The Poems of Goethe

Think books are just for reading? Think again! With a few basic supplies and a vivid imagination, a book can easily be transformed into a work of art. A child's storybook, loved beyond recognition, can be reborn in a charming collage or altered to tell a new story; an artfully bound encyclopedia can be hollowed out and filled with treasure; a tattered novel can be reincarnated as a purse, a bookend, a music box... the possibilities are endless!

That's why, for the first time ever, Powell's is offering up its castaways — books too old, too worn, or too lackluster to be sold for content alone, but too craft-worthy to be dismissed altogether — in the hopes that our customers will find a way to give them new life.

For $5 or less, one of these books could be yours — to alter, collage, cut, embellish, fold, glue, paint, re-bind, sew, stamp, stencil... whatever your heart desires! Each book is unique and, as such, we cannot accommodate requests for specific books or criteria. (Think of it as a grab bag: the surprise is half the fun!) However, the following guidelines should help you determine the right Craft Project Book for you:

$1 Craft Project Books — books for the resourceful crafter, meaning they have a limited number of illustrations, are artfully bound but in poor condition, or simply have a limited number of pages. (Most craft-worthy paperbacks and pamphlets fall into this category.)

$3 Craft Project Books — books in good condition with either cool binding or cool illustrations; books that have both cool binding and illustrations but are in (what we deem) poor condition.

$5 Craft Project Books — books in (reasonably) good condition with both cool binding and illustrations; or, anything so totally awesome that pricing it below $5 would be absurd... and getting it for $5 is a steal! (Most large-format hardcover books are in this category.)

Happy crafting!

No one talks more than a Poet; Fain he'd have the people know it. Praise or blame he ever loves; None in prose confess an error, Yet we do so, void of terror.