Book Book

A straightforward, simple and utterly charming guide to bookbinding.

Now in its fifth edition, Book Book is a portable, uncomplicated guide to learning how to bind books. Written by Myungah Hyon and illustrated by Chang Yuchen, the diagrammatic instruction book walks readers through the basics of books, from grain direction and imposition to folding and cutting paper. The types of bindings covered include perfect bound books, accordion books, pamphlet stitch, long stitch binding, flat-back casebound books and several stab bindings (Japanese four-hole, noble binding, tortoise-shell binding, hemp-leaf binding). Alongside the book, Book Book also includes a book-board hole-punching cradle. All the pieces are housed in a plastic drawstring bag.

Myungah Hyon is a Chicago-based artist and educator. She is an adjunct professor in the Department of Printmedia at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has extensive experience teaching diverse traditional and innovative bookbinding techniques. She was an artist in residence at Roger Brown, Kala Art Institute, Buinho and Datz Museum. She has received Faculty Enrichment Grants from SAIC and the Peter Williams Award from OxBow.

Chang Yuchen is a New York-based teacher and artist. She was an artist in residence at Smack Mellon, Asymmetry Art Foundation, MASS MoCA, the Museum of Art and Design and the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. She is the recipient of a Poetry Project Curatorial Fellowship and a Luminarts Fellowship, among others.