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Mini DIY Book Tutorial

Lindsey Bugbee

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Mini DIY books are the easiest types of books to create. You don’t need any fancy book-binding equipment; just paper, some cardboard, glue, and ribbon/thread. Once you’ve created your book(s), you can do about a million things to transform them into an out-of-this-world gift! Usage suggestions are at the bottom of this blog post.

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I remember receiving it and being dumbfounded by the time and care he had taken into making it. I could imagine him writing, folding, and gluing; all with the intention of giving his creation to me — and I thought that was the coolest thing. He had clearly put a lot of energy into his creation, and that, to me, was worth more than if he would have handed me a $100 bill. I think people who are not stingy with their time are the best kind of people, I really do. So, for the holidays this year, I hope you make some soap for someone; I hope you knit a scarf; and I hope you create a few of these mini DIY books. I’ve got some suggestions on how to use them at the bottom of this post.

To make a mini DIY book, you’ll start out with a sheet of paper. I’ve got the American standard 8.5″ x 11″ {21.6 x 28 cm} here, but any piece of paper with similar dimensions will work. Divide it up into four even pieces as shown.

Cut along the lines to get four identical smaller pieces of paper. {Mine are 4.25″ x 5.5″ (10.8 x 14 cm).}

Now, use a sturdy ruler to make crisp folds along the center of each piece of paper. For more detail on how to use a ruler to make folds, pop over to the Personalized Birthday Card Tutorial for a second.

Once you’ve folded all the pieces, put them all together, one inside the other.

The goal now is to bind all of these together somehow. You can sew them, you can staple them, you can glue them … whatever. I have chosen to use a small {1/8″} hole punch to punch two holes in the spines. You can use a bigger hole punch, but I like the clean look of smaller holes.

Next, grab any twine or ribbon you have laying around. I’ve opted to utilize some very thin polyester mending thread.

Poke one end of your thread/twine/ribbon through the top hole, and pull it until it’s protruding out the other side about 4″ {10 cm}.

Next, poke the other end of your thread through the bottom hole. It should extend much further than your top thread. Tie them together, maintaining that short/long ratio.

Use the longer side of the thread to wrap around the two holes as many times as you can, like this:

Once you can’t wrap anymore, tie what was the long thread together with the short thread in the back.

Then snip both threads so they’re about yay long.

Just as a note, if you are using thicker material than thread, the wrapping probably isn’t necessary, and you can go ahead and tie your ribbon/twine in the back after step one and call it good. At any rate, now you’ve made your content, and it’s time to make your covers! To do that, grab any box you have around; I have chosen to use a cereal box.

Cut two pieces of cardboard about 1/4″ {0.6 cm} larger than your folded paper. My folded paper is 2.75″ x 4.25″ {7 x 10.8 cm}, so I’m going to make my cardboard about 3″ x 4.5″ {7.6 x 11.4 cm}.

Now, choose a cover for your mini DIY book. I’ve picked out this stout little fellow from a vintage art magazine.

Cut the cover about 1/4″ larger on each side than your cardboard pieces. For me, that’s 3.5″ x 5″ {9 x 12.7 cm}. Then, lay your cardboard over the back of your cover, and draw straight lines from each corner of the cardboard, like this:

You’ll end up with squares in all four corners.

Cut all your squares out …

Then take a pair of scissors and snip the corners off the edges of the top and bottom flaps {leave the side flaps as-is}. That looks like this:

Now, put glue on all of the flaps. You can use regular white glue, a glue stick, whatever.

Insert the first cardboard piece in the center, and fold the side flaps down on it.

Fold the top flaps down and voilà!

Choose a material for your back cover and repeat the same steps.

Now, return to your mini book pages. Flip them over such that the front of the front page and back of the back page is exposed — basically, splay out the booklet. Drizzle glue over the back of the back page, like so. {Alternatively, you can use a glue stick.}

Be sure and brush it out so the paper doesn’t bubble as it’s drying!

Flip the booklet over and glue it to the exposed cardboard side of the back cover, like this:

Repeat with the front of the booklet and the front cover.

And that’s it! You’ve got a DIY mini book, ripe for whatever you want to do with it.

I actually made a couple of these because I like them.

As far as what you can do with these — like most of my tutorials, you can tailor them to your needs pretty easily. Here are some ideas I have, and if you have additional ideas, plus do let me — and others — know in the comments!

• Keep it for yourself and use it as a note or address book.
• You’ve got exactly twelve pages, so you can make your book into a calendar {punch holes in it to make it a hanging mini calendar!}, and keep it for yourself or gift it.
• Instead of writing someone a plain letter, make one of these and write them a “book”. It will be neat little switch-up!
• For a really sentimental gift, you can title your book “12 Reasons I Love You” and illustrate/write a different reason on each page.
• Make a set and give these away as gifts in groups of 5-10. They’re handy little books to have around, whether they’re kept near a phone to take notes or used as a little field journal.
• Make it into a “birthday book”. Write month names and the top of the pages {first page “January”, second page “February” … etc.}, and then make a list of whose birthday is when. All the January birthdays will be on the January page {e.g. “Alice — Jan 2, 1990”}, the February birthdays will be the February page, and so on and so forth. At the beginning of each month, you can reference whose birthday is coming up and ensure you send warm wishes/a card/a gift.
• I love new recipes, so I love the idea of transforming these into mini cookbooks and gifting them along with sweets this holiday season.

Whatever you do, I’m sure it will be cool! You’ve got a blank canvas here and you’re creative: I have faith in you. If you’re ready for the next level in bookbinding, be sure and check out Jessica Moeller’s guest post from last year!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend; and as always, thanks so much for reading!

*This post contains affiliate links to Amazon

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How to Make a Book With One Piece of Paper

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All you need is one sheet of paper and a pair of scissors and you can make a mini 6-page book for any purpose that you can dream up.  Your kids will adore this simple craft.

Watch How to Make it Here:

How to Make a Book With 1 Piece of Paper

4. Repeat with the other side. Crease the folds tightly.  When you place the paper on the table, you should see a W when you look at the end.

5. Cut the center of the W along the center fold. You’ll be cutting through two layers of paper and stopping at the cross fold. This is the only cut you will need to make to make this book!

6.  Fold it the hotdog (long) fold again and push the cut open section together.  Press the folds tightly.

See More Ways To Learn and Play with Books:

Paper Bag Book Craft

Easy Homemade Book

Book Activities for Kids

Homemade Book Caddy

Former school teacher turned homeschool mom of 4 kids. Loves creating awesome hands-on creative learning ideas to make learning engaging and memorable for all kids!

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Thank you for sharing this book folding tutorial. I am pinning this.

Thanks for sharing this! My girls love to make books and color but usually use hundreds of pieces of paper. This will work wonderfully! I am going to pin this too! Thanks, Tonya

Just wanted to let you know how popular your post has been on pinterest. I pinned it last night at 6pm and it has been repinned 89 times! Everyone loves the idea. Good job!

I love your tutorial for this- thanks

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How to Make a Book From a Single Piece of Paper

These little blank books are full of possibility!  And the best part is each book is made from just a single sheet of folded paper.  So grab a sheet of plain paper or these two free templates and get folding!

Fold up book supplies….

The only supplies you need to make a fold up book is a sheet of copy weight paper and scissors.  So simple, right?

The little templates below will add some just right structure to your fold up book.  They offer blank spaces for writing and drawing, no matter the subject of choice! One printable template is a little more buttoned up- with clean lines and spaces.  The other is a bit funkier with interesting borders and shapes!

Want to grab these free printable fold-up book templates….

Do you want a copy of both of these template for making these fold up books? These beauties are free for Kitchen Table Classroom subscribers.

Use the form below to become a subscriber. Then check your email and confirm that you really meant to subscribe. Upon confirmation you’ll receive the PDF in your inbox!

You’ll also become a Kitchen Table Classroom subscriber. You’ll get my newest fun ideas and free printables delivered right to your inbox!

Already a Kitchen Table Classroom subscriber….

If you are already a subscriber- thank you! You can still go through this same process to grab these book templates It’s quick and easy! You won’t be sent duplicate emails- I promise.

After you become a KTC subscriber you’ll also receive a password to my Free Resource Library where you can find these book templates browse all the free printables! (I’m talking hundreds of free pages!)

How to make a book from a single piece of paper….

Making a book from one piece of paper is so simple one you learn  few simple folds.

-Start by folding the paper in half “hamburger way” with the details of the template facing out.

-Fold in half again so that paper is now a quarter of it’s original width.

-Unfold the last fold that was made so it’s folded in half gain but the crease at the one quarter mark is evident.

Second steps…. 

These are the last few steps to finish off your book!

-Fold the book in half the opposite direction.

-Start with scissors at the fold.  Cut along that crease until you reach the middle crease.

-Open up and fold in half again, this time the “hotdog” way.

-Keeping two ends together let the middle sections accordion fold into a book.

More handmade book ideas….

If you love this one page book idea be sure to check out this post!  You’ll learn three different ways to make handmade mini books from index cards, rubber bans and paperclips!

Want to learn how to make a book by watching…

I love learning by seeing!  Follow along with the video above and see exactly how I make a book and make yours right alongside me!

More DIY book making ideas….

Make your own book from paper lunch bags! This DIY book is extra fun because it has little pockets within the book perfect for collecting notes or treasures!

Learn three different ways to bind a book using rubber bands!

If you loved learning how to make this book I hope you’ll share this post!

Every social media share helps me to bring your fun and creative goodies.

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How to make a book from one piece of paper – no glue!

• Art Activities

I’m going to show you how easy it can be to make a book from one sheet of paper. Nothing fancy required here, and within minutes you’ll have an 8-page book, art journal, or sketchbook. These are simple enough for kids to make with little assistance.

Once the one-page book is made, decorate the cover with paint or collage (shown here) or drawing. Multiple books can be glued together, front to back cover, to create longer books.

1: Fold the paper in half, the long way or hot dog style.

2: Open the paper and fold it the short way, or hamburger style.

3: Keep the paper folded and fold the paper one more time in the same direction.

4: Open the paper and you’ll have eight sections.

5: Fold the paper in half again, the short way, and cut along the middle crease in just one section.

6: Open it to make sure the section is cut.

7: Hold the creases on either set of the cut and push the paper until it forms a book

8: Press down all the folds to help the book lie flat. Decorate however you like!

That’s all there is to it. After you’ve assembled it, you’ll either have an 8-page book or a 6-page book with front and back covers!

Once your one page book is made, fill it with stories, notes, or art. Join our monthly art journal challenge (and grab the free monthly guide!). Once you have the guide, print it out and fill the pages of your mini book with drawings, paintings, or collages inspired by the daily art inspiration. You might also like to follow the TinkerSketch art challenge on Instagram.

Ideas for your Art Journal

Scribble Art Collage

Fill a Frame

Draw the Word: A Drawing Game for Kids

Design your own Characters

One-minute Drawing

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How to Make and Assemble a Mini Folding Book from One Sheet of Paper

I’ve fallen in love with a super simple way of making a tiny book for my book-loving kids. It requires minimal cutting, no stapling or gluing, and you don’t need a duplex printer for double-sided printing. The pages do turn out small, but they’re just right for little hands.

Find out how to make and assemble a mini folding book from one sheet of paper below!

{If the text instructions seem a little too complicated, make sure to check out the video at the bottom!}

• Print out the page either on A4 or letter-size paper.
• Trim the edges of the paper along the outside dotted lines. (If your printer has that feature, you can try to print edge-to-edge, but I’ve never had luck with this with my printer.)
• Next, fold and unfold along all of the inside lines.
• Fold in half along the long side.
• Cut along the dotted line that runs perpendicular to the folded edge. Make sure to only cut up to the next perpendicular line, not all the way to the edge!
• Unfold, then fold in half along the short side.
• Grab the paper on both sides where the fold on top is still intact, then move your hands together until you’ve flattened the center section (the part with the cut edge) and the sheet of paper looks like a cross when looking at it from above.
• Redo the folds between the pages, making sure to end up with the title page at the front and the back cover at the back of the assembled book.

That’s it! You’ve just made a tiny folding book with 6 pages plus a title and back cover page from a single sheet of paper.

I know it sounds pretty complicated (although once you’ve done it one time, you can easily do it over and over), so I’ve made you a quick video to make it easier for you to visualize what you need to do.

The mini folding book in the video is part of Letter A-Z Mini Folding Books . You can get them all in one file for free when you become a VIP member or buy them in my shop HERE !

Now try these mini folding books:

Things to Do at Christmastime Mini Folding Books – 3 levels of text focusing on fun Christmas activities plus a black & white version for coloring.

Donut Counting Mini Folding Book – practice counting and numbers 1-7 with cute donuts on each page.

Emotions Mini Folding Book – learn and talk about different emotions all of us go through at different times.

Addition Facts Cheat Sheet Mini Folding Book – practice and review addition facts from +1 to +7.

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One Comment

It is very nice to work with your materials. They are colorful and easy to use, thanks for all.

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• How to Make a Book

Learn how to make a book and bind it, using the simple "Japanese book binding technique" where a single ribbon holds the entire book together. A journal or photo album made this way makes a beautiful gift.

If you'd like to learn how to bind a book, then the Japanese bookbinding technique is one of the easiest ways to learn. You don't need any special equipment, and the finished result is really pretty. Here's one I made with a bird and flowers print:

Here's a view of the binding:

And here's the inside cover:

And here is a picture of another book I made with super cute paper. I love how bright and colourful it looks!

How to Make a Book - Materials

For this project, you will need:

• blank paper (30-100 sheets, depending how thick you want your book)
• cardboard or mountboard - 2 sheets, for front and back covers
• pretty paper* - 2 types, for inside and outside of covers
• ribbon - a few feet long, 6 mm (¼") wide
• hole-punch (or power drill: optional)

That's it! It's so much easier than conventional book-binding, because you don't need any special glues.

* I normally use scrapbooking paper, but reader Hannah wrote in to say that wrapping paper works well too - thanks for the tip Hannah!

How to Make a Book - Instructions

Lay out your blank paper. Here I'm using 30 sheets of 6" by 8" high-quality writing paper. You can use as many or as few sheets as you like. I think 30 sheets is a good size for a photo album. For a journal you probably want 50 or more.

Cut out two sheets of cardboard exactly the same size as your blank paper, e.g. 6" by 8" in my case. Take one of the carboard pieces and draw two vertical lines on it. The first line should be 1" (2.5cm) from the left edge, and the second line should be just under 1 ½" (exactly 3.5cm) from the left edge.

Repeat for the other piece of cardboard.

Using scissors or a craft knife, cut along the lines you drew in the previous step. You basically end up removing a thin (just under ½" , or exactly 1 cm) strip from each piece of cardboard.

Cut out two pieces of nice paper for the outside of the covers. Each piece should be 1 ½" longer and 1 ½" wider than the blank paper. For instance, my blank paper is 6" by 8", so I cut my nice paper to 7 ½" by 9 ½" size.

Place one of your nice sheets of paper face-down, and draw a ¾" border in pencil all the way around.

Use your glue stick to glue the cardboard onto the nice paper like this, so that it lines up with the border you drew in the previous step. Make sure that you cover the whole face of cardboard with glue, not just the edges.

This will be the back cover. The gap in the cardboard will be the "hinge" that makes the book easy to open.

If you're using thin paper (e.g. wrapping paper), it's better to apply the glue to the paper than to the cardboard, otherwise the paper can wrinkle up. Thin paper tends to swell from the moisture in the glue. By applying the glue direct to the paper, you give the paper a chance to swell before it's in contact with the cardboard.

Do the same thing for the front cover. Make sure that you glue the paper on the right way up! My paper has a little bird on it, so I had to make sure it was the right way up.

Fold the corners over as far as they'll go, and glue them in place.

Do the same for the other cover.

Fold the edges in, and glue them in place too.

Cut out two sheets of paper for the inside of the covers. I'm using this red paper with a fan pattern. The pieces should be ½" smaller than the blank paper. My blank paper is 6" by 8", so I cut out the paper for the inside-covers to be 5 ½" by 7 ½".

Then, glue the paper onto the inside of the covers. (Ignore the bull-clips, they're actually for the next step.)

Time to punch the holes, which is probably the trickiest bit of how to make a book, but not too difficult to do.

If you are lucky enough to have access to a heavy duty hole punch, you'll have no trouble punching through your covers and pages of the album. This is the most straightforward method of making your holes, and will only take you a few minutes as you can do many pages at once.

If you don't have access to a heavy duty hole punch, try using a single-hole punch like one of these below. It really depends on the thickness of the cardboard cover as to whether you can punch through it or not, but its worth a try. If you use a single punch, punch through the covers and sheets one by one.

What if I don't have a heavy duty paper punch?

Don't worry! Another option is to use a drill. If you have a drill, then make a "sandwich" that goes cover, blank paper, cover, but with the covers on inside out. When we drill in a moment it usually makes rough edges at the top and bottom of the sandwich. By drilling with the covers on inside out, the rough edges will be hidden when you flip the covers around the right way later.

Use bull-clips to hold the sandwich together, then rest it on an old phone book or something that you don't mind drilling a hole in. Drill two holes. One of them should be 1 ½" from the top of the book, and the other should be 1 ½" from the bottom of the book. They should both be about ½" in from the spine.

I used a ¼" drill bit. Smaller is OK too (e.g. 3/16").

Now it's time to do the actual binding, which is the really clever part of the Japanese way of how to make a book.

You'll need a piece of ribbon that's 6 times as long as the book is tall. For instance, my book is 6" tall, so I need about 36" of ribbon.

Here's a video showing how to do the binding:

Just in case you can't play the video, here's a step-by-step series of pictures showing you how to do the binding.

How to Make a Book: Finished!

Here's the finished book:

Well done on learning how to make a book! How did yours turn out? I hope you found my instructions clear. If you have any comments or suggestions, or just want to say hi, then please contact me with this handy form .

Your homemade books...

Below are some gorgeous photos from visitors who learned how to make a book from this page. Thanks for sending in your pics!

"Here are a few images of my first Japanese binding. Thanks for the inspiration!" ~ Hien

"I had lots of fun making a journal/notepad, in fact, I liked it soo much I decided to make 2 and I think I will make more..." ~ Lauren

"I tried the book/japanese binding as a present for my friend's birthday. I changed it around a bit, though. Instead of making one cover, I made two and I made it so you can flip it so either sides can be the front. That's also why the cover is upsidedown and the other is rightside up. Also, the bow instead of being on the front, I put it on the side. Anyways, I just wanted to say it was a really fun project" ~ Leanna

"I wanted to say that I absolutely love this book tutorial. Thank you very much!" ~ Molly

"I wanted to thank you so much for your great tutorial on how to make a book with Japanese binding! It helped me a lot and I actually made one for my best friend's birthday. My friend likes roses a lot, so my idea was to use 'blooming roses' paper for the front cover, and then 'leaves' for the back cover. The picture of the rose inside is made by my friend." ~ Mady

"Thank you so much for your awesome book tutorial! I just finished my first book and can't wait to get started on another one! I think I'm hooked!" ~ Rachel

"Thank you for such a great technique for how to make a book. I made it for my friend and received lots of compliments on it! ~ Sarthak

Thank you soooo much for sharing your instructions! I made 13 keepsake books for the Tri-Cities Area Faith in Action volunteers to show how much we appreciate their work. ~ Sarah

I made my boyfriend a book of 365 pages of things to remind him of me to last a year while we're apart. Your tutorial on Japanese book binding worked perfectly for my project, even on such a large book! Thanks for helping make such a special project come to life. I also added a bookmark by tying a ribbon in a square knot underneath the bow, and it works wonderfully! ~ Sophia

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How to Choose Paper For Your Handmade Books

In this blog post, I’m going to outline what you need to consider when choosing papers for your books. I’ve also created a downloadable guide which lists my 10 favorite papers and where I buy them.

Before we get started, we should talk about budgets . Don’t get me wrong, I like to spend money on paper (just ask my husband), but when I buy expensive paper, I find it SO hard to actually use it in a book. If I’m creating a special photo album or gift then I spend more on some fancy paper but generally I choose good quality, acid-free, easy-to-find papers for my everyday books.

As you decide what papers to use in your handmade book, think about its intended use (or make a good guess if your book is a gift) and consider the following:

The most important thing to decide upon when choosing the paper weight is what medium you plan to use. If it’s a dry medium, such as pencil, graphite, or colored pencil, use te xt-weight paper (70 lb/105 g),  sketch or drawing paper. When planning to use pens, markers, or fountain pens, then choose a heavier weight version (80 lb/130 g).

If you plan to use any kind of wet media, such as ink, sprays, watercolor, or acrylic paints, choose a sturdier paper that will hold up to the water without buckling, such as a  98lb/160gsm mixed media paper or, for wetter work, a 140lb/330gsm watercolor paper . If your budget allows, 100% cotton paper is lovely for this type of work.

Calligraphers love the thin (52 g) Japanese paper called Tomoe River  and if you’re creating photo albums or scrapbooks, an 80-100lb cover paper (heavier than text papers) is a great option.

Also, consider your medium when choosing the finish on the paper. On the one extreme are cold-pressed and handmade watercolor paper, which is highly textured and fantastic for some styles of painting, and on the other extreme are smooth (sometimes called flat or satin) papers, which show details wonderfully and are a good choice for writing. Those who draw often choose something with a little tooth (sometimes called an eggshell). I once made a sketchbook from handmade watercolor paper and tried to use colored pencils on the pages—a big mistake. There were so many ridges in the paper that the pencil ‘skipped’ over these areas, creating a patchy mess!

If you’re creating a travel journal or notebook that’s intended to be portable, then it will need to be smaller and easier to handle.  Let’s say your book will stay in an office, home, or studio. Then you can go with a larger format. Having said that, some people just like to work large or like to work small, so consider what size book has worked well for you in the past. With this in mind, choose paper sizes for your project. Without a very large paper cutter or guillotine, it can be unwieldy to cut huge sheets of paper down for a small 4″ x 6″ book. Instead, buy pads or pre-cut sheets that only require you to tear or make a few cuts.

When you purchase paper from a good online paper supplier, they will let you know the grain direction in the description.  If not, it’s worth checking with the supplier before they ship it to you, especially if you’re planning a very specific project with it. I forgot this recently and ordered 500 sheets of 9″ x 12″ paper only to find that the paper was grained long, which meant that the widest folded signature I could make was 4.5″. I had been planning to make 6″ x 9″ books – I should have checked!

Hopefully, this has helped get you started on choosing the right paper for the right book. Please leave questions and comments below. I’d love to know your thoughts, especially if you live outside the USA and have some recommendations.

Click here:  My10FavoritePapers to get the downloadable lists of my favorite papers.

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10 comments.

Can’t find the pdf with your list of favorite papers…Thanks

Hi Patricia – thanks for letting me know about the broken link. I’ve updated the post and you should be able to download it now 🙂

Fantastic post! But it seems more geared towards sketchbooks. What type of paper would you recommend for a journaling book? Something multipurpose, when you don’t know what type of pen/pencil the person is going to use? Thanks!

An option I use often is Mohawk Superfine Paper 80lb weight. That’s really nice to write on. The eggshell finish has some tooth which would well with pencil or pen.

what is a good paper to use for an accordion book which will be larger, maybe 8×10, and will stand up?

If you don’t want to piece together the accordion but use one long strip, I would choose a large piece of printmaking paper, such as Rives BFK or Stonehenge or a 140lb watercolor paper, such as Fabriano Artistico that measures at least 22″ x 30″. Here’s an example from Dick Blick: https://www.dickblick.com/products/fabriano-artistico-extra-white-watercolor-paper/

I don’t understand the reason for knowing, or taking into account, the graining of the paper?

Great question Peggy! We need to make sure the grain of the paper runs parallel to our book spine so that the book structure functions correctly ie opens and closes properly and the pages lie flat.

What about cover paper? no one ever talks about that. For example when making a one-signature pamphlet notebook what to use for the cover? Simple cardstock around 250-300gsm are usually not sturdy enough, especially not if you are using thinner paper for the signature. And if you find heavier cardstock it might break when you fold it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

Hi Ali. Do you have a similar article on papers for the cover? I’m new to all the paper world. So brands, places to acquire them, etc. I will basically be making watercolor journals so have my interior paper already. Thank you.

Join the conversation Cancel reply

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What’s better for the climate: A paper book, or an e-reader?

Chloe Veltman

In the face of human-caused climate change, paperbacks and e-readers each have pros and cons. JGI/Daniel Grill/Getty Images hide caption

The summer reading season is here.

Some people will opt for paperbacks because they're easy to borrow and share. Others will go for e-readers, or audiobooks streamed on a phone.

But which is the more environmentally sustainable option? Reading's carbon footprint is not large compared to other things people do, like travel, and it isn’t something most people consider when choosing how to read a book. But for those looking for small changes in their lives to reduce their impact on the climate, it might be worth exploring how the ways we choose to read books affect the planet.

A complicated question to answer

Whether it's better to read books in print or on a device is complicated, because of the complex interplay of the resources involved across the entire lifecycle of a published work: how books and devices are shipped, what energy they use to run, if they can be recycled.

Digital reading is on the rise — especially audiobooks. According to the Association of American Publishers , they now capture about the same share of the total US book market as e-books — roughly 15%. But print is still by far the most popular format.

Books We Love

20 new books hitting shelves this summer that our critics can't wait to read.

"Publishers are interested in preserving the business that they've created over hundreds of years," said Publishers Weekly executive editor Andrew Albanese, explaining why the industry is focusing most of its efforts on improving the sustainability of paperback and hardcover books, rather than digital formats. "They are looking to run those print book businesses as efficiently as possible, as cleanly as possible, as green as possible."

On the one side: traditional book publishing

Traditional print publishing comes with a high carbon footprint.

According to 2023 data from the literary industry research group WordsRated , when it comes to pulp and paper, print book publishing is the world's third-largest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, and 32 million trees are felled each year in the United States to make paper for books. Then there's the printing and shipping — to say nothing of the many books that are destroyed because they remain unsold.

Although it's standard practice in the industry, publishers don't want to destroy books. So instead, many are donating unsold copies, switching to on-demand printing, or, like Chronicle Books, are reducing their initial print runs to see how well the titles sell before they print more.

"We felt that it was better to have a higher cost and have less waste," said Chronicle Books president, Tyrrell Mahoney.

Chronicle Books, like many other publishers, is also trying to use more sustainable paper.

"We have this great partner in India who has now figured out how to use cotton-based up-cycled materials to print as paper," Mahoney said.

Publishers are also rethinking book design. It might be a surprise, but certain fonts can be more climate-friendly by using less ink and less paper.

Harper Collins has introduced sustainable fonts that use less ink. Harper Collins/Harper Collins hide caption

"So far, these subtle, imperceptible tweaks have saved more than 200 million pages across 227 titles since September," said Harper Collins' senior director of design Lucy Albanese. NPR could not independently verify these page savings.

On the other: digital publishing

All well and good. But digital reading seems to have a considerable eco-advantage over print because it is paperless, so it saves trees, pulping and shipping. Moreover, tech companies that make e-readers such as Amazon, which sells the market-leading Kindle e-reader, offer recycling programs for old devices.

Book Reviews

11 books to look forward to in 2024.

"By choosing e-books as an alternative to print, Kindle readers helped save an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of carbon emissions over a two year period," said Corey Badcock, head of Kindle product and marketing. NPR could not independently verify these emissions reductions.

But digital devices also come with a substantial carbon footprint, predominantly at the manufacturing stage. Their cases are made with fossil-fuel-derived plastics and the minerals in their batteries require resource-heavy mining.

The short answer to which is better: it depends

"It's not cut and dried," said Mike Berners-Lee, a professor of sustainability at Lancaster Environment Centre in the United Kingdom , of the comparative climate friendliness of digital versus print reading.

Berners-Lee, the author of The Carbon Footprint of Everything , said the average e-reader has a carbon footprint of around 80 pounds.

"This means that I've got to read about 36 small paperback books-worth on it before you break even," he said.

Here are the Books We Love

Figuring out whether to take a digital device or a paperback to the beach ultimately depends on how voraciously you read.

"If you buy an e-reader and you read loads and loads of books on it, then it's the lowest carbon thing to do," Berners-Lee said. "But if I buy it, read a couple of books, and decided that I prefer paperback books, then it's the worst of all worlds."

Yet Berners-Lee said that reading is still, relatively speaking, a pretty sustainable activity — regardless of whether you read using an e-reader, phone or old-fashioned paperback.

Both audio and digital versions of this story were edited by Jennifer Vanasco . Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento mixed the audio version.

Correction May 26, 2024

This story has been corrected after an earlier version of the article stated that book publishing is the world’s third-largest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, when in fact it is the third largest within the pulp and paper industry. Additionally, this story has been updated to provide greater perspective on the effect of book publishing on the climate as a whole.

How to Make Paper (Easy Method of Making Recycled Paper)

In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to make papers at home. It’s one of the simplest methods of making handmade recycled papers and needs only a few tools. Enjoy!

Did you know, If every American recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we would save about 25,000,000 trees a year [ source ]? Yes, Papers are one of the most commonly used items in all places. Allow us to take you through a fun and eco-friendly activity on how to make paper from old and used papers. Turn all those used scrap papers, old newspapers, and magazine pages into recycled paper with the help of our tutorial. The whole process may take a little longer than other craft activities but we promise you that it is worth it. Our handmade papers do not require any fancy craft tools, or even any frame, you probably have all the supplies at home. So let’s get started. 

The rustic look of handmade paper gives such an artistic vibe and the very thought of engaging in an eco-friendly project is surely very satisfying. Check out the list of supplies, grab all of them and follow our tutorial to craft yourself some green papers!

How to Make Paper by Recycling Old Papers

List of supplies to make recycled paper.

• Old/used papers (magazines, newspapers, notebooks, etc.)
• A pair of scissors
• Plastic netted piece
• Clothe (preferably cotton)
• No-sticky surface

Instructions to make Recycled Paper

Step 1: tear old papers, magazines or newspapers.

Collect enough scrap papers (could be sheets from an old notebook, old newspapers or magazines, etc.) and tear the papers into small bits. You can also use scissors to cut them into small pieces. About 1 x 1 inches of pieces should do but if you can cut them into even smaller pieces that would better. When you’re done tearing and cutting the papers into bits soak them in a bowl filled with water.

Step 2: Soak the Teared Papers

As we tried not to use any special tools we let the papers soak in water for a day. If you’re looking for a quicker process you can blend the soaked papers after 2 or 3 hours of soaking. We used our hands to mix the soaked water and blend them as much as possible. Leave the soaked papers for another hour. 

Step 3: Prepare the Net and Get Started

We’re using a plastic netted sheet instead of the papermaking frame. Carefully, draw any one side of the net into the water, gradually from top to bottom.

Step 4: Allow Paper Mache to Cover the Net

Slowly flatten the net under the water and you’ll notice the paper mache gathering on the top of the net. Allow the paper mache to gather on the top of the net’s surface as evenly as possible. 

Step 5: Shape the Borders of Paper Mache

Bring the net straight out of the water without changing the flattened position. We used our fingertips to align the 4 sides of the paper mache as evenly as possible. In the case of the papermaking frame, you don’t need to worry about the border but since we’re using a plain net we had to make the border nice and straight.

Step 6: Place the Paper Mache Side on a Non-Sticky Surface

On a flat surface place a non-sticky material, we’re using a polythene sheet. Place the paper mache side of the netted sheet straight on the non-stick surface. For clear instructions on this step, you can check out our video tutorial from the link given below. Use a piece of cotton clothing to soak as much water as possible from the top surface of the netted sheet. 

Step 7: Carefully Take Off the Net

Once you’ve soaked enough water, carefully take out the net. The paper mache should remain flat on the no-stick surface in this step. 

Step 8: Allow the Flatten paper Mache to Dry

Allow the flattened paper mache to dry overnight or you could place it near a warm and dry place to dry it fast. 

Step 9: Check if the Paper has dried completely

Our recycled papers turned out so fresh and crisp and we absolutely enjoyed crafting them!

If you’re having difficulty understanding the whole process of recycled paper making, you can also check out our video tutorial on our YouTube channel.

Watch the video tutorial on how to make recycled paper

Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for more DIY and craft tutorials.

How to Use These Recycled Papers

As we did not use any specialized tools for the handmade papers, they turned out rather rustic. Our recycled paper may not be ideal for writing but it can be used for so many things, for example, our recycled papers can be used as gift tags, for scrapbooking, journaling, watercolor art projects, photography props, notes, and much more! 

Recycling seems satisfactory to me. Probably that’s why I made too many recycled crafts. Here are some of them. If you are into recycling, you’ll like them too.

• How to Make Beautiful Paper Mache Bowls
• Recycled Paper Basket Weaving
• DIY Recycled Pumpkin Box
• Recycled Cardboard Boxes 

I hope you enjoyed our how to make paper tutorial. If you make this at home, don’t forget to share the photos of your version of homemade recycled paper with us. You can share your picture with hashtag #craftaholicwitch or just DM your picture to us on  Instagram .

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Where did you get the plastic netted sheet?

This one is good for this project. Link

Is it possible to make paper like this from cardboard boxes?

I have a TON of cardboard to get rid of, and it’d be awesome to turn it into paper that I could then potentially draw or paint on.

It would be possible as long as you can make a nice pulp paste from the material. The papers might turn out thicker than the ones I made. Hope it works!

Hi! I am so excited by this craft but does adding tea really necessary and if so what type of tea do you recommend? Thanks!

Sure thing! Adding tea is one option among 4, but if you want to use it, regular black tea is a good choice.

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What’s better for the climate: A paper book, or an e-reader?

The summer reading season is here.

Some people will opt for paperbacks because they're easy to borrow and share. Others will go for e-readers, or audiobooks streamed on a phone.

But which is the more environmentally sustainable option? Reading's carbon footprint is not large compared to other things people do, like travel, and it isn’t something most people consider when choosing how to read a book. But for those looking for small changes in their lives to reduce their impact on the climate, it might be worth exploring how the ways we choose to read books affect the planet.

A complicated question to answer

Whether it's better to read books in print or on a device is complicated, because of the complex interplay of the resources involved across the entire lifecycle of a published work: how books and devices are shipped, what energy they use to run, if they can be recycled.

Digital reading is on the rise — especially audiobooks. According to the Association of American Publishers , they now capture about the same share of the total US book market as e-books — roughly 15%. But print is still by far the most popular format.

"Publishers are interested in preserving the business that they've created over hundreds of years," said Publishers Weekly executive editor Andrew Albanese, explaining why the industry is focusing most of its efforts on improving the sustainability of paperback and hardcover books, rather than digital formats. "They are looking to run those print book businesses as efficiently as possible, as cleanly as possible, as green as possible."

On the one side: traditional book publishing

Traditional print publishing comes with a high carbon footprint.

According to 2023 data from the literary industry research group WordsRated , when it comes to pulp and paper, print book publishing is the world's third-largest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, and 32 million trees are felled each year in the United States to make paper for books. Then there's the printing and shipping — to say nothing of the many books that are destroyed because they remain unsold.

Although it's standard practice in the industry, publishers don't want to destroy books. So instead, many are donating unsold copies, switching to on-demand printing, or, like Chronicle Books, are reducing their initial print runs to see how well the titles sell before they print more.

"We felt that it was better to have a higher cost and have less waste," said Chronicle Books president, Tyrrell Mahoney.

Chronicle Books, like many other publishers, is also trying to use more sustainable paper.

"We have this great partner in India who has now figured out how to use cotton-based up-cycled materials to print as paper," Mahoney said.

Publishers are also rethinking book design. It might be a surprise, but certain fonts can be more climate-friendly by using less ink and less paper.

"So far, these subtle, imperceptible tweaks have saved more than 200 million pages across 227 titles since September," said Harper Collins' senior director of design Lucy Albanese. NPR could not independently verify these page savings.

On the other: digital publishing

All well and good. But digital reading seems to have a considerable eco-advantage over print because it is paperless, so it saves trees, pulping and shipping. Moreover, tech companies that make e-readers such as Amazon, which sells the market-leading Kindle e-reader, offer recycling programs for old devices.

"By choosing e-books as an alternative to print, Kindle readers helped save an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of carbon emissions over a two year period," said Corey Badcock, head of Kindle product and marketing. NPR could not independently verify these emissions reductions.

But digital devices also come with a substantial carbon footprint, predominantly at the manufacturing stage. Their cases are made with fossil-fuel-derived plastics and the minerals in their batteries require resource-heavy mining.

The short answer to which is better: it depends

"It's not cut and dried," said Mike Berners-Lee, a professor of sustainability at Lancaster Environment Centre in the United Kingdom , of the comparative climate friendliness of digital versus print reading.

Berners-Lee, the author of The Carbon Footprint of Everything , said the average e-reader has a carbon footprint of around 80 pounds.

"This means that I've got to read about 36 small paperback books-worth on it before you break even," he said.

Figuring out whether to take a digital device or a paperback to the beach ultimately depends on how voraciously you read.

"If you buy an e-reader and you read loads and loads of books on it, then it's the lowest carbon thing to do," Berners-Lee said. "But if I buy it, read a couple of books, and decided that I prefer paperback books, then it's the worst of all worlds."

Yet Berners-Lee said that reading is still, relatively speaking, a pretty sustainable activity — regardless of whether you read using an e-reader, phone or old-fashioned paperback.

Both audio and digital versions of this story were edited by Jennifer Vanasco . Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento mixed the audio version.

Copyright 2024 NPR

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How to Make a Book

Last Updated: March 7, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Zachary Green . Zachary Green is an Entrepreneurship Coach, Author, and U.S. Marine Corp Veteran. With over 10 years of experience as an entrepreneur, he specializes in helping people transform their businesses, relationships, and lives. Zachary’s book, Warrior Entrepreneur, focuses on how warrior traits can help entrepreneurs, leaders, and others battle through adversity and accomplish their missions. Zachary was featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, on the front page of Yahoo.com, MSN.com, and in USA Today, along with numerous other local and national media outlets, and was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Governor John Kasich. Zachary was also selected by the Obama White House as one of 10 entrepreneurs to represent the United States at the Global Entrepreneur Summit. He was also featured in the US Playing Cards Frontline Leaders playing card series as one of 52 veteran entrepreneurs. Zachary earned a BA in Marketing and Sports Management from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He won the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013, the SBA Ohio Small Business Exporter of the Year in 2016, a Spartan Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017, and a President’s E Award in 2019. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 85,966 times.

Planning, writing, and assembling a book is an exciting and challenging process! There are several ways to achieve or complete the act of writing a book. Take control of the entire creative process—from outlining to binding—and push the boundaries of your artistic limits.

Things You Should Know

• Choose a topic for your book that excites you so you're motivated to work on it.
• Set a word count goal to keep yourself accountable. For example, aim to write 1500 to 2500 words per day.
• When your book is finished, print and bind it and create your own cover.

Brainstorming

• To determine if your idea has legs, write an elevator pitch, a short, to-the-point speech about your topic. If it sounds innovative, thrilling, and or interesting as an elevator pitch, it should make an excellent story! [2] X Research source
• If you are struggling to come up with a topic or narrow the list down to one topic, step away. Take your mind off of the book by exercising, shopping, or completing household chores. When you feel ready to tackle the task, return to the list refreshed, refocused, and re-energized!

• You could also make a flowchart, use bullet points, write on note cards, create a concept map.
• Sometimes it is helpful to create multiple forms of an outline. Each type of outline forces you to think through your story in a slightly different way. Storyboarding requires you to visualize the plot and your characters; flowcharts force you to consider how one subplot flows into the next subplot.
• Don’t aim for perfection. Outlines are meant to be rough sketches of your story!

• If you are struggling to identify your book’s individuality, don’t panic. Revision is a natural part of the writing process! Return to your outline and be willing to make changes to your plot and characters. Your work will be stronger as a result of these alterations!
• Don’t get disappointed when you discover a book with a similar plot. There is nothing new under the sun!

• If you feel too close to your work, ask a friend to look it over for you. They may be able to identify any plot holes or tangential sections.

Writing and Revising

• Some weeks or months you will have more time. Be flexible. If you see an opportunity to write for an hour, grab it!

• Don’t stress over failing to reach your goal in the allotted time. Instead, remain positive and try to meet the goal during your next session.

• If you are feeling stuck or having a hard time getting started, join a writing workshop. Talk over your problems with other experienced writers; get feedback on your work. [9] X Research source
• Use one word file instead of multiple word files. Keeping your work together in one place will generate a sense of continuity. Plus, if you make a change to your plot that impacts an earlier chapter, all you have to do is scroll up to make the alteration. [10] X Research source

• A work is never completely finished, but at some point you must stop striving to perfect it.
• If you struggle to edit your work with a critical eye, ask a colleague, friend, or family member to serve as your editor.

Designing the Book

Printing the Book

• Always start printing at page 2. Page 1 is your cover page and must be printed separately.

Binding the Book

• Pizza boxes work great!

Write Your First Book with this Expert Series

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about publishing a book, check out our in-depth interview with Zachary Green .

• ↑ http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/how-to-write-a-book.html
• ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/brettarends/2014/06/02/five-essential-tips-for-anyone-trying-to-write-a-book/
• ↑ https://mackcollier.com/so-you-want-to-write-a-book-heres-10-things-you-need-to-know-to-get-published/
• ↑ http://blog.janicehardy.com/2010/01/re-write-wednesday-clarifying-thoughts.html
• ↑ http://fmwriters.com/Visionback/issue7/adwrigoals.htm
• ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/there-are-no-rules/7-tips-for-revising-a-novel
• ↑ https://janefriedman.com/book-design-joel-friedlander-2/
• ↑ https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/print-booklets-acrobat-reader.html
• ↑ http://tuxgraphics.org/npa/book-binding/

About This Article

To make a book, choose a topic and genre, then create detailed profiles for your characters. Organize a written outline to help you structure the plot, or create storyboards to help you arrange the narrative. Next, set a realistic writing schedule for yourself, then get busy writing the book's content! Focus on getting the words down on the page—you can edit later. Revise, edit, and rewrite the content until you're happy with the story. Then, you can print out the pages and even create your own cover and binding for the book. If you want to learn how to design the layout of your book, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Transfer Centre

Manchester United to make Erik ten Hag decision next week- Paper Talk

Plus: Mikel Arteta is considering selling £35m midfielder Fabio Vieira this summer; Antonio Conte is closing on a return to club management with Napoli; Thomas Tuchel rejected the chance to stay on as Bayern Munich manager as he knows he already has the Man Utd job

Sunday 26 May 2024 15:44, UK

The top stories and transfer rumours from Sunday's newspapers...

THE ATHLETIC

Manchester United will conduct a full season review next week - including the performance of Erik ten Hag - before deciding on the next steps for the club in terms of management and playing staff.

Mikel Arteta is considering selling £35m midfielder Fabio Vieira this summer after becoming concerned at his performance in Arsenal training sessions.

MAIL ON SUNDAY

• Transfer Centre LIVE! Who would be your club's dream summer signing?
• Liverpool rumours: 'Slot wants Watkins to replace Nunez'
• Clean up or clear out - what's top of Maresca's Chelsea in-tray?
• Papers: Aston Villa target move for Chelsea's Gallagher
• Next Up: Endrick is no longer a name, he is a reality
• Arsenal transfers: Arteta 'to be offered bumper new deal'
• Red Bull to sponsor Leeds' shirts next season after buying minority stake
• Nelson questions Fury's appetite for Usyk rematch
• England's Euro 2024 fixtures and route
• The footage that convinced Real Madrid... Endrick introduces Next Up!
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Reports in Germany have suggested Thomas Tuchel rejected the chance to stay on as Bayern Munich manager as he knows he already has the Manchester United job in his back pocket.

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Leicester City are considering a move for Feyenoord defender David Hancko after it became clear he would not be following former boss Arne Slot to Liverpool.

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Dwight Yorke backed Erik ten Hag to turn things around at Manchester United before continuing to say he would love to take the top job at Old Trafford himself.

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Antonio Conte is closing on a return to club management with Napoli poised to confirm him as their new boss by the end of the weekend.

Manchester United are leading the race to sign Port Vale's exciting teenager Bayley Dipepa, who is also being tracked by Newcastle and West Ham.

Darts players have been warned by authorities that they face a fine of up to £1000 and possible suspension if they are found to have alcohol on stage in their water bottles after recent reports that booze was being smuggled past officials.

THE SUN ON SUNDAY

VAR-officiated offsides could be scrapped from Euro 2024 because the inventor of a similar system is taking UEFA and ball-tracking experts Kinexon to court for patent infringement, with a hearing scheduled for June 4.

Luke Littler had to watch his beloved Manchester United win the FA Cup final on Saturday from home "for his own safety" over concerns he would be mobbed by fans at Wembley.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Staff at Manchester United's Carrington training ground have been told to vacate their workspaces ahead of a busy summer of refurbishment to modernise facilities.

DAILY STAR SUNDAY

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Liverpool have joined Manchester United in the race to sign young Lille defender Leny Yoro.

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Chelsea fear they will miss out on long-term target Rafael Leao this summer because Saudi champions Al-Hilal are willing to splash out £85m to sign the AC Milan winger.

SUNDAY MAIL

Kenny Miller is certain Celtic will receive a fee of at least £20m should they decide to cash in on midfield star Matt O'Riley this summer.

Rangers are facing competition from ambitious Turkish side Eyupspor for the signing of Panama defender Jose Cordoba.

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Wage demands could be a significant stumbling block in Celtic's bid to sign loan star Adam Idah from Norwich City on a permanent basis this summer.

Correctly predict six scorelines for a chance to win £250,000 for free. Entries by 3pm Saturday.

What’s better for the climate: A paper book, or an e-reader?

The summer reading season is here.

Some people will opt for paperbacks because they're easy to borrow and share. Others will go for e-readers, or audiobooks streamed on a phone.

But which is the more environmentally sustainable option? Reading's carbon footprint is not large compared to other things people do, like travel, and it isn’t something most people consider when choosing how to read a book. But for those looking for small changes in their lives to reduce their impact on the climate, it might be worth exploring how the ways we choose to read books affect the planet.

A complicated question to answer

Whether it's better to read books in print or on a device is complicated, because of the complex interplay of the resources involved across the entire lifecycle of a published work: how books and devices are shipped, what energy they use to run, if they can be recycled.

Digital reading is on the rise — especially audiobooks. According to the Association of American Publishers , they now capture about the same share of the total US book market as e-books — roughly 15%. But print is still by far the most popular format.

"Publishers are interested in preserving the business that they've created over hundreds of years," said Publishers Weekly executive editor Andrew Albanese, explaining why the industry is focusing most of its efforts on improving the sustainability of paperback and hardcover books, rather than digital formats. "They are looking to run those print book businesses as efficiently as possible, as cleanly as possible, as green as possible."

On the one side: traditional book publishing

Traditional print publishing comes with a high carbon footprint.

According to 2023 data from the literary industry research group WordsRated , when it comes to pulp and paper, print book publishing is the world's third-largest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, and 32 million trees are felled each year in the United States to make paper for books. Then there's the printing and shipping — to say nothing of the many books that are destroyed because they remain unsold.

Although it's standard practice in the industry, publishers don't want to destroy books. So instead, many are donating unsold copies, switching to on-demand printing, or, like Chronicle Books, are reducing their initial print runs to see how well the titles sell before they print more.

"We felt that it was better to have a higher cost and have less waste," said Chronicle Books president, Tyrrell Mahoney.

Chronicle Books, like many other publishers, is also trying to use more sustainable paper.

"We have this great partner in India who has now figured out how to use cotton-based up-cycled materials to print as paper," Mahoney said.

Publishers are also rethinking book design. It might be a surprise, but certain fonts can be more climate-friendly by using less ink and less paper.

"So far, these subtle, imperceptible tweaks have saved more than 200 million pages across 227 titles since September," said Harper Collins' senior director of design Lucy Albanese. NPR could not independently verify these page savings.

On the other: digital publishing

All well and good. But digital reading seems to have a considerable eco-advantage over print because it is paperless, so it saves trees, pulping and shipping. Moreover, tech companies that make e-readers such as Amazon, which sells the market-leading Kindle e-reader, offer recycling programs for old devices.

"By choosing e-books as an alternative to print, Kindle readers helped save an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of carbon emissions over a two year period," said Corey Badcock, head of Kindle product and marketing. NPR could not independently verify these emissions reductions.

But digital devices also come with a substantial carbon footprint, predominantly at the manufacturing stage. Their cases are made with fossil-fuel-derived plastics and the minerals in their batteries require resource-heavy mining.

The short answer to which is better: it depends

"It's not cut and dried," said Mike Berners-Lee, a professor of sustainability at Lancaster Environment Centre in the United Kingdom , of the comparative climate friendliness of digital versus print reading.

Berners-Lee, the author of The Carbon Footprint of Everything , said the average e-reader has a carbon footprint of around 80 pounds.

"This means that I've got to read about 36 small paperback books-worth on it before you break even," he said.

Figuring out whether to take a digital device or a paperback to the beach ultimately depends on how voraciously you read.

"If you buy an e-reader and you read loads and loads of books on it, then it's the lowest carbon thing to do," Berners-Lee said. "But if I buy it, read a couple of books, and decided that I prefer paperback books, then it's the worst of all worlds."

Yet Berners-Lee said that reading is still, relatively speaking, a pretty sustainable activity — regardless of whether you read using an e-reader, phone or old-fashioned paperback.

Both audio and digital versions of this story were edited by Jennifer Vanasco . Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento mixed the audio version.

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