Dealing with the Three Unknowns

As promised in my last post, I'm going to share the solution I discovered to dealing with the "three unknowns" of the library. In case you need a reminder, I am a clean-freak, and the "three unknowns" are:
The unknown number of unknown people that have read the books in unknown places.

You just don't know who has held those books, where they were, or what their habits are. I like to read before I go to sleep each night, and the thought laying in bed holding one of those books....let's just say it was not going to happen. I realized the solution would be to find a removable cover that could slid on and off, but I didn't have any idea where to get something like that, or if anything like that even existed.

You've probably heard of or seen those BookSox...the stretchable fabric covers kids are putting on their schoolbooks now. I originally thought those might be the answer, but they are designed for hardback books, and most of the fiction titles at the library are paperback bound. After doing some pondering, and a few internet searches, I came across an awesome tutorial on wikihow that describes how to make a removable cover for paperback books!! The perfect solution!

I followed the tutorial to create a book cover, and then promptly went to my local library to pick up a book I had reserved online. I brought the book home and immediately put on the cover, which worked great. I'll put the link to the instructions for making a cover below, but first I want to show a few pictures of the cover I made.

 

Kinda cool, right? All it takes is contact paper, and some manila folders or something similar. What's neat is that you can personalize it by picking a contact paper design that fits your personality. If you don't have any contact paper, or if you don't like the designs you've seen in stores, check out a 2nd hand or thrift shop. Alot of times they have partially used rolls (cheap!) with different designs than walmart or wherever might currently have.

Here's the link to the complete instructions: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Hard-Cover-for-a-Paperback-Book

So if you're like me, and you don't like to think of the "unknowns" of the library, you might consider a cover like this. It completely covers up the front and back covers (which are the areas I feel are most likely to have germs, etc), so you only end up touching your slipcover and the inside pages of the book. This nifty cover has made me a frequent visitor of my local library, without (much) fear of the "unknowns"!

For anyone who's curious, the book I used in the pictures is "God's Handmaiden" by Gilbert Morris, which I borrowed from the library. I very much enjoyed the book, and I'll be posting a review of it soon!