We usually aren’t big fans of book annihilation, but sometimes there are ways to use books that have fulfilled their original purpose and need to be reimagined to find new life. Here are some clever ideas we found online and some books you can check out to make new use of your old books.

This Into That is an online gallery of an artist’s work, primarily bookshelves made from books. I like to think of it as the big books hugging the little ones.

This tutorial on making a floating book shelf out of a book looks pretty easy, and it does look great on the wall.

You can find out how to make bookends out of books here.

Remember being a kid and wishing for a secret treasure chest? This tutorial is one to read so you can do just that using an old book.The tutorial is great, and make sure to read the comments on the blog entry; they are hilarious!

This is a tutorial on making a bookcase from encyclopedias.We all knew there was something we could do with those sets of encyclopedias that our parents took most of our young lives to pay off! — Other than study them that is.

Imagine a hallway leading to your personal library lined with lamps made from books… Here a website that can tell you how to make one!

Below are a couple of books (available at your library) to get your creative juices flowing:

Altered Books Workshop : 18 Creative Techniques for Self-Expression

Altered Book Collage

Alter This! Radical Ideas for Transforming Books into Art