PeterSJC Posted May 24, 2017 Report Share Posted May 24, 2017 I like most of what Nigel has written, but this is one of his best, IMO. The first time I read it, I missed a lot of stuff; on subsequent passes, I kept discovering new gems. Bravo! Link to comment
Cole Parker Posted May 24, 2017 Report Share Posted May 24, 2017 Wonderful story, which is not surprising as that's what Nigel writes. This one will keep you entertained and engaged all the way from the first sentence to the last. Highly recommended. C Link to comment
Gee Whillickers Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 This was an enchanting read. The dialogue, the descriptions, the emotions, and how it all tied together. Just an excellent story. Link to comment
ChrisR Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 This is a truly mesmerizing tale, with a story wrapped inside a story. Wonderfully crafted, it leaves me wanting only a video of the whole process Mr. Timpson guides Rick through! Thank you. Link to comment
Nigel Gordon Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 42 minutes ago, ChrisR said: This is a truly mesmerizing tale, with a story wrapped inside a story. Wonderfully crafted, it leaves me wanting only a video of the whole process Mr. Timpson guides Rick through! Thank you. Glad to oblige, have a look at: Link to comment
ChrisR Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 Thanks for sharing the video! It really puts into perspective the whole process of one artist generating a heartwarming story and a second artist preserving it for generations to come. Link to comment
Merkin Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 A lovely film worth watching just for the aesthetic of the technique. In my younger years I bound a few books, hobby bindings first to learn the steps and then to re-cover some heirloom books like old family bibles and keepsake volumes. I never had a set-up like this binder's shop; his tools alone are worth a small fortune and are as well very hard to locate nowadays. His work is exquisite, and watching him underlines the extent his even temperament plays a part in the outcome. I am full of admiration. Link to comment
Cole Parker Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 It's amazing how much time goes into binding just one book! I have to assume the job is done much differently these day when machines substitute for craftsmanship. Books much have cost a fortune when this was how they were assembled. C Link to comment
Nigel Gordon Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 3 hours ago, Cole Parker said: It's amazing how much time goes into binding just one book! I have to assume the job is done much differently these day when machines substitute for craftsmanship. Books much have cost a fortune when this was how they were assembled. C A question one of my beta readers asked was could a book have been hand bound in the time allowed for in the story, just over a couple of hours. The answer to this is that for a cloth bound book with a simple gold blocked lettering on the spine, then yes. I am part of a bookbinding group in Leicester and new comers to the group usually leave the first session with a bound book. Each session is three hours. Link to comment
ChrisR Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 I was wondering the same thing as I watched the date marker showing the passage of months! But even if a book can be bound at the rate of a few per day, methinks Tom Clancy and company would be a bit put out. Sadly, as books vaporize into e-books, this magical skill will likely fade even more into a quaint hobby. Link to comment
Nigel Gordon Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 12 hours ago, ChrisR said: Sadly, as books vaporize into e-books, this magical skill will likely fade even more into a quaint hobby. I am not so sure. There is now a growing market of people who want hard copies off their favourite ebooks. Spent a few hours last night reformatting an ebook into a pdf file, then used Bookbinder 3 to generate the signatures, which I printed off. This morning I sowed the signatures together, this evening I will make the case binding for it. My friend is calling round on Sunday to pick it up. He is going to have a nicely bound hard copy of an ebook. I know a number of bookbinders who have done similar jobs. There is also quite a market starting to build up in putting decent bindings on Print On Demand books coming out of Amazon and the likes. I have done two in the past month. Link to comment
Paul Wren Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 I first read a draft of this story about two years ago, I think Nigel was intending it for a Christmas story. Liked it then. Like it even more now, the detail he has given into bookbinding is fascinating. There is a lot more to this story than I remember from reading the original draft. Would not say it is a better story, but it is a more involved story. Have read it a couple of times now and each time I have found something new. Nigel, usually has a twist at the end of his stories, I had half expected it but the nature of it took me by surprise. It was not in the early draft I read though I think he must have had it in mind from the start. Link to comment
Rutabaga Posted May 8, 2021 Report Share Posted May 8, 2021 http://www.awesomedude.com/alan_dwight/my-magical-summer/my-magical-summer.htm Definitely a remarkable story. I would have liked to learn more about Mr. Timpson's background and life journey . . . i.e., what led him to his current craft, where (and from whom) did he learn it, etc. Not essential to the story, but I can't help being curious. I have to confess that most of my reading is in electronic form these days. Physical books take up more room than I have available. Moreover, I have really become spoiled by having a whole library of things to read available on my phone or iPad wherever I happen to be. Nowadays my physical book collection has largely been winnowed to things that are not available electronically. R Link to comment
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