I’m A Shy Bookworm, And I Found A Bookish Way To Make My Living Without Leaving Home

Hi Pandas! My name is Kara, and I started making hollow books in 2009 when I came home from my day job as a museum guard in Chicago. (After hours of "Please do not touch," it was great to get my hands on a project at home). I got ideas for making hollow books from clicking around online, and being a shy bookworm, carving out a hidden spot inside a book 100% clicked with me.

So I grabbed a book, an x-acto blade, and set to work in our second bedroom. Later, my husband bought me a scroll saw and we soon developed a way to craft books smoothly and beautifully. Within a couple months, crafting hollow books let me quit my day job. (I had popped some of my books on Etsy which sold within a few days, the first one being a vintage Nancy Drew). Orders started pouring in, so my husband joined the business full time as well. In a few years, I moved from the tiny second bedroom "workshop" into our converted garage workshop.

In the beginning I worried, "How will booklovers react to my crafting of new and beloved books?" (I didn't want to just do worn out library discards and Reader's Digest eBay bulk lot fodder). As it turned out, booklovers want hollow books that are close to their heart, to put their treasures inside a beloved book; many even send me their own editions which they'd memorized passages from already. The debate about "ruining" a real book is always a spicy one when I post to social media, and I must say I do relish engaging with fellow bibliophiles regarding how we consume real, paper books in this digital age. (Our buying real books for any reason supports the print industry which is in danger of dying due to digital!)

There are many more stories about hollow-bookmaking I could tell, but to wrap I'll just say, for the past 8 years or so, we've made our living from crafting hollow books and my love for secret hiding spots and literature continues to grow!

More info: Etsy

I wonder if Holmes would think to look inside a book for clues?

It's fantastic when a book comes with great map endpapers.

Tolkien books come out with amazing editions featuring his own drawn maps and illustrations. This one had Thror's Map endpapers.

One of my favorite things is hearing about couples who got engaged or married with one of my books.

For that precious ring.

Keep it secret, and keep it safe.

I love finding books that seem fitting to what can fit inside of them.

I like crafting books with stories that connect to the idea of a secretive spot.

Keys play a big role in Alice's story, but there's no key needed to open the hollow book. It looks completely natural from the outside, so it hides in plain sight with no keys to lose.

This is one of my favorite reads and one of my favorite book safes as well.

At first I assumed people would want books without the dust-jackets, but it turns out the dust-jacketed ones are desirable.

All of my books have magnetic closures so your magical secrets won't slip out.

Lots of inspiration for photographing my books comes from the "bookstagram" community on instagram.

I love reading books as much as crafting them and instagramming them.

I never cut into rare books. As you can see here, I treasure my early 1900s Poe for reading (and btw the little reading copy fits inside the hollow book).

I get a kick out of making puns - here's where you can get a little fix, or refill in order to get hammered!

A customer sent me a pic from Pinterest with the "Unbreakable Vow" idea, and I found a smoother way to recreate the idea.

This tumultuous story of doomed love is one of my favorites; I like to think people might hide love letters inside.

I get as much satisfaction from making photos of books as crafting them.

I wish I could afford all the amazing Harry Potter props like mini horcruxes to show tucked into a secret safe book.

I wish I had some cannoli to add to this pic.

This book has a secret: there are high quality looking endpapers and beautiful cover, but the publisher made the inside pages a pulpy inexpensive type (which good for me-- pulpy paper is the easiest and quickest type to cut through).

There's a magnetic closure in all of my books, and in the gun ones there are extra magnets strong enough to keep inside a fully loaded Glock19 plus extra magazine when the book is held upside down.

Lovecraft holds a special place in my heart; I'm a proud worshipper of the Old Ones.

On the right is a rare moment when nothing is covered in sawdust!