Finishing the books is a very simple process; all you do is run a tiny line of glue down the inside hinge of the endpapers, line the book block up so it’s even with the spine and covers, and press until the glue dries. Easy as this seems, it takes a couple days to get through a batch; I only have enough clip for two books at a time, and the trouble of keeping everything lined up until all the clips are on is more complicated than it sounds like.

            This is also the part where I begin to get very paranoid about the books, and start keeping them in plastic bags all the time, because who knows? Maybe a bird might get in here by accident and knock them over into the dirty dishwater. Or, there could be an earthquake that would shake them off the cabinet and into the pile of wet diapers below. Or the toddler might get into the markers and go on a pink-Sharpie-graffiti rampage. Anything could happen! Save me, o Ziploc!

            Once they come out of the plastic, they get pressed for another couple hours under a light weight (a C-clamp and a copy of Guide to Architectural History), so the hinge has a chance to flatten out again. Then they’re done, and they look like this:

 

And then there is wrapping, and envelope-ing, and hauling them all to the post office. And that is The End, or at least the place where I mix myself a cup of hot chocolate, put the babies to bed, and write down my ideas on improving the process. “Buy more clips” is on the list, right next to “Is the boy old enough to learn collating?”

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