyd, who dreads following his family tradition and becoming a rider of the winged horses. And Emma, torn between her love two brothers, one the bad boy and one the dependable kind. IN THE WINDS OF DANGER begins with a Barn Leader trying something new—aerial jousting. Nia is disgusted with the idea and looks for something else to try. UNDER A WILD AND DARKENING SKY follows siblings Ralf and Alyna as they move into the town. Alyna tries to fit into barn life while her brother is more interested in the beautiful and dangerous Branwen.