Of course, the most exciting part of a book swap, is that I get a new book that somebody else has made! Yesterday I received a package from Hilke - with two books! The main book is this truly up-to-date modern iterpretation of the Nag Hammadi codices.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_b8p7WMU-I7Q/SYI2pJ5e6YI/AAAAAAAADd4/wZP1vQvms7E/s400/1.jpg)
The cover is, obvioulsy, made using a combination of computer parts and leather. And Hilke was also interested in exploring the content of the Nag Hammadi books. The original texts contained religious writings and a small excerpt has been included in this book here. But to juxtapose the old and new again, Hilke created a cuneiform-type alphabet using small wedges, and printed the passage using this invented alphabet! Holy macaroni, Batman.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_b8p7WMU-I7Q/SYI3cJPC3GI/AAAAAAAADeA/8iB5gsujX_8/s400/2.jpg)
And the cherry on top, was this second Nag Hammadi style book. This contains a description of the main book, the materials, the process, etc as well as an explanation of the alphabet that was created and how it was stamped, etc.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_b8p7WMU-I7Q/SYI3cTOLt7I/AAAAAAAADeI/afIykDni5n8/s400/3.jpg)
Fabulous work, thank you so much, Hilke.
When I made my book for the swap, I stuck with the conventions and did more of a replica than a modern interpretation... but I wanted to stick with what I knew best. So I sent this book to Astrid and she has documented it quite nicely on her blog if you want to see better photos.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_b8p7WMU-I7Q/SYI1l1SH0cI/AAAAAAAADdw/t4LIiGGNrGM/s400/1.jpg)