Comments on: Reading lamps made from drilled-out books

By: RedShirt77

RedShirt77 — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:02:00 +0000

I saw this image on pinterest last week, and although I do pin a lot of things I love on that site, when I saw this, I thought, “What a beautiful bad idea.”

My advice, if you can’t stand differing opinions on your projects, put them in a drawer and go back to filming Hangover 3. Art ain’t for the timid.

By: Analog Kid

Analog Kid — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:45:00 +0000

Some objects lend themselves well to being turned into lamps. This is just dumb.

By: nesnora

nesnora — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:40:00 +0000

I have that set of books— and I think they’re from the 20′s. GAH! This makes me cringe… and it’s not exactly that interesting of a lamp either…

By: Abe Lincoln

Abe Lincoln — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:20:00 +0000

That book contains Plato’s account of the Socratic Apology. I hope he read it first. ;)

By: bex

bex — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:46:00 +0000

I really don’t like the craze for mutilating books. You may think a book is only good enough as a stupid lamp, but to someone else it could be gold.

By: Jonathan Roberts

Jonathan Roberts — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:02:00 +0000

It doesn’t actually look that old at all, I’d be more worried if it were a less well-known book too. I’d imagine a copy of the Odyssey from a few decades ago would be worth very little nowadays. It does look nice without a dust jacket though, I think making a lamp out of it is a good way of reflecting that.

By: Ian Anthony

Ian Anthony — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:56:00 +0000

Are we just ignoring the comment made by the artist, then?

Okay.

By: Kevlar

Kevlar — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:56:00 +0000

You’d have to put really dim bulbs on a lamp made from those books.

By: Kevlar

Kevlar — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:55:00 +0000

In college ~25 years ago the math department would rev. the calculus book every year, forcing everyone to repurchase. I made a similar lamp out of an obsolete edition, and named it “Let There Be Light,” the Univ. of California’s motto.

By: Robert Baruch

Robert Baruch — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:32:00 +0000

I like the look of the bulb. The bulbs are pretty cheap, too, so it looks like I’ll be getting a bunch.

By: Donald Petersen

Donald Petersen — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:13:00 +0000

Yeah, if the bulb casts a shadow from the environmental light even while said bulb is burning, it’s probably not a particularly hot wattage.

But as for the book pictured, I think it’s a fine choice. Homer himself, the old traditions go, would have had little use for the volume itself, nor the lamp they made from it.

By: Lix Diogenes

Lix Diogenes — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:58:00 +0000

Finally a purpose for all of those Anne Coulter/Bill O’Reilly/Sarah Palin hardcovers you found while dumpster diving…

By: mccrum

mccrum — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:33:00 +0000

Ugh, even worse! Lauded by people who have neither seen nor tested the thing! :)

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:26:00 +0000

Complained about by people who have neither seen or tested the thing :-)

I think it looks great :-)

By: Ihavenofuckingname

Ihavenofuckingname — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:24:00 +0000

Finally, a use for books.

By: dculberson

dculberson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:55:00 +0000

My sediments exactly.

By: djangofan

djangofan — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:46:00 +0000

There is another word for that: kindling .

By: Ian Anthony

Ian Anthony — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:32:00 +0000

Nice. 8 comments in, and everything that could be complained about has been complained about. Man I hope nothing creative I ever build ends up on Boing Boing.

By: dculberson

dculberson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Often times the next step for a book like that is the recycler. Would you prefer it was a lamp or tomorrow’s junk mail? Because that’s really the choice. It’s not a choice between seeing it on someone’s shelf versus being a lamp.

By: ReboundDesigns

ReboundDesigns — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:10:00 +0000

Beautiful! I’ve been a fan of Typewriter Boneyard for some time now, it’s great to see other artists making such wonderful things out of unwanted books.

By: kairos

kairos — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:09:00 +0000

As much as I do appreciate the repurposed-book aesthetic and rationally accept it, having an old book – especially an old copy of the Odyssey – that’s been drilled through and rendered unreadable around all the time would depress the hell out of me.

By: RedShirt77

RedShirt77 — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:05:00 +0000

Yeah, That’s pretty. Wouldn’t want to leave it plugged in if i was in another room. Would probably hurt my eyes if I was in the same room while it was turned on.

Are we this eager to carve holes in all our old books? do we have too many secret book safes?

By: Philip Hansen

Philip Hansen — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:04:00 +0000

Hi there, all bulbs used are such low wattage, that even when left on for hours at a time, are not hotter than your hand can touch (nor harsh on the eyes).

The low incandescent bulbs definitely give off a ‘warm’ glow – hence a reading or accent light. I’m happy to address any specific questions or concerns.

By: Max

Max — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:46:00 +0000

All the bulbs that I’ve seen like that are generally not pushing the filament to it’s limits like modern bulbs do.
With such a big filament, I guess you’ll avoid glare (by having a weaker more diffuse light source) AND avoid fires because it doesn’t get so hot.
I might be wrong.

By: Max

Max — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:46:00 +0000

It does mean a very orangey light though, more like a flame than an electric bulb. “Mellow”

By: s2redux

s2redux — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:36:00 +0000

But what if I want to read The Odyssey? Lamps all the way down makes my head hurt…

By: guanto

guanto — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:31:00 +0000

So… their specialty is unadulterated, pure incandescent (as in really hot; I mean, really?) fire hazards?

By: Their feldspars

Their feldspars — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:30:00 +0000

Perfect if you like glare.

By: Doomstalk

Doomstalk — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:25:00 +0000

Totally not a fire hazard.