BookBook

As case classification goes, the BookBook, offered in black and red for 13" and 15" laptops, would fit in the 'hardback leather' category. But where, pray tell, does it go under Dewey? An iPad edition is planned, too. Wouldn't a real book, cut hollow and appropriately modified, do the trick for less than the $80 price? [TwelveSouth]

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Anonymous

Rob, as someone who’s made hollowed books with magnetic clasps before, I’d recommend Mighty Magnet slims to get a seal that doesn’t make the book noticeably thicker. You’ll want to place several around the rim to make the seal strong enough.

As for the pages, you’ll want to use wood glue. It’s made to work with paper (whereas superglue is made for a hold between different types of materials (plastic/glass/metal). Clamp the pages around the edge of the book, once you’ve cut out the center, again to prevent the book from becoming more thick than it originally was. Once the glue has dried, it won’t have any lingering stickiness.

But be prepared — unless you find a remarkably strong book to use as the frame, the finished product, if used often, will probably last you a year, tops.
Anonymous

Rob, magnets are bad for electronics. Hard drives are a magnetic medium and can be corrupted by magnets. Also, I’m not sure about LCDs, but you used to be able to damage CRTs with magnets. Best to keep them away from your laptop in any case.
Tanukintama

My birthday is this week… I want this.
Anonymous

Yeah, I think that would be more fun to make than to have!
mgfarrelly

Hmm,

Under Dewey, which is sadly kind of vague, I’d guess in the 000′s, perhaps 002-”The Book” as an object. You’d get more specific with information about the creators, origin and such.

Now the LOC, (library of congress) you have a wider range. Subclass Z.
Z102.5-104.5 covers “Cryptography, Invisible Writing and Ciphers”
Z266-276 covers “Bookbinding and Book Decoration”
brianary

I’d like to get one for my Sony Reader!
grizlybexar

i’ll be making one of my own “book books” from a decommissioned reference book from the public library!
paigecm

$80 isn’t cheap, but when you consider the cost of finding a “real” book with a similar look, AND the fact that said book isn’t structurally engineered for carrying a 5.5 pound laptop, no, finding a real book and modifying it wouldn’t be any more cost effective.
Rob Beschizza

Though it might be pretty heavy with a real book, I want to have a go at it to see how hard it is to conceal magnets inside additional hollows in the pages to have a slick magnetic clasp going on. Also unsure of what glue’s best for the pages.
widnoon

“12 South” is the name of my neighborhood.
Anonymous

@#9 & #13: Field strength decreases as the inverse cube of the distance from the magnet so anything small enough to be useful as a magnetic clasp won’t produce enough of a field to damage a drive.
Anonymous

Check this out guys, this company is only selling it for $69

http://maccases.myshopify.com/products/macbook-bookbook
usonia

I made one after I moved to Bushwick because I’m, frankly, paranoid about getting mugged and absolutely crap at backing up the months of work on my powerbook: thus, if it gets got, I’m toast. And yes, I buried magnets in hollowes, so it snaps shut pretty well. I just used an old hardcover Umass library Francis Bacon folio though. This leatherbound one is dope. Too bad nothing gets made for 12″ notebooks anymore – granted, almost no one USES a 12″ notebook anymore.
Kayjayoh

I think $80 is a reasonable price for this, especially considering that it is a neat idea and it is handcrafted.
Anonymous

@Rob, you may want to reconsider putting magnets directly next to your sensitive electronic equipment.
Keith

Don’t know about Dewey but in Library of Congress, it’d go somewhere in TT 500, technology, computer hardware and software. Though the whole range of numbers for computer books is very vague, so there’s some wiggle room.
cnawan

I sourced an old textbook from a junk shop for $2 that fits around my Eee901. It has no fake pages, but aside from the laughs and stares it generates, it’s really good at protecting the laptop inside from bumps and keeps the air intakes clear when it’s sitting on my lap.

Also the book is “Fundamentals of Behavioural Statistics”, which is kinda funny considering how many ppl mistake it for a book, lack of pages notwithstanding. :)
Anonymous

Its not too hefty of a price for what you get. I just received one a few days ago and I have to say the thing is finished beautifully. The subtle detail in the ‘aging’ is very nice indeed
Bonnie C.

Went to a writers conference yesterday with my new MacBookPro in this red-spined-antique-book-style laptop case, which my daughter found online. A word of warning — BookBook is to a writer as a really cute chihuahua with a diamond necklace is to Paris Hilton. Prepare to be upstaged! Everyone at the conference wanted to talk with me — about where I got my BookBook! (First, I had to convince them I hadn’t lifted it from Hogwart’s library.)
Along with being ultra cool to look at, I was surprised to find I can use my BookBook as a comfy, sturdy lap-desk for writing in bed or while sitting in an overstuffed chair. If $70 more dollars fell out of the sky and money were no option, I would want to buy one in black, too, as an additional fashion accessory! Definitely the coolest laptop case ever!!!